Greening The Car Industry

. . . fascinating and stimulating book, which is both comprehensive and partial in equal degree. Peter Wells, Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning Greening the Car Industry is an innovative book in the Varieties of Capitalism tradition. Its interviews and analysis offer rich insights into why the US car industry struggles, particularly on environmental impact, compared to Japanese and German firms. John Mikler shows that regulatory institutions matter, and how they matter. For the car industry at least, more collaborative forms of capitalism show more promise. Mikler gives us a masterpiece of regulatory scholarship. John Braithwaite, The Australian National University Corporations, including those in the car industry, are increasingly keen to proclaim their green credentials. But what motivates firms to reduce the environmental impact of their products? Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom, John Mikler addresses this question in a novel way by taking a comparative institutionalist approach informed by the Varieties of Capitalism literature. Focusing on Germany, the US and Japan, the author shows that national variations in capitalist relations of production are central to explaining how the car industry tackles the issue of climate change, such variations are crucial for understanding the normative as well as material basis for firms motivations. This ground-breaking book will be of great benefit to students and academics, particularly those with an interest in comparative politics, public policy and international political economy. It may also serve as a resource for courses on environmental politics and environmental management as well as aspects of international relations and business/management. Given the book s contemporary policy relevance, it will be a valuable reference for policy practitioners with an interest in industry policy, multinational corporations, the environment, and institutional approaches to comparative politics.

An examination of the greening of the automotive industry by the path dependence of countries and carmakers' trajectories. Three sources of path dependency can be detected: business models, consumer attitudes, and policy regulations. The automobile is changing and the race towards alternative driving systems has started!

Greening Auto Jobs: A Critical Analysis of the Green Job Solution details current and problematic understandings of what constitutes a "green job." Adopting an approach grounded in critical political economy, this book presents a framework to scrutinize the green job solution and the theoretical framework which overwhelmingly informs contemporary green job creation efforts and ecological modernization. The text also explores the tensions that encircle the world of work and environmental action, often referred to as "jobs versus the environment," by detailing the conflicting commitments of political-economic actors to the idea of green job creation. These conflicts are outlined through an examination of the political-economic debate that has surrounded the Australian Government’s environmental plans from 2008 to 2012 and the conflicting positions of Australian trade unions on environmentally transitioning the world of work. Interviews with key political-economic actors provide in-depth and nuanced understandings of the varied perspectives of political and union leaders in Australia. The second part of the book presents a detailed case study of the posited green job solution within the specific context of the Australian automotive manufacturing industry. The case study is also informed by interviews with key industry, union, and policymakers. The automotive industry is scrutinized not only because it has expressed going green as important to its long-term economic future, but because the Australian Government declared that its $6.2 billion "New Car Plan for a Greener Future" policy would create green jobs. Therefore, the book engages with the task of examining the three multinational vehicle producers operating in Australia—Ford, GM Holden, and Toyota—and how they have responded and engaged with the idea of green jobs, greening the manufacturing process, and the vehicles they produce in Australia.

This edited collection offers deeper understanding of the green and digital transition in the automotive industry. It explains how mobility products, services and business models are changing, the opportunities and threats correlated to this double transition as well as the competences and resources needed for firms in this fluid scenario. The book firstly provides an in-depth overview of the strategic and managerial implications for automotive and mobility incumbent firms. Chapters describe how sustainable technologies have been changing over time and identify the challenges of the shift imposed by the new competitive environment, such as the so-called servitization of the industry. The second section describes the new drivers of growth and profitability, such as open and collaborative innovation, and provides guidance on how incumbents can surf this turbulent landscape.

Green Composites for Automotive Applications presents cutting-edge, comprehensive reviews on the industrial applications of green composites. The book provides an elaborative assessment of both academic and industrial research on eco-design, durability issues, environmental performance, and future trends. Particular emphasis is placed on the processing and characterization of green composites, specific types of materials, such as thermoset and thermoplastic, nanocomposites, sandwich, and polymer biofoams. Additional sections cover lifecycle and risk analysis. As such, this book is an essential reference resource for R&D specialists working in materials science, automotive, chemical, and environmental engineering, as well as R&D managers in industry. Contains contributions from leading experts in the field Covers experimental, analytical and numerical analysis Deals with most important automotive aspects Provides a special section dedicated to lifecycle assessment

This book presents the current causes and effects of implementing sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) as well as green supply chain management (GSCM) strategies in the automotive industry. The reader is provided a detailed scientific review on SSCM and GSCM and presented the advantages of sustainable development concepts as well as factors causing the implementation of SSCM such as buyers’ behavior, governmental regulations, and competitiveness. The book then analyses the current situation of SSCM development, particularly in the automotive industry. It shows challenges, barriers, successes, and benefits that automotive companies obtain from implementing GSCM. Through case studies on leading German car manufacturers VW, BMW, and Daimler, the necessary activities of these companies to implement green development in the entire supply chain, including green supplier selection, green materials, green transportation, and reverse logistics, are defined. Moreover, a benchmark with companies from Asian markets such as Toyota from Japan and Geely from China is performed.

The Zero Carbon Car examines the hundreds of ways in which car manufacturers are trying to reduce our carbon footprint, and the adaptation of the automotive industry to changing technology in a world where environmental issues are becoming ever more prevalent. The book's in-depth research into green car technology shows that manufacturers make concerted efforts, but sometimes also defeat the gains of their innovation. Topics covered include: What is meant by the terms 'global warming' and 'green', and how these can be defined; An account of the long history of green automotive technology; Alternative fuels, including diesel and hydrogen; Developments in environmentally friendly engine technology; Electric cars; Environmental issues in material usage and car body manufacture. A wide-ranging survey of the hundreds of ways in which car manufacturers are trying to reduce our carbon footprint.Written in an easy-to-understand manner, the book enables the reader to fully understand what is meant by 'global warming'. Examines alternative fuels, material usage and the motive power options available to us. Superbly illustrated with 350 colour photographs.Brian Long is a professional writer and motoring historian with over sixty books to his credit.

How the objective of a resource-efficient low carbon economy is to be reached and how the transition is managed are the key issues addressed by this publication. The two main focuses are industrial policy and employment prospects on the road to a green economy that retains its industrial base. Any lasting recovery of the real economy will necessarily take the shape of a more resource-efficient production model. While we argue that only a more ambitious and comprehensive European climate policy framework would have a chance of delivering the broader 2050 climate targets, this does not mean that Europe has to give up its industrial base and its related competences. Several chapters of this book argue that the option of attaining a low-carbon economy through ‘deindustrialisation’ would prevent Europe from preserving its competitiveness and knowledge base, which are also essential for exploiting the potential of the emerging eco-industry. While decoupling economic growth from resource use is also possible with an industrial base that is more energy-and resource-efficient, this does require a fundamental shift in terms of how the economy is managed and how business decisions are made. Sustainable industrial and structural policies are needed also in order to ensure that this revolutionary process takes place in a socially balanced manner.