Working to reduce any cars environmental footprint is a challenging and much needed assignment. It commences with the production of the car and should continue through the cars life cycle. Reducing the environmental footprint of any vehicle can only be accomplished by enhancing the effectiveness of its worldwide manufacturing process.

The Smart Car has tackled the environmental footprint crisis of cars unwaveringly.

Produced in France by the Mercedes Car Group, manufactured by smart GmbH and built in a very eco-friendly plant in Hambach, France, lovingly called “Smartville”.

Completed in October 1997, the Smartville plant was built on industrial waste lands and now includes a nature reserve, with rare plant species and landscaping for hundreds of trees.

Situated in the rolling green hills of the Lorraine region of France, even the Smartville plant's exterior façade is eco friendly and constructed from a material named Trespa, 80% of which comes from fast-growing European timber.

They've reduced materials like formaldehyde, CFC and asbestos and integrated Smartville with the environment.

Rain water from roofs are stored in tanks and use in tempering steel while other wastewater draining off roads and parking lots is run into the oil separation plants. Once there it is treated in storage basins and utilized for other functions. Wastewater from the plant's sanitary installations and industrial processes is purified and after purification, the water is used in the gardens and as a coolant during the production process.

Their production center has thermally insulated their buildings to diminish heat loss, thus using less energy.

At the same time the gas powered thermal energy station supplies hot water and certain electricity needs for the plant. Emissions are greatly reduced simply because it burns natural gas rather than conventional fuels and the efficiency of the system is boosted by reuse of waste heat.

All the materials used in the construction of the energy centre were checked against a list of environmentally harmful materials. The surplus heat from their injection molding equipment is employed to heat their paint booths and eliminates the need for cooling towers.

At Smartville, they use only water-soluble paint and powder-coating processes that eliminate solvents and curtails contaminants.

Smart, Gmbh and the Mercedes Group works closely with suppliers and source out parts in returnable containers. When wate is inevitable they collect it and recycle it.

Nearly all the components are made on-site, so it's no effort to get them from where they're made to the assembly line, cutting emissions by up to 95%.

Recycled materials as well as raw materials that can be reproduced are used in the manufacturing process of the Smart Car.

There is no use of poisonous metals, such as lead and cadmium, throughout the entire production process of the car. The result is that up to 95% of the Smart Car is suitable for recycling.

Environmental protection has been integrated into all the phases of development research for the production of the Smart Car and also in the planning of the factory, its systems and is one of the first cars which have been developed to the requirements of an environmental management system.