Achieving sustainability in the automotive value chain

What sustainability challenges are driving change?

The world is in urgent need of more sustainable human behaviour and society is demanding that companies take their responsibility. Working to a more sustainable world requires companies to develop activities related to responsible supply-chains, circular economy and reduction of carbon emissions. 

All companies are reviewing the sustainability of their supply chains from an ethical, environmental and human rights perspective. The identification and mitigation of risk requires a due diligence approach throughout the value chain.

We all have to reduce human impact on the world, which means conserving resources and migrating to the circular economy.

As we move into an era of electrification for transport, in which use-phase emissions will reduce to near zero, focus has turned to the CO₂ emissions from production of the materials used in the manufacture of vehicles.

Why car-makers need reduced CO₂ footprint steel

With global attention focused on climate change, reducing CO₂ emissions is a key target for the automotive value chain. With up to 50% of the weight of a vehicle being made from steel, it is clear that steel contributes significantly to overall embodied carbon. By reducing manufacturing emissions, the steel industry can support the value chain in delivering on decarbonisation targets.

The embodied carbon of steel derives primarily from CO₂ emissions during the extraction of iron from its ore and its conversion to steel. There are many possible technological solutions and scenarios that could enable a transition to carbon-neutral steel-making. Above all, maintaining product quality and ensuring the availability of a full range of products is essential for the next generation of safe, light-weight vehicles.

Tata Steel is focused on technological solutions that achieve a rapid pace of decarbonisation while maintaining the availability of a full range of products during the transition. Because of an expected increase in global steel demand and absence of sufficient scrap until at least 2100, primary steel will be required for the coming decades. That is why we are developing ground-breaking technology to minimise CO₂ emissions in primary steelmaking.

Are you interested in better understanding of the life cycle performance of steel?

A life cycle assessment (LCA) considers all aspects of CO₂ performance from iron extraction, manufacture of steel and processing into parts, vehicle use, and recovery and recycling at end of life.

LCA is based on a fully itemised inventory of materials, energy sources and resource efficiency (e.g. yield) and considers the CO₂ impact of each phase.

LCA is an ideal tool for identification of opportunities for CO₂ emission reduction during, for example, part manufacture. This could include how parts are formed in the press, yield improvement or right-first-time opportunities, or changes to the way parts are designed including the type of steel used.

Our award-winning specialists have many years of experience in life cycle assessment and offer an expert LCA service to support material selection and part-manufacture decision-making for automotive applications.