My sustainable resolution for the New Year

I'm a car guy. There was almost never a day in my life that I haven't thought about cars in one way or another. One of my earliest memories is of "riding" around Vienna in a stroller, guessing the make of the cars parked on the side of the road and correcting my mother when she confused a Volvo with a Mercedes. This has happened many times.

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So in a few weeks I will be replacing my beloved 2007 Volvo C70 T5 convertible with something electric…. This is not the place to discuss opinions on electric vehicles. I am confident in this technology; I love driving them and there's no question about that. And I charge at home with 100% water-generated electricity (and PV-generated electricity in the near future).

And yet cars are important to me, I would love a nice electric Maserati or BMW or at least a Polestar or maybe a Genesis with prestige, space and performance. Something brand new and shiny.

At the same time, I advise clients on their journey to identifying sustainable raw materials, applying a rigorous template and strategy to find what they need.

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1. Describe carefully what is needed and create a spec sheet (= wish list) for a product that does not yet exist
2. The process I do
3. Find the best solution that makes economic sense

It's interesting that no one ever told me to find the following raw material:

1. Maybe something more convenient for one occasion once a year or
2. a product that comes from a manufacturer with a more prestigious name or
3. a product that has a purity of 99,99%, just to be sure it is there, although technical grade with 90% would be sufficient.

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That's when I asked myself why I don't lead by example in this personal project and use the same strategy that I use with my customers to find the most suitable electric vehicle for my purposes.

First, I created the spec sheet. This includes the ability to drive to the customer furthest from my home and back - on one battery charge - in freezing winter conditions. This includes comfortable seating for 4 people, a trunk that can carry 3-4 large sports bags for my football (US: soccer) kids or the weekly shopping. This includes a heat pump to be more efficient. This includes a light color to prevent the sun from heating the car more than necessary in summer. This included Apple CarPlay. This also includes good aerodynamics, therefore not an SUV. Finito.

I also didn't want to deal with the uncertainty of used car prices in the future, so I opted for a long-term rental of 2 years, which allows me to be flexible and adapt to my needs within a reasonable time frame. If I’d take sustainability seriously, then I would need to take a second-hand car instead of a brand new, shiny one.

Unfortunately I was unable to cheat so there was no prestige, a confidence booster, or a cool brand name on my personal spec sheet.

Surprisingly (or not), the result is a compact electric vehicle with a length of 4.26 m and a 62 kWh battery. Age: 2 years

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Nevertheless, I am still a car guy and this decision was not easy for me, believe me. I need to boost my confidence in other ways ??

Maybe I'll drive my old Volvo around town once or twice before handing it over to a new owner for its third life.

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