THE SUSTAINABILITY INTERVIEW
RECYCLING BATTERIES FOR COMMERCIAL ENERGY STORAGE
Beyond the vehicle, GM is increasingly using EV batteries to provide commercial storage systems.
A partnership with Redwood Materials sees the Nevada-based manufacturer using US-made batteries from GM and second-life battery packs from GM EVs for energy storage. Cassandra says:“ We are using the same batteries that go into your vehicles to provide power for an AI data centre and the best part is those are second life batteries.
“ We have recycled 100 % of the batteries that have come back to us. If we can use those batteries when they have life left in them, giving them a use for energy storage well beyond the vehicle, that is incredible for the energy transition.”
SUSTAINABILITY IS SMART BUSINESS While the arguments and experiences are convincing, the shadow of a persistent belief looms over the energy transition – that sustainability is a lossmaking exercise.
CSOs still have to expend some of their( hopefully renewable) energy to debunk the myth and overcome“ bias in the space”, Cassandra says.
She adds:“ The main thing that I say in pretty much every business is that sustainability is smart business. In our strategy-on-a-slide, we talk about de-risking our business through decarbonisation.
“ We talk about making money and profitability by integrating sustainability in our products and we talk about our licence to operate by what we’ re doing from a community standpoint and how we’ re engaging our stakeholders. So we put a business lens over all of the things that we’ re doing.”
She tries to“ say things that really stick”, adding:“ Yes, in sustainability, we are tree huggers, but why can’ t they be money trees? We can all hug some money trees.
“ Saying things like that often sticks with people and it helps people realise that you’ re here to be a partner in a profitable business and doing it in a way that actually has societal value is a win-win.”
30 May 2026