Hi. So, circularity and circular economy.
What does it really mean for us as a truck manufacturer?
Basically, we need to save the Earth’s resources
by using recycled or renewable material.
And we also need to make sure our trucks
are recycled at the end of life.
Let's have a look at the Volvo FH,
our most popular truck around the world.
Did you know it's made of thousands of parts
using more than 60 different materials?
For example, 3200 kilos of steel,
1800 kilos of cast iron, 540 kilos of aluminum, 410 kilos of rubber,
470 kilos of different plastics and 140 kilos of copper.
Over the years, the truck has become more and more sophisticated,
containing more advanced electronics, for example.
This has improved safety,
efficiency and the driver's working environment,
but it also requires a lot of raw material
for all the technical components.
Perhaps we need to learn a little from history.
The most circular truck we
have ever made was probably the first one in 1928.
It was made of just a few different types of materials.
It could also easily be taken apart to recover those materials.
Quite a big part was made of wood, a renewable material
which is ideal from a circular perspective.
So some of the solutions of the past
might help us solve today's challenges.
Today, one third of the Volvo FH truck is made from recycled materials,
mostly steel, cast iron and other metals.
The rest is virgin materials.
This has to change.
Our focus now is to increase the amount of recycled material
to be less dependent on the Earth's finite resources.
Doing so will not only save natural resources,
it will also save a lot of energy.
For example, using recycled aluminum saves
95% energy compared to virgin aluminum.
But what is recycled material?
Where do we get it from?
Simply put, it's waste that is taken care of
and processed into raw material.
One type of waste comes from production and residues from factories.
The other type is the waste from all products at the end of life.
Our target is that nothing should go to landfill
and instead should be recycled.
At Volvo we can contribute by making sure
our trucks are recyclable when the time comes.
We are actually good at this already.
We can take the Volvo VNR Electric as an example.
A new report shows that it's recyclable by up to 95%.
This is a figure to be proud of, but it's not enough.
To complete the circle there also has to be a market demand
to use the recycled materials in new products.
This is a focus area for Volvo Trucks in the coming years,
and I know it is for many other industries
and in our society.
To summarize, we want to create a circular flow of resources.
Instead of continuing the extraction of the Earth’s natural resources.
We need to minimize
and take care of all the waste from our production plants and workshops.
By doing this, we can minimize the need for new raw material
and move towards circularity throughout the whole life of the truck.
This won't happen without everyone's contribution.
So let's close the circle together.