Introduction
Environment
12
Volvo and the environment
Volvo is committed to the well being of its
customers. As a natural part of this commit-
ment, we care about the environment in
which we all live. Caring for the environment
means an everyday involvement in reducing
our environmental impact. Volvo's environ-
mental activities are based on a holistic view,
which means we consider the overall environ-
mental impact of a product throughout its
complete life cycle. In this context, design,
production, product use, and recycling are all
important considerations. In production,
Volvo has partly or completely phased out
several chemicals including CFCs, lead chro-
mates, asbestos, and cadmium; and reduced
the number of chemicals used in our
plants 50% since 1991.
Volvo was the first in the world to introduce
into production a three-way catalytic con-
verter with a Lambda sond, now called the
heated oxygen sensor, in 1976. The current
version of this highly efficient system reduces
emissions of harmful substances (CO, HC,
NOx) from the exhaust pipe by approximately
95 – 99% and the search to eliminate the
remaining emissions continues. Volvo is the
only automobile manufacturer to offer CFC-
free retrofit kits for the air conditioning system
of all models as far back as the 1975
model 240. Advanced electronic engine con-
trols and cleaner fuels are bringing us closer
to our goal. In addition to continuous environ-
mental refinement of conventional gasoline-
powered internal combustion engines, Volvo
is actively looking at advanced technology
alternative-fuel vehicles.
When you drive a Volvo, you become our
partner in the work to lessen the car's impact
on the environment. To reduce your vehicle's
environmental impact, you can:
•
Maintain proper air pressure in your tires.
Tests have shown decreased fuel econ-
omy with improperly inflated tires.
•
Follow the recommended maintenance
schedule in your Warranty and Service
Records Information booklet.
•
Drive at a constant speed whenever pos-
sible.
•
See a trained and qualified Volvo service
technician as soon as possible for
inspection if the check engine (malfunc-
tion indicator) light illuminates, or stays
on after the vehicle has started.
•
Properly dispose of any vehicle-related
waste such as used motor oil, used bat-
teries, brake pads, etc.
•
When cleaning your vehicle, please use
genuine Volvo car care products. All
Volvo car care products are formulated to
be environmentally friendly.
FSC
®
The FSC
®
(Forest Stewardship Council
®
)
symbol indicates that the wood pulp used in
this publication comes from FSC
®
certified
forests and other responsible sources.
