Chevrolet has met its carbon reduction goal of preventing 8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the earth’s atmosphere over the last five years. Launched in 2010, the brand’s voluntary goal of engaging communities across America encompassed 38 projects, a $40 million investment, and led to creation of a self-sustaining clean-energy conversation with college students.

The brand collaborated with hundreds of climate stakeholders and supported carbon-reducing projects in 29 states including helping a landfill heat a hospital with methane gas and helping truckers avoid idling their engines at rest stops.

Chevy also retired all the carbon credits to benefit the climate instead of using them to offset emissions of its vehicles or operations.

To create long-term support for clean-energy projects going forward, Chevrolet expanded the carbon market by developing new methodologies enabling college campuses to draw on carbon credits from the voluntary carbon market to help further their large-scale energy efficiency efforts.

This effort earned the automaker an EPA Climate Leadership Award for Innovative Partnerships and received the Top Project of the Year Award in the Environmental Leader Product and Project Awards in 2015. The carbon-reduction initiative also helped Chevrolet debut on Interbrand’s Best Global Green Brands report.

Photo credit: Chevy Volt via Shutterstock