Last week saw a very important milestone being achieved for the enhanced sustainability in the automotive industry. The European Automotive Working Group on Supply Chain Sustainability, which as of March 2014 consists of 10 leading automotive European companies, organized a Supply Chain workshop in Istanbul, Turkey.
Although individually each of these European companies adhere to sustainable principles, as a whole too, this Working group of automotive manufacturers, strictly follow Supply Chain sustainability. The Working Group consists of Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars, Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Volvo Group, Scania, Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Europe, BMW Group, Daimler AG, and PSA Peugeot Citroen.
This workshop was attended by almost 120 participants consisting of not only automakers & suppliers but local associations as well. Since it was held in Turkey, the event was co-hosted by the Turkish Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers, TAYSAD.
TAYSAD, is Turkey’s only accredited association for automotive components and parts for Turkish manufacturers. Founded in 1978, it has to date 350 members whose total gross turnover hovers around 22 Billion and the combined value of their exports touches 9 billion.
TAYSAD is very deeply integrated in the Turkish automotive industry with it being a founding partner of OTAM, which is Turkey’s Automotive Technology and Research Centre. TAYSAD represents 130.000 workforces of the industry. TAYSAD is a member of CLEPA and one of the founding partners of OTAM, which is Automotive Technology and Research Centre in Turkey.
This workshop saw many companies engage in in-depth dialog with their suppliers so as to more fully comprehend common irritants and integrate sustainable performance throughout the supply chain. Business ethics, working conditions and human rights was also discussed at length.
Speakers from the automotive trade body representing Volkswagen, the BMW Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Daimler and Volvo Cars, presented possible solutions to Enhanced Sustainability in Supply Chain management. Solutions to common challenges and strategies to overcome them was also discussed at length.
Stefan Crets, executive director of CSR Europe laid weightage to this avenue of discussion by saying:
Although individually each of these European companies adhere to sustainable principles, as a whole too, this Working group of automotive manufacturers, strictly follow Supply Chain sustainability. The Working Group consists of Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo Cars, Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Volvo Group, Scania, Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Europe, BMW Group, Daimler AG, and PSA Peugeot Citroen.
This workshop was attended by almost 120 participants consisting of not only automakers & suppliers but local associations as well. Since it was held in Turkey, the event was co-hosted by the Turkish Association of Automotive Parts and Components Manufacturers, TAYSAD.
TAYSAD, is Turkey’s only accredited association for automotive components and parts for Turkish manufacturers. Founded in 1978, it has to date 350 members whose total gross turnover hovers around 22 Billion and the combined value of their exports touches 9 billion.
TAYSAD is very deeply integrated in the Turkish automotive industry with it being a founding partner of OTAM, which is Turkey’s Automotive Technology and Research Centre. TAYSAD represents 130.000 workforces of the industry. TAYSAD is a member of CLEPA and one of the founding partners of OTAM, which is Automotive Technology and Research Centre in Turkey.
This workshop saw many companies engage in in-depth dialog with their suppliers so as to more fully comprehend common irritants and integrate sustainable performance throughout the supply chain. Business ethics, working conditions and human rights was also discussed at length.
Speakers from the automotive trade body representing Volkswagen, the BMW Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Daimler and Volvo Cars, presented possible solutions to Enhanced Sustainability in Supply Chain management. Solutions to common challenges and strategies to overcome them was also discussed at length.
Stefan Crets, executive director of CSR Europe laid weightage to this avenue of discussion by saying:
“Enhancing sustainability in the deep and complex chain is a key concern for automotive players. Sustainability and regulatory trends pose certain challenges in the automotive industry, but the sector recognizes its role. The sector has the responsibility to sustain and improve its benefits while reducing the environmental footprint of its products, services and production facilities. However, there is a long way to climb and keep a good position in the global arena in terms of competitiveness.”
Stefan Crets mentioned a very important point which is automotive companies must bring about unique innovations in their area of operations and the way to do so is by using CSR as a central strategy. This could be the key to their success.
A collaborative approach can only be fulfilled by improved social responsibility wherein every single component in the system must play its part; it must play fair and highlight its commitments to transparency, business ethics, and improved working conditions. And most importantly it must keep in mind the environmental impact of its supply chain operations.
In order for this to happen a possible route could be joint collaborations through mutual efforts aimed at establishing sustainable relations between suppliers and their corresponding OEMs.
References:
http://www.csreurope.org/sites/default/files/Turkey%20Automotive%20Supply%20Chain%20Forum.pdf
A collaborative approach can only be fulfilled by improved social responsibility wherein every single component in the system must play its part; it must play fair and highlight its commitments to transparency, business ethics, and improved working conditions. And most importantly it must keep in mind the environmental impact of its supply chain operations.
In order for this to happen a possible route could be joint collaborations through mutual efforts aimed at establishing sustainable relations between suppliers and their corresponding OEMs.
References:
http://www.csreurope.org/sites/default/files/Turkey%20Automotive%20Supply%20Chain%20Forum.pdf
