A reduced CO2 footprint improve SME supplier´s competitiveness. This is one of the driving forces behind the EU funded project "Competitive sustainability for SME" in Sweden. Learn more about the initiative, ChainTraced´s role in the project, and how a more systematic approach to collecting, exchanging, and presenting CO2 data help SME´s be more competitive.
The project was initiated by FKG, the organization for Scandinavian automotive industry suppliers, together with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, and a number of Swedish organisations within tech and sustainability. The aim of this initiative is to form a declaration for components, a verification showing the environmental impact as way for subcontractors to learn more about how to trace and visualize their CO2 footprint throughout the entire value chain.
SME plays a crucial part in the value chain
The SME´s are crucial for supply chains when it comes to enable a transparent, collaborative, and sustainable end-to-end traceability of the value chain. Steel and mineral sourcing is also central in driving the development towards climate-neutral goals as CO2 emissions largely occur in mineral extraction and steel production, i.e. early in the value chain.
At the same time there are different prerequisites for handling and tracking quality and sustainability data, that could challenge SME´s to act.
The automotive sector is transforming, both in regards of R&D and with new business models, where sustainability and circularity is important pillars. With an increasing interest for sustainability in the supply chain, FKG saw an opportunity to use this momentum to empower SME suppliers to drive business forward.
Some general benefits for SME:s as well as for OEM:s are to:
Sweden has a good sustainability track record, and the expectations is that Swedish subcontractors could leverage, and improve their competitiveness both nationally, and globally.
Tracking and showing CO2 emission through the product´s life cycle
The overall and long-term goal of the FKG project is for Swedish subcontractors, automotive industry suppliers in particular, to develop the ability to systematically collect, compile and report data about the environmental impact of their components. In a way that meets customer requirements, using validated methods, and in accordance with accepted standards.
The possibility to trace CO2 end-to-end should attract OEM´s to choose Swedish subcontractors, as it enables them to show their end customers the exact CO2 emission through the product´s life cycle.
In the first step of the project, the methodology for this declaration will be developed together with five Swedish SME companies. In the next step, this will be further tested on 20 SME:s and larger companies, and OEM:s.
ChainTraced´s role in the project
ChainTraced has contributed to the discussions regarding the companies' need for digital tooling, to keep data up-to-date, enable a more dynamic calculation model, and to track and visualize their CO2 footprint in a structured way. ChainTraced role has also been to act on the framework that has been developed in the project to support SMEs in the calculation of CO2 at a product level. Further on we have contributed with relevant input based on our experiences and learnings from active part-taking in other innovation initiatives, previous customer projects, and implementations.
The new framework will support an efficient, and accurate estimation of CO2 on a product level. This will increase the visibility of the actual footprint in the Automotive value chain, and at the same time provide a great competitive edge for early adopters.
How do you leverage on the possibility with sustainability data traceability in your company? We´d be happy to share our expertise, and experiences from this and other projects, and customer cases. Contact us to assess the opportunities for your business.
