Our Energy Strategy

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At General Motors we are working to reduce Scope 2 emissions which are indirect carbon emissions resulting from purchased energy. A way to reduce these emissions is through alternative sources of energy that produce no carbon emissions during energy production.

Our commitment to  renewable electricity use began more than two decades ago and is expected to culminate by 2035 when we plan to source 100 percent of renewable electricity globally. In 2022, we announced that we had finalized the energy sourcing agreements required to secure 100% of the energy needed to power all of our U.S. sites with renewable electricity by end of 2025.¹

When investing in assets that generate renewable energy, we aim to do so near our facilities to maximize their localized emissions reduction impact. As a founding member of the Emissions First Partnership, we advocate for critical updates to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol corporate accounting standards that enable even greater Scope 2 emissions reduction impact by recognizing the importance of two key variables: location and time. Check out our sustainability report to see a map of locations where we have invested in renewable resources including on-site generation, utility green tariffs, and power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Graphic with white letters listing that GM will be 100 percent electricity sourced from RE globally by 2040 on a blue background

Our four-pillar renewable energy strategy focuses on the need for actions beyond procurement to enable a cleaner grid in the future. The ultimate goal of this strategy is to ensure that the volume of electricity procured for our sites will eventually come from 100 percent renewable energy sources by:

1Improving Energy Efficiency

Reducing overall energy use by lowering intensity levels and operational loads at our facilities.

2Sourcing Renewables

Supporting the growth of renewable energy through direct investments, on-site generation, green tariffs and power purchase agreements

3Addressing Reliability and Resiliency

Procuring reliable energy through robust infrastructure, securing redundant and reliable power supply, and exploring options like energy storage to address intermittency.

4Policy Advocacy

Advocating for policies that support resilient, carbon-free energy systems, drive down renewable energy costs and increase availability of renewable energy assets.

It takes scale to drive down cost. Leveraging policy advocacy and collaboration with efforts like the Clean Energy Buyers Alliance (CEBA), Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3), ZEROgrid Initiative, and the Emissions First Partnership help to drive momentum. For example, VP3 supports the development of virtual power plant (or VPP) markets. A VPP is cloud-based technology that consolidates distributed energy resources (DERs) from different locations—such as renewable energy production, stationary battery storage or a plugged-in EV— and provides energy and services back to the grid. Vehicle-grid integration and services associated with electrification provide complementary strategies to reimagining local distribution grids.

To learn more about all our sustainability commitments and how we are driving toward a zero-emissions future, view our latest sustainability report.

¹Based on forecasted renewable energy sourced through executed agreements, subject to change depending on actual future electric usage in operations and actual future renewable generation.