By Isaac Ryu

Most known for its farm and lawn equipment, John Deere has committed to producing more sustainable products. Their sustainability goals range from using water responsibly in manufacturing to recycling 85% of waste. Their commitment to sustainability has been driven by the need to save Earth but also to revolutionize construction and agriculture according to the 2020 Sustainability Report.

Transitioning from products that are reliant on fuel to electricity has been apart of their efforts to create better products and reduce emissions.

Implementing technology such as eIVT, an electro-mechanical infinitely variable transmission, has allowed John Deere to put out more sustainable versions of their flagship models.

The transmission uses “durable electric drives” instead of “traditional hydraulic modules” which depends on liquids such as gasoline.

This new transmission has been applied to the 8RX four-track tractor which is said to be more efficient while also packing as much power as the previous iterations that depended on fuel.

John Deere isn’t the first company to work towards lowering emissions. Seemingly after the Volkswagen Emissions scandal several years ago, companies have looked to create more fuel efficient vehicles or are transitioning to fully electric vehicles.

It is safe to say that as technology progresses and as efforts to preserve Earth increase, large commercial vehicles that once relied on gasoline for fuel will phase out. Electric vehicles will become the new norm and the traditional tractor as we know it, will become fully reliant on electricity and perhaps reach a zero carbon emission threshold.