CSO Insights: How auto giant General Motors is driving EV adoption

Nov 14, 2025

Cassandra Garber, Chief Sustainability Officer at General Motors, discusses her vital role in leading the company towards a zero-emissions future. She emphasizes GM's commitment to breaking down barriers to electric vehicle adoption, focusing on the 'three Cs': cost, charging infrastructure, and public perception of complexity. Cassandra also shares insights on localizing battery supply, bi-directional charging, and aligning business strategies with sustainability goals. Her personal motivation shines through as she details her journey in the EV space and GM's ambitious sustainability vision.

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INSIGHT

Sustainability Aligned With Business Strategy

GM aligns its sustainability and business strategy by prioritizing a profitable, zero-emissions all‑electric future.
Reducing Scope 3 (use-of-sold-products) emissions through EV adoption is the company's most material climate lever.

ADVICE

Lock In Renewable Power Now

Secure renewable electricity contracts early to lock in supply and price advantages.
Invest now in renewables and innovative deals to protect against future scarcity and rising demand.

ANECDOTE

EV Lineup Covers Every Lifestyle

GM now offers 14 EV models to meet diverse wallets and lifestyles, from affordable Chevy Bolt to luxury Cadillac Escalade IQ.
More than half of GM's EV buyers are new to the brand, helping grow market share and business value.

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In this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we're talking to Cassandra Garber, Chief Sustainability Officer of General Motors, one of the world's largest car companies.

The interview is the latest installment in our CSO Insights podcast series, where we interview CSOs around the world about how they're navigating the changing sustainability landscape. The sustainability space has been through enormous transformation in recent years and CSOs have a front-row seat to this evolution.

Transportation is considered one of the hard-to-abate sectors because most forms of transportation burn fossil fuels for energy. In the episode, Cassandra outlines GM's commitment to a zero-emissions, all-electric future and how the company is breaking down barriers to electric vehicle adoption — what she calls the "three Cs" of cost, charging infrastructure, and the perception that EVs are complicated.

"Reducing those tailpipe emissions and focusing on EV adoption makes our business strategy and sustainability strategy incredibly aligned," Cassandra says. "That is by far what we're focused on the most: How are we breaking down the barriers to EV adoption because it's good for business and society."

This interview took place on the sidelines of The Nest Climate Campus, where the All Things Sustainable podcast was an official media partner during Climate Week NYC 2025.

Listen to other episodes in the CSO Insights podcast series:

CSO Insights: Singapore's biggest bank on the 'business imperative' of climate action

CSO Insights: How a big Malaysian bank balances climate, nature, human rights and economic inclusion

CSO Insights: How sustainability pullback is playing out in Southeast Asia

Listen to our episode What to expect from COP30

Learn about the Global Carbon Markets Conference from S&P Global Commodity Insights taking place in Barcelona shortly after COP30.

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1 and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.

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