Expo Milano 2015 opens its doors alongside FCA

 

Expo Milano 2015 opens tomorrow. From now until 31 October 2015, this Universal Exhibition will be showcasing the best of the world’s technologies that can hope to provide a concrete response to a vital need: guaranteeing healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone without harming our Planet and its delicate environmental balance. The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and CNH Industrial are taking part in this prestigious event as Official Global Partners. Their significant efforts in favour of a responsible management of business ventures and their products in three major areas such as automobiles, agriculture and transport provide a clear indication of how much they share the ideals of the greatest event ever held on food and nutrition.

 

The event’s central theme is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”, which also involves making mindful choices, promoting sustainable life styles, using state-of-the-art technologies and finding a balance between resource availability and its consumption. Sustainability runs through the entire event and FCA has always made it one of its top priorities. This stands out particularly in our products and our research and development activities as well as in our initiatives linked to sustainable mobility and our investments in the development of new vehicles capable of combining accessibility and innovation.

 

Further proof is provided by the video we have created for the Expo Milan 2015 which can be viewed by clicking on this link. Conceived by the Armando Testa agency, the film is an exciting alternation of natural landscapes and urban settings where the protagonists are people of different nationalities and ages. Appearing with them are also Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Jeep and Fiat Professional products, which ensure maximum freedom of movement while fully respecting the environment. While these striking images follow one another, an off-screen voice “dialogues” directly with the Earth, recalling how life is a journey that mankind undertook long ago. Now more than ever it is necessary to continue this path with the awareness that everyone is responsible for safeguarding the environment. FCA makes a commitment on several fronts and some of the important results achieved so far are shown in the manifesto video, which ends with the claim: “Life is a journey, let’s make it sustainable”.

 

The Expo Milan 2015 organisation relies on a fleet of FCA vehicles featuring low emissions and alternative fuels, which fully comply with sustainable mobility precepts. They will be used to accompany the many delegations of guests arriving from all over the world. The fleet comprises a total of 105 vehicles, of which 35 are already being used by the staff of Expo 2015 S.p.A. (ten Fiat 500L Living, four Fiat 500L Trekking and twenty-one methane-powered Fiat 500L Natural Power). Another 70 have been assigned to the delegations from the exhibiting countries: these include fifty Fiat 500L Natural Power, which can also run on bio-methane and ten electric Fiat 500e, for internal use around the exhibition area. Six Jeep Gran Cherokee, two Lancia Voyager and two Maserati Quattroporte are also on hand as official show cars.

 

In addition to producing increasingly sustainable products, FCA’s commitment to sustainability is also apparent in a series of initiatives and projects aiming to improve the experience of millions of our customers worldwide, of our around 300 thousand employees and over 3,000 supplier companies. These initiatives are clearly set out each year in FCA’s Sustainability Report that for over ten years now has been outlining the results the group has achieved along with its future goals. The latest edition describes the progress made by the Group in 2014, the year that marked the completion of the integration process between Fiat and Chrysler, which began in 2009. “The merging of the two groups has enabled us to become the world’s seventh largest automobile manufacturer and one which views sustainability as the best path to ensure value and dignity to the results achieved” claims Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA. The same commitment is reflected in the words of John Elkann, Chairman of FCA: “The creation of FCA has changed the destiny of our two companies forever, but it has not changed our commitment to responsible and sustainable development.”

 

The Group’s main results can be best appreciated in The 2014 Sustainability Report, which can be found at the following link. To get to know all the events and news concerning FCA’s involvement in Expo Milan 2015 one can refer to a special section of the Fcagroup website, accessible via this link.

 

Accessible solutions for all

Ecology and economics are two concepts which run side by side, and not just because there’s a direct correlation between a car’s emissions and its fuel consumption. In fact, according to the FCA Group, technological solutions that might reduce the environmental impact of cars must be made available to the largest number of people possible if they are to have a tangible effect. For FCA, making the most advanced solutions available to everyone is a non-negotiable value, so that innovation can translate into concrete advantages for both the environment and its customers.

 

FCA has always been in the front line in the development of alternative and affordable fuels by adopting a very clear strategy: investing in technological solutions that are easy to understand, simple to use and provide tangible short term benefits. That’s why the Group has decided to opt for methane, the cleanest and most economically viable fuel currently available, which is also a potentially renewable energy source thanks to the development of bio-methane: after all, from a well-to-wheel point of view, a bio-methane powered vehicle can achieve CO2 emission levels that are comparable to those of an electric vehicle.

 

Over the last 15 years, Fiat has created a new market which has only recently witnessed the appearance of other manufacturers, and it is currently the European leader for vehicles run on methane from the outset, with over 650,000 units sold since 1997. Today its range of methane vehicles boasts 12 models, which include both cars and commercial vehicles, and this has enabled the company to be awarded the Auto Europe 2014 award in the methane category.

 

The FCA strategy in the field of sustainable mobility also includes other innovative solutions based on their own next generation Multijet and MultiAir technologies which improve traditional propulsion engines (running on both petrol and diesel) in terms of both efficiency and emission reduction; the infomobility system UConnectTM with its My:CarTM app which guarantees a correct car maintenance program; the innovative twin-clutch automatic gearbox; the eco:Drive platform which analyses the driving style based on the data collected by the vehicle and provides personal suggestions on how to reduce consumption and emissions; the Start Stop system that reduces emissions and consumption on urban routes; and finally the new frontier for sustainable mobility represented by Enjoy, Eni’s Car Sharing service developed jointly with Fiat and Trenitalia.

 

Increasingly sustainable plants thanks to WCM

In 2014, FCA invested Euro 3.7 billion, 2.3 of which in the two most advanced and up-to-date FCA plants (Pernambuco, Brazil and Melfi, Italy), which will be manufacturing the new Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X.

 

One of the Group’s priorities is extending its World Class Manufacturing programme throughout FCA plants across the world, which will undoubtedly lead to improvements in both environmental protection and health and safety. The WCM is a very carefully thought out production process that involves the entire organisation, covering all phases of product production and distribution, and represents the tangible application of the environmental sustainability model developed by the Group.

 

Of the 112 industrial sites that have adopted the WCM program, 54 have been granted performance level awards: 38 have achieved Bronze medal status, 12 Silver and 4 Gold. Furthermore, between 2009 and 2014, 389 plants of FCA supplier companies introduced the WCM methodology: 259 are located in the EMEA area, 95 in LATAM and 42 in NAFTA.

 

Protection of natural resources

Over the course of 2014 approximately 48,000 projects were launched that were connected to WCM, many of which were aimed at reducing environmental impact and around 3,700 of these have brought about considerable reductions in natural resource consumption. For example, in 2014, the Group saved 3.3 billion m3 of water and reduced waste by 65 million kilos. It is also worth noting that 20.4% of the electricity used by the Group for its manufacturing processes worldwide is produced from renewable sources.

 

Biodiversity and respect for surrounding areas

Sustainability also involves taking care to preserve biodiversity in the areas surrounding the plants. A very important project that has this very goal in mind is currently underway at our Pernambuco plant (Brazil). To safeguard the eco-system and especially the local flora, FCA will be planting over 130,000 trees over the next few years, which will include a selection of 250 of the over 600 indigenous species. So far, we have planted 38,000 trees and the number will gradually increase thanks to the nursery built near the plant. The nursery will provide approximately 22,000 new trees every three months, ready to be planted by the local students during organised visits to the plant: this is a hands-on way of teaching the younger generations the importance of biodiversity and of the protection of their natural heritage. Similar initiatives are being run near the plant in Verrone (Italy), at the FCA head office in the USA (Auburn Hills, Michigan) and at the Indian FIAPL site in Rangajon.

 

Wellbeing of people and correct diet

FCA considers the health and well-being of its own workers to be a top priority in all its companies in all the countries in which it operates. All the social actions undertaken in the various areas are part and parcel of this: in 2014 alone, the Group donated over Euro 24 million to local communities.

 

In 2012, the “Health Promotion Programme” was launched, consisting of various projects developed and promoted both locally and centrally, with the aim of improving the physical and mental well-being of our employees and their families by making them aware of the importance of a healthy diet. The programme is based on the health and safety principles drawn up by the main international organisations, first and foremost the World Health Organisation (WHO), the American Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

 

Prestigious global awards

The Group’s commitment towards a responsible business management model has been acknowledged over the years by many sustainability rating organisations and agencies. Among the many rankings the Group can claim to be a part of, for the sixth year running, FCA has been confirmed not only in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI), but also as one of the leaders in the Italy 100 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) and in the Italy 100 Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI). Among the many other acknowledgements received by FCA, a special mentions should go to the “Lean Green Management Award 2014”, assigned to the Pomigliano d’Arco plant (Italy); the “AEA Environment Award” that has been granted to the “Árvore da Vida” program promoted by FCA Brazil and the “Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles Gold Award” that was awarded to FCA US.

 

Turin 30 April 2015