SUNDERLAND, UK—Nissan has installed a 4.75-megawatt solar farm at its assembly plant here. Together with other renewable energy sources, the farm will generate enough power to build more than 31,000 cars every year.

DEARBORN, MI—Ford Motor Co. is developing new foam and plastic components using carbon dioxide as feedstock. Researchers expect to see the new biomaterials in production vehicles within five years.

PLANO, TX—Toyota will use solar panels at its Texas headquarters, which is currently under construction, to get 25 percent of its power from the sun.

DEARBORN, MI—Ford Motor Co. is formulating and testing new foam and plastic components that uses carbon dioxide as feedstock. Formulated with up to 50 percent CO₂-based polyols, the new materials could reduce petroleum use by more than 600 million pounds annually.

GAITHERSBURG, MD—The National Institute of Standards and Technology has created a new international standard that maps environmental aspects of manufacturing processes.

BENTON HARBOR, MI—Whirlpool Corp. plans to invest $14 million to build wind turbines at its assembly plants in Marion and Ottawa, OH.

BELVIDERE, IL—An online card game is motivating FCA assemblers here to reduce energy consumption.

DETROIT—General Motors is turning its employees’ recycled water bottles into noise-reducing fabric insulation that covers the engine in the Chevrolet Equinox. The bottles—collected from five of its Michigan facilities—are also being turned into air filtration components and insulation for winter coats for the homeless.

CUPERTINO, CA—Apple Inc. has developed a large-scale robotic line to disassemble returned iPhones. The line’s 29 free-standing robotic arms remove SIM card trays, screws, batteries, cameras and other parts for recycling.

HAGERSTOWN, MD—Volvo Group has installed a 5,000-panel solar canopy in the parking lot of its power train assembly plant here. The canopy will produce 1.3 megawatts of electricity for the facility.