Miami-Dade County teams up with The Volvo Group to emphasize the need for sustainable solutions to reduce environmental footprint
(MIAMI, May 18, 2012) – Miami-Dade County joined The Volvo Group on May 17-18, 2012 in holding sustainability-related seminars during the Volvo Ocean Race stopover in Miami-Dade County. “Mobility and Quality of Life in Megacities,” was focused on transportation, infrastructure, environment and other challenges facing large urban areas. The second seminar, “Corporate Climate Summit 2012,” presented in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), fostered dialogue among business leaders about innovative strategies for reduced emissions and climate protection.
“Miami-Dade County is grateful to Volvo for bringing these important seminars to the Miami-Dade community,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “Moving goods and people efficiently contributes to our sustainability goals, building our local economy and improving the quality of life for our residents.”
Olof Persson, President and CEO of the Volvo Group, delivered the keynote address during the Corporate Climate Summit. “Environmental care is one of the Volvo Group’s core values,” said Persson. “Sustainability is critical to reducing the negative impact on the environment, but we must broaden its scope to include the economic and social point of view. I envision a transportation system that enables high productivity through energy-efficient solutions that are safe and secure for people and goods.”
Responsible Land Use and Smart Transportation is one of seven goal areas in Miami-Dade County’s sustainability plan, GreenPrint. It provides a roadmap for achieving a balanced multi-modal system through addressing local challenges both internal to County operations and external for municipalities and our development industry.
Earlier this year, Volvo Group expanded its climate savers commitment with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to include Volvo Buses and Volvo Construction Equipment. Under this commitment, Volvo Buses will expand the number of field tests with plug-in hybrid buses. The events were conducted in conjunction with the Volvo Ocean Race – the “Mount Everest of Sailing” and one of the most demanding team sporting events in the world. Miami is the only North American stopover during this race between 10 ports covering 39,000 nautical miles.
“Reducing emissions often results in improved efficiencies and cost savings, which provide economic and environmental benefits,” Persson said. “Our climate change challenge is significant. We hope more companies will commit to follow the leadership of those represented here today.”
More information on The Volvo Group: The Volvo Group’s vision is to become the world leader in sustainable transport solutions by continuously introducing safer and more efficient products and pioneering solutions. Part of Volvo Group’s sustainability commitment includes raising awareness about environmental issues.
The Volvo Group was the world’s first automotive manufacturer to join Climate Savers, the WWF program involving multinational companies in the battle to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Volvo Group committed to reducing the total amount of CO2 emitted during the lifetime of trucks manufactured and sold from 2009 to 2014 by 13 million tons compared with trucks manufactured in 2008. This agreement was expanded in January 2012 to include Volvo Construction Equipment and Volvo Buses.
The Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and services, and one of the world's leading producers of heavy-diesel engines (9-16 liter). The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. The Volvo Group, which employs almost 118,000 people, has production facilities in 19 countries and sells their products in more than 180 markets. Volvo Group sales for 2011 amounted to nearly $47.8 billion. The Volvo Group is a publicly-held company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Shares are listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange and are traded OTC in the U.S.