Research released today has shown that the automotive industry boasts the most consistently sustainable organisations. Ranked against leading companies already rated in the Dow Jones top 50 businesses for sustainability, automotive companies achieved the highest average score ahead of global brands from the energy utilities, food and beverages, ICT and oil and gas sectors.
The study recognised how companies within the motor industry manage sustainability throughout their supply chains, while tackling climate change and air quality issues through ongoing investment.
The Tomorrow’s Value Rating (TVR) 2013 reveals that sustainability leaders in the automotive sector continue to invest in innovation, develop partnerships and enhance their risk management so that sustainability remains central to their business performance.
In studying the sustainability practices and performance of companies in each sector, the analysis concentrates on five key areas: strategy, governance, innovation, engagement and value chain.
The results show that automotive businesses averaged a score of 70%, out-stripping all other sectors. In addition, the consistency of the sector was noted because, unlike in other sectors, there was a high convergence in scores, demonstrating the widespread use of sustainable practices in the sector.
BMW and Ford both scored 80% and retained their sustainability leadership position, while Fiat made an impressive debut, ranking third in the TVR listings.
Ivaylo Dimov, Consultant at Two Tomorrows, said, “Supply chain, carbon reduction and mobility dominate the sustainability agenda of auto manufacturers.
“It is now the norm for major manufacturers to push sustainability principles and standards down the supply chain and it is becoming increasingly important for suppliers to ensure they meet these customer requirements, often including independent certification.
“Incredible prototypes have been developed to improve comfort, safety and interaction with other technologies and infrastructure. The sector has developed communication technologies to increase the take-up of car-pooling and car-sharing. But big lifestyle-changing solutions are still far away.”
The report concluded that pursuing innovation in isolation won’t provide all the solutions. It explained that companies should strengthen their intra- and cross-sector collaboration and search for solutions outside the boundaries of their business.
The report identifies several emerging sustainability issues that industry is already well advanced in dealing with. These include ‘scope 3 CO2 emissions’ reporting, Use of sustainable materials in manufacturing, affordability of low-carbon vehicles, end-of-life recycling and recovery and building a sustainable mobility infrastructure.
Click through for the full automotive report, results and findings of the main TVR 2013, and of the other TVR sector studies, as well as details of the TVR methodology.
