​​On the occasion of the current UN Climate Week, the sustainability officers from HELLA and Faurecia, Anke Sommermeyer and Rémi Daudin, report on FORVIA's climate targets and the contribution each employee must make to climate protection.

Tuesday 2022-09-20

FORVIA recently committed to the Science-based targets initiatives Net Zero standard as the first automotive company. What does it mean for our climate targets?

Rémi Daudin: The Net Zero standard is the most ambitious scientific based standard for climate targets. Following the standards means that by 2045, we have to reduce 90% of our absolute CO2 emissions. The remaining 10% must be captured from the atmosphere, e.g., by binding the CO2 in plastics of our interiors. To get the certification of our net zero targets was a big step: Independent experts have reviewed our climate targets and roadmaps and confirmed that we have ambitious, but realistic plans.

Anke Sommermeyer: As FORVIA, we start with an annual CO2 footprint of around 40 million tons in 2019. That equals the CO2 footprint of around 4 million European people. This shows that we as a company do have a huge impact. Our engagement on climate protection matters. Our challenging SBTi targets underline: The time to act to limit the global warming is now, this decade matters.

In 2025, so in less than 3 years, FORVIA targets to produce CO2 neutral in its factories. How are we doing on the execution front?

Rémi Daudin: We are on track with our CO2 reduction roadmaps, but there still is a way to go. To become CO2 neutral, one key lever is to use less energy. Our plants are working on this, Faurecia will achieve an 8% electricity reduction in 2022 compared to 2021. For the next year, we even plan to reduce 12% of our electricity needs. Considering the current European energy and gas crisis, we are also looking to replace as much gas as possible in our seven affected production processes. It looks promising. We will also electrify our building heating by using heat pumps as much as possible.

Anke Sommermeyer: Using less energy is key, but it is equally important to use it better: That means, as of 2025, we cannot use electricity from fossil sources any further, but need to operate as much as possible on renewable energy such as wind or solar power. This means, that basically we have to replace every outrunning energy contract with renewable energy options. Also, we are planning many photovoltaic systems at HELLA as well as at Faurecia.

Only a small amount of our emissions comes from our plants. More than 97 percent occur in our value chain; much of it is related to our products. What do we need to do to make our products more sustainable and thus meet our customers’ requirements?

Anke Sommermeyer: FORVIA products today already contribute to reduce the CO2 footprint of our customers, think for instance about how we contribute to the electrification of vehicles and the hydrogen mobility revolution. But that’s not enough: Ultimately, we have the objective to reach CO2 neutral products. Therefore, we must re-think the way we design, produce, and finally recycle our products – in a leaner, more efficient and more environmentally friendly way. For instance, the OEMs expect us to use more recycled plastics for our products instead of CO2-intense virgin material. One option to use recyclate could be the housing of a headlamp, which makes up around 1/3 of the plastics used for a headlamp. But there are challenges to overcome related to price and availability of recyclate on the international market.

Rémi Daudin: FORVIA targets to nearly halve the CO2 emissions of its products in this decade. Precisely, we aim to reduce our CO2 emissions by 46% by 2030 compared to 2019. Thus, we need to turn around all our products towards more frugal architectures made of sustainable materials to become more environmentally friendly. Each of our FORVIA products must contribute. And it is doable: We have, for instance, worked on the concept “Seat for the Planet”. The result is a seat with only half of its current CO2 footprint thanks to a lean architecture, green steel and plastics with recyclates. Our business division Sustainable Materials will help us to accelerate this transformation by developing solutions for FORVIA business groups and beyond. Our recent partnership with Veolia will support us in developing recycled materials and achieve an average of 30% recycled plastics for interior modules by 2025.

What actions do we take to align our stakeholders such as customers, peers or suppliers with our objectives?

Anke Sommermeyer: A key priority is to align with our customers on our roadmaps and priorities. We are in a very close and intense dialogue for instance with BMW, Daimler or Volvo who are among the leaders of the sustainability transformation in our industry. Also, we engage in industry-wide activities and exchange best practices via our networks, for instance in automotive business associations such as the VDA or the CLEPA.

Rémi Daudin: In addition, we are more and more engaging in dialogues with our suppliers and for instance calculate the CO2 footprint of our products. Today, we have more than 1700 CO2 emission factors available in our FACT database and several CO2 calculation tools adjusted to the needs of the business groups. Talking to our suppliers, we get more insights on the CO2 intensity of their materials and future reduction potential. Besides, FORVIA is cooperating closely with other leading sustainability organisations that want to move fast from different business sectors through pledges and networks such as the EpE (Enterprises for the Environment), Movin’On, We Mean Business coalition or the French Business Climate Pledge.

What’s your wish for FORVIA’s climate protection efforts?

Rémi Daudin: Not everyone has understood the urgency yet. We have to act now. Sustainability is not a job of a few FORVIA specialists. It is the duty for everyone and this is part of our business, every day and everywhere. I trust all our colleagues contribute and make a difference.

Anke Sommermeyer: I agree, we need to gain more speed. All employees can and should contribute to work on the critical and pressing issue of climate change for FORVIA and for our planet. And let us not forget: Sustainability is not only related to protecting our climate and environment. We are also addressing social and governmental issues such as how to better protect human rights within our supply chain. Thus, we aim to contribute to a sustainable and fair world for today’s and tomorrow’s generations.