Sustainable Development Report: General Motors' Global Perspective

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of General Motors' sustainable development initiatives, examining the company's approach from a global perspective, with specific focus on its corporate headquarters, and its operations in the USA and UK. The report delves into the motivating factors behind GM's sustainability efforts, including corporate governance, economic incentives, and environmental considerations. It outlines the various programs and policies adopted by the company, such as those related to people, profit, and the planet, and details their future sustainability plans, including investments in electric vehicles and inclusive culture. The report further investigates the organizational-level perspectives of sustainability in both the USA and the UK, highlighting the specific motivating factors, programs, policies, and future plans relevant to each region, considering factors such as demographic trends and government regulations. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing GM's commitment to a sustainable and profitable future, focusing on innovation, technological advancements, and community engagement to drive positive change.

RUNNING HEAD: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 0
2020
Sustainable Development
Student’s Details-

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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Corporate Headquarters’ Perspective on Sustainability.............................................................3
Motivating Factors for Sustainable Approach........................................................................3
Adoption of Programs and Policies........................................................................................4
Future Sustainability Plans.....................................................................................................5
Organizational Level Perspective of Sustainability (USA).......................................................5
Motivating Factors for Sustainable Approach........................................................................5
Adoption of Programs and Policies........................................................................................6
Future Sustainability Plans.....................................................................................................7
Organizational Level Perspective of Sustainability (UK)..........................................................7
Motivating Factors Sustainable Approach.............................................................................7
Adoption of Policies and Programs........................................................................................8
Future Sustainability Plans.....................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Sustainable development is regarded as the process of meeting the human
development goals which makes sure that the future needs of the generations are not
compromised. This sustainable practice can be adopted by the business enterprises for
serving the needs of the stakeholders and also making the protective approach for enhancing
and sustaining of the human and natural resources which will be needed for the future (Sachs,
2015). Also, for the automobile industry, the sustainable approaches are undertaken through
the mitigation and control of the damages being caused with respect to the actions undertaken
for the environment protection. Here, the report is based on the sustainable development of
General Motors which is the American Multinational company that designs, manufactures
and makes the selling of the vehicles and vehicle parts with the corporate headquarters in
Detroit. As per the ninth annual sustainability report of the company, the company has kept
the promises of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion for making updates from
the employees, investors, advocate group and the policy makers (Korail, 2019). The report
will highlight the sustainable approach by corporate headquarters. Also, the report will throw
light on the sustainability perspectives of General Motors in USA and UK.
Corporate Headquarters’ Perspective on Sustainability
General Motors is the automobile company which is committed to facilitate the
people with safe and better delivery of the sustainable ways to get around. The company has
released sustainability report in 2018 ‘Transformation in Progress’ in which the company has
elaborated their approaches for the stakeholders and making the aggressive moves to achieve
the vision and cope up with the disruptions into the technology which can occur in
automobile industry (GM Sustainability, 2018). Also, the company has accounted for the
inclusive and customer focused culture that can lead to strong corporate image and increasing
transparency with the stakeholders.
Motivating Factors for Sustainable Approach
Sustainability has become important aspect for the businesses in which the businesses
takes into account the sustainability factors into the operations. There are factors that
motivate the sustainable factors of the company. Particularly, General Motors has created the
sustainable practices for the sticking with their corporate vision and gaining of the corporate
image. In the sustainability report of GM, the company has shown their approaches which

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shows their commitment towards the vision. The motivating factors for the sustainable
practices are the corporate governance structure, economic incentives and the environmental
related factors (Dey, Petridis, Malesios, Nixon, & Ghosh, 2018). General Motors has made
the actions for the sustainable business that focuses on the facilitation of the sustainable
transportation and made the labour relations stronger and also making the diversity inclusion
practices which can affect the sustainable practices of the company.
Besides, the factors of macro level such as political, economic, technological and
social factors which can affect the sustainable practices of the company and thereby leads to
the motivating factor for sustainability. General Motors gets affected by the economic growth
of the concerned country and the rate of disruptions into the technology which can affect the
sustainable practices through striving for innovation into the electric cars. In the light of
political factors, the company has made the polices for the climate change and addressed the
concerns for stakeholders. Besides, the company has made community engagements driven
by the social factors through the facilitation of educational opportunities through STEM
education which provides training opportunities (GM.com, 2020).
Adoption of Programs and Policies
General Motors has adopted various policies for acting as a sustainable company
worldwide. The following are some of the practices of the company:
People: This is concerned with the policies and programs which can make the
company socially responsible. General Motors has made the approaches for the talent
management and talent engagement in which the company has strengthened the corporate
culture. The policies and programs have been undertaken through the adoption of the diverse
workforce which can be brought up by the inclusive culture. The company has ranked firsts
in Gender Equality in workplace in 2018 (Korail, 2019).
Profit: Every company strives to make the corporate profit which makes the company
sustainable. General Motors is committed to make the sustainable profits through following
the mission. The company has made innovations and made and is using the transparent ways
for the investors which has made the company profitable. Also, the company has made the
profits by taking care of the investor relations.
Planet: The company makes the approaches for making the business responsible in
terms of environmentally sustainable behaviours. General Motors has made the goals to

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reduce the emissions by 31% and is aimed to make the planet healthier through the zero
emissions (General Motors, 2018). Moreover, zero emission is considered to be the
sustainable approach for the company in which the company has complied with carbon
emissions regulations all over the market.
Future Sustainability Plans
The plans for future sustainability can lead the company to more sustainable means
and also which can lead to the gaining of the profits. General Motors has made the aspirations
for the future by focusing on all electric future. The company is aspiring to make investments
in the next-generations battery vehicles and double the resources through investing in
autonomous vehicle programs. The company has made the investments in the personal
mobility in which the company will make rapid advancements in technology by disrupting
the traditional one. The company aspires to make the zero emissions for the future and is
continue to make investments into the talent (GM Sustainability, 2018). Not only this, the
company is striving to focus on the development of inclusive culture that brings diverse
perspective and innovative ideas which can later lead to the more sustainable and profitable
company.
Organizational Level Perspective of Sustainability (USA)
General Motors is engaged in the serving the customers through the providing value
and improve the communities in which the communities live and work. The company has
different sustainable approaches for the USA in which the company has not only created the
inclusive culture but also made the affordable electric car by pushing the limits of
engineering.
Motivating Factors for Sustainable Approach
The motivating factors for the sustainable approach in USA are the factors that can
affect the automobile industry. The changes in the demographic factors such as changes in
the needs of the different customers having variant age, gender and income. This can be the
motivating factor which can persuade the company to make sustainable approach for the
company (Toni, Renzi, & Mattia, 2018). Apart from this, General Motors is motivated to
make sustainable approach to be influenced by the government structure in which the policies
and regulations of the government pertaining to the automobile industry in USA can
influence the company to make the sustainable approaches.

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Additionally, there are five factors which can motivate the business to adopt the
sustainable approach for the company. Firstly, building of reputation can be the motivating
factor for General Motors to make the sustainable approach. As result, the company is treated
as America’s most just company which duly fulfils the social responsibility. Secondly,
getting competitive advantage can be the factor for sustainable approach. Thirdly, there are
ethical reasons behind the sustainability. General Motors has used the sustainability through
maintaining diversity and has helped their employees which has created a sustainable
approach. Fourthly, the company is forced to include the sustainable practices by the
stakeholders which compel the company to serve the needs of the stakeholders such as
customers, government, suppliers and employees (Korail, 2019). Lastly, the company’s
tendency of making profits and achieving the sustainable position into the market can affect
the decision of the company relating to the sustainable practices.
Adoption of Programs and Policies
General Motors (USA) has adopted policies and programs which shows the
sustainable operations of the company. The following are the approaches for the sustainable
practices:
People: The company has adopted the policies for the employees in which the
diversity is the major step undertaken by the company. The company has used inclusive
culture and often provided career opportunity to the professionals through STEM education.
The company has made community engagements which has created the social impact through
road safety and making funding for the individuals (GM.com, 2020).
Planet: With respect to their responsibility to the serving the people of nation, the
company has made the sustainable practices for the protection of the environment. The
company makes initiatives for protecting the environment through the zero-emission
initiative which is the program of the company to undertake safe and secured vehicles. The
company has made the environmentally friendly products which can lead to the more
sustainable practices of the company.
Profit: This part of sustainability focus on the earning of the sustainable profits which
has been part of the company’s sustainable practices. General Motors in USA has introduced
commercial introduction of commercial vehicle through the self-driving cars which has led to
the growth of the company (BBC News, 2020). Besides, the company strives for making
techniques for coping with disruptions into the technology.

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Future Sustainability Plans
Sustainability is the core for General Motors in which the company strives for making
the business accountable for the profitable results. The company will be focusing upon the
economic sustainability in which the company attempts to make the all-electric vehicle for
the customers. In United States, Chevrolet Bolt EV will be made through the 31000 charging
ports. Also, General Motors plans to make their Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) effective in
U.S. through making their vehicles to be incorporated in the ZEVs which is concerned to be
the increasing part of their portfolio to be made by 25 percent by 2030. For the community
enhancements, the company will make more improvements in the STEM education and also
make more promotion of the career opportunities through their campaign called “Drive
Change. Drive Electric” (General Motors Green, 2019). The company therefore strives to
make use of technology and sufficient resources which can drive sustainability and making
ahead to the vision through the use of means to remove the disruptions and the creation of
vast possibilities that will lead to a better world.
Organizational Level Perspective of Sustainability (UK)
In United Kingdom, General Motors has the Opel brand which operates in Europe.
The sustainable practices are similar to US and the crust of their sustainable position is their
approaches to be undertaken at the headquarter level. Moreover, the automobile industry in
UK makes a significant contribution in UK economy in which the environmental
performance of the vehicle is crucial.
Motivating Factors Sustainable Approach
In UK, the motivating factors for the sustainable approach can be understood through
the demographic trends and the government structure. The significant changes in
demographics in UK such as differences in age, gender, educational factors and income level
of the people can have an impact on the automobile industry (SMMT, 2018). The General
Motors has been motivated to make transformations into the auto-industry by serving it into
the talent and also allowing a fair and equitable pay. Besides, the role in government structure
is crucial in the sustainable improvements. With respect to this, General Motors is motivated
to comply with the environmental standards and regulations which are previously set by UK
government.

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Further, amongst the five motivating factors, the first motivating factor that lead to
sustainable practices by the company is attracting of the talented pool. Secondly, when the
company gets the opportunity in the maintaining of the corporate website through the
sustainable practices, then it attracts the maximum number of the investors and can be the
motivating factor for the sustainable approaches. Thirdly, there are different regulations and
ethical compliances relating to the environmental safety which can motivate the company to
make their vehicles emission free which is the sustainable practice for the company. Fourthly,
the company will make the sustainable approach for the creation of unique competitive
position into the market place which can be helpful for the company to make the sustainable
profits (3BL Media, 2017). Finally, the motivating factor can also be higher stakeholder
engagement which can compel the company to make the sustainable approaches and take
care of the interests of the stakeholders.
Adoption of Policies and Programs
There are policies and programs which are adopted by General Motors for their UK
organizational level. The company’s initiatives are described under following headings:
People: For making engagements with the people, the company has made initiatives
for the facilitation of the educational opportunities and have taken care of their employees
through the development of inclusive culture and is highly committed to free and equitable
pay. General Motors has signed the White House Equal Pay Pledge and offered internships
for the technical careers (3BL Media, 2017).
Planet: This part seeks to make the clarifications of the safety of environment.
General Motors has made initiatives for the environmental safety in which the company has
been driving towards zero waste. The company has undertaken the steps through the landfill
facilities and has reduced the waste by 27 percent since 2010 (3BL Media, 2017).
Profit: With regard to earning of the profits and fulfil the economic responsibility,
General Motors has made the corporate policies as part of the sustainability report in which
the company has accounted for transparency into the operations (GM Sustainability, 2018).
Apart from the maintenance of ethical conduct, the company has made the stronger supply
chains and also made their employees satisfied.

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Future Sustainability Plans
The future sustainability plans for the company can include the approach of the
company towards the clean-energy economy. The company is working for the sourcing of
electricity through the renewable energy. In this way, the company is making the efficient
manufacturing process through the reduction in the energy and carbon intensity. The
company is making the steps in improving the communities and bringing the volunteers
together through the environmental outreach. The safety plans also include the lower carbon
future through the light weighting which has certainly improved the customer’s fuel
efficiency (Autocar, 2018). Also, General Motors has made the initiatives for testing the
autonomous vehicles and is also making the sustainability approaches to make the easy
availability of the transportation to the disabled and elderly people.
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that the development of sustainability is the major step of
the company to show the sustainable operations and also making the business accountable for
the social results. Also, the company should gain the required resources for making the
business sustainable. Here, the report is based on the sustainable development of General
Motors which is the automobile company that maintains its sustainability and fulfils the
social responsibility through the issuing of the sustainability report. The report has described
the corporate headquarters’ sustainability perspective and the organizational level
sustainability perspective from the motivating factors of the company. The sustainability
approaches are described from the perspective of USA and UK branch of the company.

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