Skoda has three plants in Czech Republic: Vrchlabi, Kvasiny and Mlada Boleslav. Plant in Vrchlabi already adheres to the target 2050 - must not release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it helps to remove. The other two plants are on a path to join this target too. With transitioning to carbon neutrality and usage of recyclable materials, competitivness for these resources is rising for Skoda.

Company’s plant carbon neutrality is reflected in the amount of energy used in manufacturing one car. Skoda has reduced energy amount from 2010 by 1/3 to 1.38 megawatt hours per car. Even small things in manufacturing have effect on the amount of energy, for example: LED lighting or more efficient car painting. The main Skoda plant will transition till 2027 to using only biomass ( wood chips and phyto pellets) as a fuel instead of actuall usage of 70% of brown coal. This will reduce coal usage but increase power plant load.85% of car’s weight is now manufactured from recycled materials, which leads to a struggle for the sources of these materials between companies.

As the EU regulations are getting more strict, car manufacturers are starting to fight for recyclable resources. As an example of a recyclable part of Skoda cars are the bumpers. Bumpers are crushed and reused after to make new bumpers. Another example is using old matrasses or coffee bean husks for production of artificial leather in some car models.

Prepared by foreign office CzechTrade Seoul
Source: E15.cz