General Motors is Betting Sustainability is Key to its Future

On the evening of June 12^th, Dr. Lawrence Burns, Vice President of General Motors Research and Development and Strategic Planning, spoke to a crowd of students from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs' MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program and members of the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC).

The talk was organized by Nancy Degnan, Executive Director of CERC, and Louise Rosen, Associate Director of the MPA-ESP program.  The Director of the MPA-ESP program, Steven Cohen, argued in his introduction that "cars are here to stay."  Thus, the evening focused on how to make cars more environmentally sound and now GM is trying to grow its sustainability.

Connecting sustainability at GM with the MPA-ESP program demonstrates a fundamental part of the MPA-ESP program.  The twelve-month intensive program trains students to become sophisticated public managers and policymakers who apply innovative, systems-based thinking to environmental and sustainable development issues. The program recognizes that social and economic processes interconnect to both sustain and endanger the planet.  Attending events such as these is a unique part of the MPA-ESP program as students have a chance to both learn and to share their insights with people such as Dr. Burns.

According to Burns, GM is at the forefront of the eco-friendlier car movement.  His presentation outlined the economical incentives behind making cars eco-friendlier, noting that sustainability is "not costing us money; it's saving us money."  Despite rising gas prices, car sales are not decreasing and are projected to rise by 38 percent in 2017, and the automotive industry is being pushed to find ways to make itself greener.

To face the challenges of sustainability, energy resources, and environmental impacts, GM has developed strategies of diversifying energy and making its vehicles more energy-efficient.  "We're going to have to get away from petroleum," said Burns as he introduced alternative energy sources.  In order to displace petroleum, reduce emissions, and improve efficiency, Burns' division at GM is attempting to make the automotive industry a more environmentally responsible and sustainable.

 After Burns' talk, guests were invited to ask questions.  MPA-ESP student Steven Caputo, Jr. asked whether the 'universal aspiration to own a car' works against sustainability because of the quantity of materials consumed in car production.  Caputo brought up congestion relief-referencing solutions such as mass-transit-in places like New York City where several bills have been in the works recently to discourage city driving by charging Manhattan drivers and commuters hefty fees.  Burns responded that personal ownership has always characterized the automotive industry, and addressed increased cost in manufacturing technologically advanced vehicles like hybrids.

Another MPA-ESP student, Joseph Katz asked: If companies and states collaborated to establish standard regulations, wouldn't car companies benefit?  Katz reasoned that companies would be able to invest in fewer car models to accommodate these more streamlined and cohesive state regulations.  Burns agreed that car companies would indeed benefit from this cooperation and collaboration-as would the green movement.

For more information on the MPA-ESP program, please contact Louise Rosen, Associate Director of the MPA-ESP Program and Director of the Office of Academic and Research Programs at the Earth Institute, at 212.854.0643 or via email at lar46@columbia.edu.