Were all for it.
In 2020 we published thefirst Polestar 2 Life Cycle Assessment, including its full methodology.
This prompted a critical response from within the car industry, which became known as Astongate.
It even hasits own Wikipedia page.
But fascinating though industry greenwashing scandals are, were more interested in what individuals think.
What better way to find out than to break the internets golden rule?
![[From the Polestar Life cycle assessment 2021. The grey and white bars represent the materials and battery production, and manufacturing emissions]](https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2021/11/Screenshot-2021-11-08-at-10.40.00-AM.png)
While it wasnt always an easy job criticism can be difficult to hear it was an illuminating experience.
And, in keeping with our commitment to transparency, wed like to share what we learned.
What we learned
A lot of people love EVs.
![[From the Polestar Life cycle assessment 2021. The orange bars represent the carbon footprint of the three Polestar 2 versions and Volvo XC40 ICE, with different electricity mixes in the Polestar 2 use phase.]](https://cdn0.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2021/11/Screenshot-2021-11-08-at-10.46.57-AM.png)
Some people dont like EVs at all.
A lot of people like the idea of EVs but are confused by all the claims and statistics.
So they have a lot of probing questions to ask.
Most of the critical responses we encountered fell into one of these three categories:
01.
Over its lifetime, an EV will always have a lower impact than its fossil fuel counterpart.
From thePolestar Life cycle assessment 2021.
And we plan to achieve this without offsets.
By driving an EV youre already making a difference, even if you have limited access to sustainable energy.
From the Polestar Life cycle assessment 2021.
Greenhouse gas emissions aside, EV batteries use risk materials like cobalt, and have a limited lifespan.
How can that be sustainable?
Risk materials like cobalt are indeed a serious concern.
We want them to be mined responsibly, with respect for human rights, local communities, and ecosystems.
More risk materials will follow.
This is a historic and exciting time for carmakers, an opportunity to seize the moment and do better.
Why we welcome scrutiny
Were delighted with our critics.
The fact is that significant change will only happen when consumers start demanding different results.
So to all the sustainability critics out there, like continue to not pull any punches.
This will help us to give you the right tools to make informed and ethical decisions.
Accelerating the shift to sustainable mobility by making electric driving a question of when, not if.
