9 Materiales residuales con contenido radiactivo
9.3 Materiales residuales sólidos con contenido radiactivo
into consideration, electric buses
comprise the leading public trans-
port solution”
I
n June 2015, the Volvo Group took a big step in the jour- ney towards delivering sustainable transport solutions – as an entirely new electric bus route, operated by Volvo branded full-electric buses and electric hybrids, opened in Gothenburg. The aim of the route is to develop and test new solutions for sustainable public transport. It is the result of ElectriCity, a collaboration between the Volvo Group and several partners from industry, research and society.“The bus line is one of the most modern in the world and the interest is incredibly high, not least due to the buses being com- pletely silent and emission-free, and being run on electricity from wind and hydro power,” says Niklas Gustafsson, Chief Sustainabil- ity Officer, Volvo Group. “But the innovation aspect primarily per- tains to the complete transportation system. A system that we can now show meets society’s socio-economic and environmental challenges.”
A more complete picture of the savings of electric buses
Standard investment appraisals often do not take into account all of the costs and benefits that impact society and the environment. Therefore, to quantify these aspects, the Volvo Group and the audit and advisory firm KPMG have calculated the monetary value of an electric bus line.
“Electric buses are an excellent example of an innovation that can create substantial societal value,” says Daniel Dellham, KPMG. “By supplementing standard financial analysis with socio-economic and environmental factors, one arrives at a more complete picture of the investment’s impact on companies and society.”
The analysis was based on a city with about half a million inhabitants and 400 buses. If the buses were run on electricity instead of diesel, the total annualized societal saving would be up
to SEK 100 M. Among other areas, the savings stem from reduced noise and air pollution, which is estimated to lead to decreased health care costs of up to SEK 24 M. The annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would total 33,000 tons, corresponding to emissions from about 3,000 Swedish households.
Surprise concerts on the silent electric buses
ElectriCity recently launched the Silent Bus Sessions campaign to bring further publicity to the electric public transport project by showing another side of sustainable transport; the quietness of electric buses. Unsuspecting passengers on the new bus route in Gothenburg were treated to surprise performances by some of Sweden’s hottest artists.
“Noise is one of the biggest health problems in big cities around the world. Volvo’s electric buses are silent and emissions- free, and we are convinced that electric public transport in cities is the way forward to achieve sustainable transport,” says Håkan Agnevall, President Volvo Buses.
T
he Volvo Group works consistently with lean meth- odologies to use less material as well as pro- cesses to integrate more recycled materials, reduce waste and energy, recover heat, and assess our water footprint.We offer refurbished spare parts as a way of extending the useful life of our products, and to reduce costs for our customers. Remanufacturing consists of three different parts:
1. Collecting: the customer’s worn part is collected and
replaced with an exchange part – this part can be new or remanufactured.
2. Repairing: once the core is deemed reusable, it will be dis-
assembled, cleaned, re-machined, reassembled and tested.
3. Replacing: a new customer buys the remanufactured part
from the dealer.
Growing remanufacturing business
Remanufacturing engines, gear boxes and other spare parts is a growing trend and a growing part of the Volvo Group’s business. In 2015, total Volvo Group sales of remanufactured components amounted to SEK 8.3 billion, an increase of close to 20% com- pared with 2014.
The Volvo Group has more than 50 years of experience and eight remanufacturing centers worldwide handling used compo- nents from our whole range of products. The first center opened in 1960 in Flen, Sweden. Other centers are located in France, Japan, Brazil, US and China. In 2015 a new center in Bangalore, India, was inaugurated. The center will play an important role in the aftermarket offer for Volvo branded trucks, buses and con- struction equipment in the Indian market.
Remanufacturing is also contributing from a societal perspec- tive as it is more labor intensive than new production and demands high-skilled employees.
Remanufactured components are offered to Volvo Group cus- tomers worldwide. Through exchange, engines, gearboxes, exhaust filters and rear axle transmissions can be renovated to the same condition as new parts, and our range continues to increase. Cus- tomers benefit from the same quality and a full warranty, delivered at a lower price.
Environmentally, remanufacturing minimizes the need for raw materials. It also significantly reduces energy consumption and emissions. For example, a remanufactured engine saves up to 80% of the energy needed to build a new engine and dramatically cuts the emissions of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. It also ensures that potentially dangerous residuals inside worn compo- nents are dealt with correctly.