Automotive Engineering - May 2023 - 32

Sustainability
in strong
supply
Design innovation and an exclusive new
tool for measuring carbon footprint
have made Adient a sustainability leader
among Tier-1s.
by Lindsay Brooke
S
ustainability no longer is a vague aspiration for OEMs and suppliers
looking for a 'green' veil. It's rapidly become a guiding tenet
of product innovation, and ESG progress, as the industry pushes
toward net-zero carbon goals in most major markets.
" Currently, it's coming mainly from the European OEMs and the
European legislature, " explained Mike Maddelein, VP engineering,
Americas, at seating systems Tier 1 Adient. " They're driving carbonfootprint
reduction and the industry is getting very, very serious about
it. The European OEMs are starting to specify sustainability targets in
their RFQs. " North America is probably two years behind, he believes,
but will follow Europe's sustainability plan - if not through direct legislation,
then by the OEMs themselves.
Maddelein, a 30-year seating-systems veteran, said sustainability in
product development is now determined by what he calls " specification
and regulation " set by the OEMs. The Scope 1, 2, and 3 guidelines,
though not mandates, are being cascaded down through the
vehicle makers' supply chains. [Scope 1 relates to direct greenhousegas
emissions from sources owned or controlled by a company, such
as manufacturing plants; Scope 2 are emissions from energy a company
purchases and consumes in its operations; Scope 3 emissions
are those associated with a company's activities including the emissions
of its supply chain.]
Adient's engineering team tracks the Scope guidelines and incorporates
them in its sourcing and product strategies. He said Scope 1 and
2 account for only about 10% of the company's sustainability footprint.
" The rest is all in materials, " he said.
Adient's 2022 Sustainability Report is a benchmark in terms of
clarity and message and provides a useful roadmap for suppliers just
32 May 2023
Adient is
investigating
a transition to
fully sustainable
electricity to further
decarbonize its
operations.
entering a sustainability regimen. The company's initiatives
have positioned it as a sustainability leader
among interior suppliers, according to an OEM customer
who spoke off the record with SAE Media.
Adient's commitment to sustainability starts at the
top, with CEO Doug DelGrosso and Adient VP Global
Sustainability, Tammi Dukes. Engineering champions
sustainability integration into product design as " one
of the pillars we look at to satisfy customer requirements, "
Maddelein said.
That pillar plays a key role in driving innovation at
the bill-of-material level, where roughly 70% of
Adient's seating cost resides.
The Carbon-Footprint Tool
As the focus on sustainability expands, the industry
still is without a common way of measuring and reporting
carbon footprint at the component level.
Adient also realized it needed a way to provide options
for its customers to reduce the carbon footprint
in the company's seats. Thus was born the Carbon
Footprint Tool, data-based software that shows a proprietary
link between product engineering, manufacturing
footprint and CO2 intensity. Developed by
Adient in-house, the tool takes the full bill of materials
and identifies the carbon footprint of every single part
in it. This gives designers, engineers and customers a
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
ADIENT
https://www.adient.com/about-us/sustainability/
Automotive Engineering - May 2023

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