Volvo tossing single-use plastics at all events, facilities

Volvo will instead use more environmentally-friendly biodegradable products.

Volvo is going green, and not just with its cars. The Swedish automaker announced on Monday that it will remove all sing-use plastics from its offices, cafeterias and events across the world by the end of next year.

In place of single-use plastic items such as cups, food containers and cutlery, Volvo will use more sustainable options, like biodegradable products made of paper, pulp and wood. The automaker estimates the switch will remove the equivalent of 500 plastic items per employee per year.

"Plastics pollution is one of the great environmental challenges of our time,” said Stuart Templar, Director for Sustainability at Volvo Cars. "We take our responsibility seriously. We must play our part in helping tackle this global problem.”

By the end of this year Volvo will eliminate all plastic items from global events, as well as from the company's facilities in China, Belgium, the United States, Sweden and Malaysia. By 2019, Volvo's national sales companies will stop using single-use plastic items.

On the car front, Volvo has already announced plans for pure electrics to make up half of its global sales by 2025. By that same year Volvo hopes to only have climate-neutral manufacturing operations.