Sustainability sells: spotlight on Mercedes

Electric vehicles (EVs) tackle the problem of tailpipe emissions but raise fresh sustainability concerns in terms of their full lifecycle environmental impact. The production of these vehicles, and the batteries pivotal to their performance, is resource intensive. Most current battery technologies draw on rare-earth materials like lithium, cobalt and graphite, which carry well-publicised environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges.

To reduce the environmental impact and ensure that an electric future is also a sustainable one, circular economy approaches are gaining ground and Mercedes-Benz has emerged as a pioneer. The automaker is preparing for an all-electric line-up by the end of the decade and is backing that up with a holistic approach to the circular economy of battery systems. Central to this is a new battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim, Germany, designed to both slash resource consumption and bolster the brand’s sustainability credentials with consumers. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in March 2023, and operations should begin by the end of the year.