Volvo's Vanessa Butani on Mastering Sustainability Beyond EVs

What does it actually mean to build a sustainable car? Not just one that sips electricity — but one whose steel, aluminum, and plastics are tracked from mine to scrapyard and back again. Craig Cole and co-host Sam Abuelsamid sit down with Vanessa Butani, Head of Global Sustainability at Volvo Cars, to explore the work happening long before a car reaches the showroom. Topics include Volvo's first-of-its-kind battery passport, closed-loop steel recycling, mega-casting, ocean plastics, and the surprisingly murky math around biofuels. Plus: with EVs approaching price parity with combustion vehicles, what's really holding buyers back?

Chapters

0:00 Introduction

3:23 Volvo's Approach to Sustainability

6:55 The Battery Passport Explained

12:57 Climate-Neutral Manufacturing

16:43 Recycled Materials & Mega-Casting

21:42 EVs, PHEVs & the Case Against Biofuels

29:04 Interior Materials & Ocean Plastics

37:01 Conclusions

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