Introduction
Automatic vehicles are used across the globe for transportation from one point to another. The automotive industry comprising of passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks are a key source of pollution the in the world, comprising of ozone, particulate matter, in addition to other smog-forming emissions. Notably, passenger vehicles are a key contributor to pollution, generating substantial amounts of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides, in addition to other pollution. Statistics indicate that transportation constituted more than 50 percent of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, as well as approximately 25 percent of the hydrocarbons discharged to the air (Holdsworth, 2018). In this regard, in recent years, automotive corporations have made significant efforts to develop innovations and technologies that provide means of diminishing transportation-associated air pollution and climate change emissions. An emission reductions level from automotive vehicles is pivotal for attaining air quality standards and safeguarding the environment.
One company that has been on the front position of steering sustainability is Valeo, a corporation based in France that partakes in the manufacturing of automotive parts. The company manufactures and unveils products that help auto makers in the reduction of emissions. Based on Forbes, Valeo is ranked as the third most sustainable company in the world with a sustainability score of 83.6 percent (Strauss, 2018). As an international automotive supplier, Valeo operates in 33 different nations in designing innovative technologies as well as systems that will ensure that vehicles of tomorrow are more natural, self-sufficient, connected and environmentally friendly. Key sustainability figures in Valeo’s website indicate that the company has spent 17.2 million euros in environmental protection and investment and another 1.9 billion euros spent in research and development. What is more, the company has made significant investments on its employees for further growth and advancement by the company as it has spent 2.2 million training hours in the 2017 fiscal year....
Most of all, in the past five years, Valeo has facilitated a 5 percent direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions declined since 2009 (Valeo, 2018).
Strategies of Natural Capitalism
Valeo has ventured into different areas of Natural Capitalism in their fundamental objective of becoming more sustainable and environmentally friendly corporation. One of the strategies of natural capitalism that Valeo has delved into is radical resource productivity. This is an approach of preserving natural sustainability by employing approaches such as diminishing depletion, decreasing pollution, or underpinning of economies. Valeo creates innovative products as well as systems that facilitate the protection of the environment, diminish carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in addition to the promotion of the development of intuitive, connected and more autonomous driving. A fitting instance is the transmission automation innovation. Numerous technologies add to this feature including automatic transmissions, automated manual transmissions and double clutch transmissions. Notably, the double clutch transmission decreases carbon dioxide emissions by between 6 percent and 10 percent as compared to traditional or customary automatic transmissions. Valeo has invented the wet and dry double clutch technologies. Valeo has designed a Dry Double Clutch module with lesser CO2 intake and discharges than a Wet Double Clutch. What is more, its design features less constituents than rival products, which makes it more dependable.
A second dimension of Natural Capitalism that is delved into by Valeo is biomimicry. In delineation, biomimicry is an approach that aids in facilitating the maintenance of environmental sustainability by incessant reuse of materials in closed sequences and eradication if toxicity. It lays emphasis on imitating the nature in systems and processes and attempting to utilize approaches through the use of nature to obtain resolutions to existing sustainability problems. Valeo has made significant efforts in creating bio-inspiration and biomimetic designs in its automotive…
