Here at Charged, we often call out the hypocrisy of automakers, which routinely issue platitudes about emissions reduction, butterflies and grandchildren, meanwhile continuing to lobby against environmental (and safety) regulations, lavishing investment and advertising on gas-guzzlers and, as GM and Ford have recently done, cancelling EV programs in response to dips in monthly sales figures (or political pressure?).

We’re skeptical of any and all greener-than-thou claims, but Polestar does seem to be making a sincere effort to reduce emissions across its entire manufacturing process. (Granted, Polestar is a very small, EV-only brand, and 75% of its sales are in the far greener markets of Europe.)

Polestar recently released its 2025 Sustainability Report, which details how the company has reduced its GHG emissions per sold car by 31% since 2020. During the same period, Polestar has grown annual retail sales to over 60,000 cars.

“As climate commitments slip across the car industry, policy signals waver and combustion engine investment continues, Polestar moves in the opposite direction,” claims the company. “Europe’s only pure EV company continues to deliver measurable progress instead of pledges, despite a volatile and challenged industry.”

The reduction in emissions reflects the company’s focus on increasing the use of renewable energy for battery production and manufacturing, and the use of low-carbon materials. Polestar 4 is the company’s lowest-carbon-footprint car to date, and increased sales of this model have been “a significant factor” in the emissions reduction.

“If you are not reducing emissions while growing, you are choosing not to,” said Michael Lohscheller, Polestar CEO. “Electrification delivers clear value for customers: lower running costs, lower emissions and greater peace of mind, as volatile oil prices and fuel scarcity mean pump anxiety is increasingly replacing range anxiety. As clean electricity scales, electric vehicles are becoming not just the sustainable choice, but the smarter, more reliable one.”

The company’s Polestar 0 project has the goal of producing a net-zero car without offsets by 2035. (Even Polestar has done a bit of backsliding—the original timeline was 2030.)

“The Polestar 0 project pushes us into new territory,” said Head of Sustainability Fredrika Klarén. “While much of the industry invests in hybrids and combustion engines, we focus on solutions that eliminate emissions entirely.”

In 2025, Polestar partnered with five Swedish higher education institutions and six companies to establish Mission 0 House, a center for emissions reduction research. Projects under development at Mission 0 House include:

• A large-scale pilot for ultra-low-emission steel
• Research on materials for batteries
• Development of bio-based textile alternatives
• Technologies to convert CO₂ into new materials

Source: Polestar