Next month, Volvo will show off its next electric vehicle. It's called the EX30, and it sounds like it will be what many readers have been asking for—a smaller EV. Volvo is keeping quiet about some of the car's details until it launches on June 7, but it is boasting about how much it has managed to reduce this new EV's carbon footprint.

In fact, Volvo says that at 200,000 km (124,275 miles), the EX30 will only be responsible for 30 tons of CO2. And yes, that's a life-cycle amount, which includes the carbon emitted during the production of the car, not just the carbon emitted as a result of recharging it.

It's a 25 percent reduction on the life-cycle carbon emissions of Volvo's next-smallest EVs, the XC40 and C40 crossovers.

"Our new EX30 is a big step in the right direction for our sustainability ambitions," said Anders Kärrberg, head of sustainability at Volvo. "By 2025, we aim to reduce our overall CO2 emissions per car by 40 percent from 2018 levels through a 50 percent reduction in overall tailpipe emissions and a 25 percent reduction in emissions from our operations, raw material sourcing and supply chain—all on the way toward our ambition of being a climate-neutral company by 2040."

One reason for the smaller footprint is, well, the EX30's smaller footprint. A small car uses fewer raw materials than a big one. But Volvo has also increased the content of recycled metals in the EX30's structure, and it uses more recycled plastics than any prior Volvo.

The interior features fabrics with recycled or renewable materials. There's a wool blend that includes a lot of recycled polyester, and Volvo has found a use for the short fibers that usually become waste when old denim is recycled.