Febelauto, a Belgium-based company that supports and informs all stakeholders to ensure proper collection, processing, and recycling of end-of-life vehicles and HEV batteries, emphasises the crucial role of strong partnerships within the automotive supply chain. By fostering transparency and shared sustainability goals, the industry can drive a circular economy that minimises waste, conserves resources, and strengthens industry resilience.
Collaboration and transparency throughout the supply chain is key to achieving sustainability goals. Close collaboration between suppliers, recyclers, policy makers and other stakeholders promotes responsible use of resources, reduces environmental impact and stimulates the circular economy.
Supply chains across the automotive industry have become highly globalised. The coronavirus, the war in Ukraine and the resulting rise in energy and raw material prices have caused a great deal of chaos in the sector. Awareness of the sector’s dependence on Russia, China and other autocratic states for raw materials and components is growing. Stricter environmental legislation is also driving an active search for greater transparency about suppliers, the raw materials supplied, the materials and components: what is in them? What is their origin? How are they processed? Are there sustainable alternatives? How are they transported and packaged?
Manufacturing sites and suppliers in the automotive sector are today subject to strict standards regarding CO2 emissions, energy efficiency, the use of climate-neutral energy, waste management and their social footprint. For example, Volvo works with up to 900 suppliers of materials and 7,400 suppliers of indirect products and services. Together they form the ‘Volvo Cars Sustainability Supply Chain Platform’. All these companies are thoroughly screened and evaluated. BMW also encourages suppliers to adhere to strict environmental and social standards with its ‘Circular Economy Procurement Guidelines’. By entering into such close partnerships based on shared values and sustainability principles, they create a more resilient and sustainable supply chain. Toyota, Ford and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance have also taken initiatives in this direction. Stellantis launched the ‘Supplier Sustainability Awards’ to recognize and reward suppliers that perform excellently in the areas of environmental management and social responsibility. The Volkswagen Group has the ambition to ensure that 95% of its suppliers have a positive ‘sustainability rating’ by 2040. Quite ambitious when you consider that they have 63,000 suppliers in 96 countries!
Vehicle manufacturers are also focusing more on the traceability of materials and components. This is certainly the case for battery packs. That is why they use blockchain technology to trace minerals (lithium, manganese, cobalt, graphite, mika and nickel) from source to end product and also to gain real-time insight into the movement of parts and components in their complex ‘supply chain’. After all, this technology makes it safe and efficient to exchange data between manufacturers, suppliers and distributors.
In the future, vehicles and HEV batteries will also be traced from production to the end of their life. The new European Battery Regulation and the new ELV proposal are already moving in that direction with their ‘Battery & Vehicle Passports’. This way, valuable raw materials can be retained in the chain and the circular economy can be stimulated. Because in the future, manufacturers will be required to reuse a percentage of their recycled material in the production of new vehicles.
Eco-design will therefore continue to grow in importance, but certainly also the traceability of all vehicles, components and materials and the sustainable collection and processing thereof with a view to reuse. And there is still a lot of work to be done! Because every year, 4 million vehicles disappear in the European Union… That is a lot of lost raw materials and materials. End-of-life vehicles still end up in the illegal circuit all too often – also in Belgium. They are exported or recycled outside our network in an unsustainable way.
Febelauto, therefore urgently calls on all governments and the sector to implement better-connected vehicle registration systems, ban the export of vehicles and illegal operators and strengthen cooperation between producers and recyclers. Only in this way can we keep valuable raw materials within Europe and support the circular economy.
Only by working together can we truly complete the circle.
This article was originally published at febelauto.be
