Geneva 10 November – Today at COP26, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) announced a partnership with the Catena-X Automotive Network representing 62 automotive industry members as well as the Rocky Mountain Institute, to develop a shared approach to measuring and exchanging Scope 3 carbon emissions information in automotive supply chains.
To reach net-zero emissions before 2050, all businesses must measure, account for and disclose carbon emissions. But the complex structure of automotive supply chains and a lack of a consistent approach for measuring emissions can make understanding and tracking the full extent of a company’s carbon footprint difficult.
Building on the WBCSD Carbon Transparency Partnership and its latest report launched yesterday at the climate conference, part of the SOS 1.5 project, stakeholders from across the automotive sector will develop a new methodology to enable collective action and increase transparency around Scope 3 emissions within the car industry. This collaborative effort will support business climate action with a comprehensive technical infrastructure for sharing granular, consistent and verified product-level data on primary emissions among manufacturers of automotive parts.
Automotive manufacturers already have established methods for calculating and reporting their company carbon footprint results in line with international standards such as the GHG Protocol and ISO 14040. As the industry is moving toward electric vehicles, the bulk of future emissions are expected to occur in the supply chain. The new methodology, to be developed by the partnership in 2022, will be crucial for exchanging data on most emitting commodities and parts, and for guiding collaboration around emissions reduction.
“The automotive industry is stepping up to the challenge of tackling the three most pressing global sustainability challenges our world faces – the climate emergency, the loss of nature and mounting inequality. Companies are racing to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and need a common framework for measuring and sharing Scope 3 carbon emissions to develop further accountability and action.”
Thomas Deloison, Director, Mobility, WBCSD
“A shared Scope 3 carbon accounting methodology is fundamental to enter a carbon-differentiated product economy.“
Paolo Natali, Principal Climate Intelligence, Rocky Mountain Institute
“Data is a driving force – also when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. We are creating a data ecosystem that allows for the aggregation of real-time and transparent emission information of all contributors along the automotive value chain. Integrated Data analytics services will serve as a lever to identify further reduction potentials.”
Hagen Heubach, Member of the Board Catena-X Automotive Network e.V. and Global Vice President Industry Business Unit Automotive, SAP
“Carbon accounting is becoming a key source of information to sustainably design value chains, products and business models. Fast, focused and standardized data on Scope 3 emissions are hereby crucial to tackle the right levers with the right measures without an overburdening bureaucracy.”
Dr. Steffen Schwartz-Höfler, Head of Group Sustainability, Continental
Stakeholders from the industry are encouraged to reach out and join forces to advance toward the vision of recognized and credible, primary data-based emission exchange in the automotive value chain and beyond.
For more information, please get in touch with Julia Mitic.
