It’s never too late to start helping the environment.
And this is the perfect place to start.

Congratulations in taking the first step in helping to make our planet a healthier one. You’re already well on your way to confirming your commitment in doing something substantial for you and future generations by helping to reduce your car’s carbon footprint.

Have you ever considered the impact our cars have on the environment?

Every kilometer we drive, we’re all contributing to the growing world-wide problem of CO2 emissions and global warming.

WE CAN ONLY BECOME BLUE IF WE START GREEN

The average tree can absorb up to 18kg’s of CO2 in a year. This is done through a tree’s natural conversion of CO2 to wood material. In order to reduce your car’s carbon footprint, Sappi and Volvo have launched their GreenForBlue project. It’s an environmentally conscious initiative that begins with you. By sponsoring the planting of trees along our country’s highways, beginning with KwaZulu-Natal, you’ll be playing a major part in helping to reduce the amount of damaging CO2 in the air caused by your car. And, we’ll even be doing all the actual planting for you.

Once your payment has been made and confirmed, you will receive a certificate in the post confirming that your trees have been planted, and confirming your contribution towards reducing your car’s carbon footprint. We will also send you a GreenForBlue sticker for your car.

The amount of trees required to reduce your specific Volvo’s carbon footprint is:

DRIVe The drive towards zero

Volvo presents DRIVe - our 'green' car offer. All new low-CO2 Volvo's will be badged as DRIVe vehicles. We are continuously developing and striving towards zero emissions.

Now already with best-in-class CO2 levels.

Volvo's current innovative DRIVe models ( pronounced drive-e) make use of existing, affordable technology to right now reduce vehicle emissions as much as possible through fuel efficiency. All today's DRIVe models are equipped with a conventional diesel engine and manual gearbox optimised for extra-low fuel consumption. These cars are also tailored specifically for low rolling resistance and reduced air drag.

To further reduce CO2 emissions to as low as 104 g/km, some of Volvo's new DRIVe vehicles are equipped with the Start/Stop function.

Start/Stop works like this: When the driver puts the gear lever into neutral and releases the clutch while at standstill, the engine switches off. The next time the driver presses the clutch, the engine starts up again. Volvo's Start/Stop system also continuously monitors the comfort levels in the cabin and automatically reactivates the air conditioning if, for instance, the temperature increases in the passenger compartment.

This innovative monitoring system has been made possible due to an additional small battery which supports the larger battery by providing extra power. Thanks to this extra battery, Volvo's DRIVe models also feature particularly quick and smooth start-up. The audio system also remains unaffected when the starter motor is activated.

South Africa is looking forward to its first DRIVe model later this year, XC60 2.4 FWD DRIVe, followed by the launch of the car that won the prestigious What Car? Green Car of the Year award – the Volvo S40 1.6 DRIVe.

Go Green, Go Hybrid. The Future of DrivE

Volvo Car Corporation and Swedish energy company, Vattenfall, have launched an industrial joint venture partnership to introduce plug-in hybrids that can be charged directly from a standard wall socket by 2012. Volvo's plug-in hybrid cars will be driven by a powerful electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery. The battery takes about five hours to charge and also makes use of regenerative energy every time the car's brakes are applied. This ground-breaking technology will considerably lower the environmental impact of our cars.