Do OEM’s and Tier Suppliers have a responsibility to reduce Carbon Emissions?

 

At a time when emissions are of high importance, it is imperative OEM’s and Tier Suppliers face up to the responsibility of reducing the environmental impact of their manufacturing and supply chain operations.

As we begin to see the shift from the combustion engine and head towards electrification, we need to consider the environmental impact of the inbound supply chain for manufacturing each vehicle not just the zero emissions of a finished vehicle.

OEM’s have to start analysing their supply chain and the logistics operations to reduce their carbon footprint.

Assessing the volume and frequency of trucks is one of the most important tasks. This is where they are burning the largest quantity of fossil fuels. It’s also where OEM’s and Tier Suppliers can make the biggest impact in reducing the carbon footprint.

Reducing the number of journeys in your inbound supply chain and reducing empty packaging weight will improve the quantity, flow of components and parts into the assembly plants.

Reviewing the packaging used throughout the supply chain can be the catalyst to reducing the carbon emissions produced. PLASTIC weighs a fraction of METAL. Plastic bins are capable of taking 900kgs each.

Replacing expendable cardboard and single use plastic packaging with intelligent returnable solutions can significantly improve the space utilization in trucks. This reduces the number of vehicles on the road as well as removes the process and environmental impact of disposing cardboard and plastic.

An additional benefit of shifting to returnables are the cost savings of reducing the number of trips and cost of disposing expendable packaging as well as the regular purchasing of single use materials.

 Can a pooling system help reduce the environmental impact? 

Investing in a pool of returnable bins or engaging a pooling partner will help you to reduce the number of empty miles in your supply chain. It can also be used by all tier suppliers and removes the requirement for single use packaging. Therefore, removing the environmental impact of disposing the items as well as the repeat purchase.

Your own pool of bins will allow you to transport the same quantity or more components per trailer and reducing the quantity of trips.

In one move you will reduce the quantity of fossil fuels burnt in the supply chain – significantly making your operation more environmentally friendly.

Partnering with a pooling company will remove empty miles from your operation. You will only require and pay for a single trip when transporting components to an assembly plant.

The packaging partner will collect the bins which will be used to transport goods from a nearby location, possibly in another industry. Removing the need for an empty trailer on the return journey, further reducing the emissions generated.

OEM’s and Tier Suppliers have a responsibility to do their best to reduce carbon emissions at every opportunity from the manufacturing of parts, transportation in the supply chain and assembly through to finished vehicles.