Ludwigsburg – The production of CO₂ emissions (or CO₂-equivalent emissions) will establish itself as another relevant variable in the management of value chains in the automotive industry in the medium term. The authors of the e-book "CO₂ als Wettbewerbsfaktor in der automobilen Wertschöpfungskette" ("CO₂ as a competitive factor in the automotive value chain") are assuming what was now published by MHP together with the University of Pforzheim. "Up to now companies have been evaluating their supply chains primarily with KPIs [key performance indicators] on the efficiency of processes and on the quality of the results", states Eva Maria Streppel, consultant at MHP and one of the authors. "The CO₂ emissions along the value chain will also be considered in the future – with the aim of lowering these emissions."
There are mainly three reasons for this: First of all, more and more countries are drafting legal requirements, which focus on the environmental impacts of products and their manufacture – CO₂ generally plays a role here. Secondly, more and more customers are including sustainability aspects in their purchase decision. And thirdly more and more companies are recognizing their responsibility for environment and climate protection. OEMs and suppliers, who make emissions transparent and gradually lower emissions, gain competitive edges in view of this development.
Basic formula for the calculation of emissions
Although the willingness is generally there, most companies have failed so far to reliably determine the CO₂ emissions along the supply chain. In order to make it easier to calculate CO₂ emissions, the authors use a basic formula and calculation concept in the e-book. Using this formula and concept emissions can be calculated along the supply chain. The formulas are based on international norms and standards and include available tools and databases. For instance, a comprehensive overview of the status quo is provided during the assessment and calculation of the emissions, which gives both an introduction and in-depth analysis of the topic.
The free e-book is available to download from the MHP website: www.mhp.com/de/studien/. The following people are happy to answer any questions you may have on CO₂ as a factor in the automotive value chain:
- Eva Maria Streppel, Consultant at MHP (eva.streppel(at)mhp.com),
- Markus Wambach, Partner at MHP and responsible for the area of Supply Chain Management (markus.wambach(at)mhp.com), and
- Dr. Henning Hinderer, Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Pforzheim (henning.hinderer(at)hs-pforzheim.de).
