The automotive industry is in a deep crisis. According to a recent study by the CAR research institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen, global sales of new cars could fall by a good 5 percent to 79.5 million units this year. There wasn't even such a sharp slump during the 2008 financial crisis.

The engine stutters — innovation is the only answer

There are many reasons for this. Factors such as trade disputes, Brexit and the stagnating Chinese market certainly play a role. In addition to the diesel affair, which has cost manufacturers not only money but also trust, it is primarily the trend towards electric mobility and climate protection goals that are putting pressure on the industry. According to current EU requirements, CO2 emissions from new cars are to fall by 37.5 percent between 2021 and 2030. According to today's standards, nine out of ten cars would then no longer be sold. Investments in sustainability and environmental protection are therefore also investments in one's own competitiveness.

Seeing sustainability not as a burden but as an opportunity to innovate

Anyone who does this is changing their company and positioning it correctly for the future. Finding your own “purpose” not only takes account of the population's increasing environmental awareness, but is also the basis for sustainable product development and the identity of employees. According to a study by Accenture, companies that see sustainability as an opportunity for innovation are already more successful on the market today: The demand for climate-positive business models and technologies is increasing worldwide. The export-oriented German automotive industry would do well not to miss out on this trend as well, but to offer holistic sustainable solutions. It is not enough to slightly improve energy efficiency in production facilities or — as before — treat recycling exclusively as downcycling or exporting recyclable materials to other countries.

The car as a real raw material depot — upcycling instead of downcycling

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume recently postulated that cars will be manufactured CO2-neutrally by 2030 and will be 100 percent recyclable. For this to succeed, however, the supply chain must be reorganized and genuine recyclability, i.e. upcycling rather than just downcycling, must become a feature of product design. The necessary design principle, which focuses on precisely these features, is the “Cradle to Cradle” (C2C for short) approach promoted by EPEA — Part of Drees & Sommer. In essence, the aim is to use raw materials for products and processes in such a way that they are either retained in the same quality or can be returned to a biological or technical cycle in a completely degradable way. The C2C design principle forms the basis for the progressive transformation of our industries from linear to circular economy. The potential is considerable when you consider that a car consists of up to 40,000 parts, 1,000 materials and 10,000 chemicals. If C2C is already taken into account as an essential criterion in product design, the car will become a real “material bank” that will pay off for manufacturers in the medium term through more effective material selection, higher recycling rates and reduced use of resources. In addition to the economic benefits, a recent study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation clearly shows that without the CO2 savings sustained by the Circular Economy, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees cannot be achieved.

Why not think ahead: Cars that benefit the environment rather than harm?

The example from ZF shows that cradle to cradle is no longer a foreign word for industrial companies. At the Bielefeld site, EPEA supported the implementation of the C2C design principle when remanufacturing used drive components. For this, the location was awarded the Environmental and Climate Protection Prize last year. In addition, there are already innovations on the market today that could make cars useful for the environment instead of just less harmful, such as the EPEA proposal for particulate matter binding coatings on the underbody of cars. Anyone who incorporates these ways of thinking into their strategic orientations will also directly link sustainability to corporate success — and not as a mandatory “add-on”, as is often the case today.

Professor Dr. Michael Braungart has on 25.10. in the Future Report”The car as a raw material depot“presented.

For more information, see:

https://veranstaltungen.handelsblatt.com/autogipfel/koennen-autos-die-umwelt-retten/