ABSTRACT
AB Volvo, at year-end 1998, is the largest industrial group in Scandinavia, with over 79,000 employees and 55 production plants in 26 countries. To the car-buying public, Volvo is well known for the core values of safety and quality related to all aspects of product concept, design, engineering, production and service. As an extension of its established commitment to high-quality, safe transportation, Volvo has for the first time since 1927 added a third core corporate value: 'Environmental Care'. Volvo's other major business segment, the commercial products industry, is expected to remain a growing sector globally, spurred by the requirements in developing nations for transportation systems infrastructure and the demand in industrialised areas for efficient urban mobility. Volvo is working to create a culture of openness and transparency of data, both internally and within its supply chain. In both personal dialogue and external publications, Volvo managers openly acknowledge the realities of transport as intrinsically environmentally destructive.
