Fiat
Automóveis has offered a first look at an innovative
"green" design study built around the new Uno that was
announced last week: the Uno "Ecology" makes widespread
use of recycled materials as well as offering improved
consumption and fuel economy. At the same time Fiat has
also released a number of design sketches from the new
Uno project.The
Uno Ecology project has been developed entirely in
Brazil by Fiat's engineers at the Polo de
Desenvolvimento Giovanni Agnelli in Betim and will
feature a more frugal version of the new 1.0-litre "Evo"
petrol engine fitted to the "Way" version of the new
Uno, including the Start&Stop system that is being
rolled out across Fiat's model range in Europe. Inside,
the Uno Ecology makes widespread use of recycled
materials in the fabrics and plastic finishes, including
coconut fibres for the seats, and while Fiat Automóveis
hasn't officially detailed the car's technology yet, a
solar panel can be clearly seen integrated into the roof
section.
The Uno Ecology
arrives as Fiat Automóveis celebrates more than three
decades of a focus on "green" issues in Brazil. Since it
first set up a manufacturing presence in Brazil, in
1976, Fiat has marked its actuation by
socio-environmental responsibility and this guideline is
present in all its activities, covering from the project
of new products, the productive process and the use of
its vehicles. Today, the focus of attention is
concentrated on the development of less polluting
automobiles and in their recycling at the end of their
useful life. Now in the construction of Fiat’s plant,
water, waste and air treatment stations were installed.
In the 90’s, the
social responsibility actions were intensified. In 1989,
Fiat’s Ecology and Energy department was created. In
1991, Fiat was the first Brazilian company to eliminate
the substance, ascarel, in its productive process – with
an investment of USD 9 million to incinerate 442 tons of
substance, in England. In 1992, the water treatment
stations were reformed and expanded. In 1994, selective
collection and recycling of materials, in the Ecological
Island were implanted. In 1997, Fiat was the first
automotive company installed in Brazil to receive the
certificate of its Environmental Management system by
the ISO 14001 Norm.
World Class Manufacturing
Today, Fiat Automóveis adopts the production model
called “World Class Manufacturing”, whose guidelines are
applied to all plants of the Fiat Group in the world and
that is inspired on the lean production system practices
in main Japanese companies. The objective is to obtain
zero waste, with zero rework and no occurrence of
accidents. Environmental preoccupation is at the core of
this philosophy, with concepts applied from selective
collection up to the definition of industrial processes,
for example, with the elimination of wastes in the
chemical processes like that of painting. Another
example is in industrial architecture: the new designed
shed in Fiat’s current expansion already adopt
ecological bioclimatic concepts, with the usage of
natural lighting and natural ventilation and intelligent
systems of sanitary discharges.
Recycling
The Ecological Island is installed in an area of 30
thousand square meters, inside the plant, to where all
solid wastes generated in the productive process are
destined. There are 100 dedicated employees and a volume
of 400 tons per day of processed material. In 1996, each
automobile produced used to generate 400 kg of wastes.
Today, this volume was reduced to 210 kg. On the other
hand, the percentage of recycled waste went up from 70%
to 93%. All solid waste generated in the plant has an
environmentally correct destination. An example is the
Styrofoam box that Fiat receives as packaging of parts
and components. There are 4 tons per day. In 1995, a
pioneering technology was developed in the world for the
picking and condensation of Styrofoam, transforming it
into polystyrene, used as raw material for the
manufacture of plastic pieces like ball pens, shoe
soles, domestic utensils, etc. 100% of the Styrofoam
received by Fiat is recycled through this process. In
the last 10 years, the Ecological Island made feasible
the recycling of 16,000 tons of paper and cardboard
(which is equivalent to 320,000 trees), 16,000 tons of
plastic and 1,625 tons of Styrofoam (which corresponds
to 75 tons of petroleum).
Water
Water consumption in the productive process in 1996 used
to be 3 million cubic meters a year. In 2006, it was
reduced to half – 1.5 million. On the other hand, the
treated and recycled quantity of this water went up from
60% to 92% - and the goal is to reach 95%. Water
consumption per vehicle produced was reduced from 8
cubic meters to 3.2 cubic meters, between 1996 and 2006.
Fiat also controls totally the atmospheric emissions of
toxic gases, with post-combustors of paint drying ovens
that used up an investment of USD 11.5 million.
Less polluting automobiles
Now in the final product, Fiat records indexes way
beyond what the law sets forth in what refers to vehicle
emissions in gasoline driven vehicles, and it has a
great contribution to the environment with 100%
production of vehicles destined to the internal market
with the flex technology, with direct use of alcohol
fuel. It is also a pioneer in the tetra-fuel vehicle,
which can be operated by pure gasoline, gasoline with
alcohol, pure alcohol or vehicular natural gas (VNG).
Currently Fiat develops in partnership with Itaipu
Binacional, the Electric Palio project, with zero
atmospheric emission, with the objective of making
feasible the electric automobile on a productive scale.
Another program developed by Fiat (in Italy) is the
F.A.Re (Fiat Automotive Recycling), which makes feasible
the tracking of metallic and plastic parts for
intelligent recycling, that is, it allows the use of the
same material in successive applications. As example,
the plastic used in the bumper can be recycled for use
in pipelines and later in the vehicle’s air boxes and,
even, in rugs and internal coverings until its
incineration in a power generation process.
