Automotive Industry Leaders Launch "Transform: Auto" Program to Help Suppliers Add Renewable Energy and Reduce Emissions

The program is sponsored by Ford, General Motors, Honda, Magna and Toyota, in collaboration with the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP), an association of global automakers and their suppliers, in partnership with sustainability and energy advisory company Trio (formerly known as Edison Energy), has announced the "Transform: Auto" program, aimed at driving the adoption of renewable energy across the automotive supply chain.

Emissions accounting can be separated into three different scopes, Scope 1 emissions come from sources owned by a company, Scope 2 are the indirect emissions from purchased electricity, and Scope 3 are indirect emissions from the supply chain and use of sold products. The program, developed by Trio and initiated in collaboration with founding sponsors Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Honda, Magna and Toyota Motor North America, aims squarely at reducing Scope 3 supply chain emissions in the global automotive industry, by providing automotive suppliers with tailored guidance and dedicated expert support to help facilitate the procurement of renewable energy to reduce their Scope 2 emissions.

Earlier this year, SP announced the expansion of a collaborative effort with Manufacture 2030 (M2030) and these industry leaders to engage nearly 20,000 supplier manufacturing sites in a more standardized approach to collecting supply chain emissions data.

Complementary to this effort, the Transform: Auto program - which is being made available at no cost to Tier 1 suppliers of Ford, GM, Honda, Magna and Toyota and SP member companies – is designed to help suppliers reduce indirect emissions from energy consumption, known as Scope 2 emissions.

Transform: Auto is custom-built to meet these suppliers where they are to help reduce emissions on their respective decarbonization journeys. The program will help suppliers explore renewable energy options and give them the tools to pursue a renewable energy pathway on their own or through an organized cohort of suppliers. In the first year of the program, Transform: Auto will support suppliers in procuring renewable energy in North America through voluntary green tariffs, onsite solar, community solar, utility-scale renewable energy power purchase agreements, and environmental attribute certificates. The program will launch this fall.

Increasing the use of renewable energy to reduce emissions is a key part of pursuing the founding sponsors' goals of achieving carbon neutrality. The impact of any one of the individual sponsors' Scope 3 purchased goods and services emissions can be 10 to 20 times greater than their own Scope 1 and 2 emissions. This collaboration provides an opportunity to maximize collective impact at scale while improving efficiencies across the value chain.

To learn more about the program, visit: www.trioadvisory.com/transformauto.

Testimonial Quotes

"Ford is proud to invest in Transform: Auto, which will provide suppliers with tailored guidance and expert support to help them reach carbon-neutrality targets," said Ford Chief Supply Chain Officer Liz Door. "It's a testament to Ford's belief in the power of collaboration to move the automotive industry – OEMs and suppliers alike – toward a more sustainable future."

"GM is proud of the progress we have made in reducing our own Scope 2 energy emissions," said Rob Threlkeld, GM Director of Global Energy Strategy. "GM recognizes that to truly make a significant impact, we need to collaborate and scale our efforts across the entire supply chain. That is why we are thrilled to enter this collaboration, as it presents an exciting opportunity to work together to support reductions in supply chain emissions. By joining forces, we can help support a resilient and sustainable future towards a zero-emissions transportation sector."

"Honda has targeted global carbon neutrality in its products and all corporate activities by 2050, and our suppliers will play a key role in achieving that goal," said Josh Reffner, Director of Procurement & Supply Chain Operations at Honda. "Transform: Auto will help suppliers align their own carbon reduction efforts to the OEMs' by providing industry expertise and a common reporting framework." 

"At Magna, we are committed to achieving net-zero status by 2050, and the Transform: Auto program aligns seamlessly with our Scope 3 decarbonization efforts," said Ahmed Elganzouri, Global Director, Sustainability and Energy, Magna. "Through the power of collaboration, we can drive meaningful change in reducing emissions and enhancing sustainable practices throughout the automotive supply chain, accelerating progress towards a more sustainable future."

"The Transform: Auto program has the potential to have meaningful impact in helping to reduce real-world CO2 emissions across the automotive supply chain, including our own supply chain at Toyota," said Kevin Butt, regional environmental sustainability director for Toyota Motor North America. "When used together with a standardized approach to collect Scope 3 emissions data it should also provide greater transparency in what the actual situation is so we can determine the right solutions to address them."

"Our Transform: Auto program seeks to accelerate the transformation of the automotive supply chain to run on renewable energy, which is a crucial element of the industry's larger emissions reduction and decarbonization goals," said Drew Murphy, CEO, Trio. "With Trio's proven track record of achieving significant supply chain decarbonization for Fortune 500 and similar companies and decreasing their respective supply chain emissions, we are confident that Transform: Auto will facilitate meaningful ambition, action and accountability deep into the automotive manufacturing process."

"Increasing use of renewable energy through the supply chain is a key lever in the industry's journey toward carbon neutrality. Through the leadership of the founding sponsors in collaboration with Trio, Transform: Auto has been designed to support automotive suppliers of all sizes in this effort by providing educational resources tailored to different decarbonization maturity levels, while increasing supplier access to renewables through the offer of expert support and facilitated renewable energy aggregation opportunities," said Kellen Mahoney, Director, Suppliers Partnership for the Environment.

About Suppliers Partnership for the Environment

Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) provides a forum for global automotive manufacturers and their large and small suppliers to work together toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact. Learn more at: www.supplierspartnership.org

About Trio

Impact. Together. Trio is a global sustainability and energy advisory company that helps large commercial, industrial and institutional organizations navigate the clean energy transition. Trio provides integrated strategy and implementation services – in sustainability, renewables, energy procurement, conventional supply, energy optimization and transportation electrification – to help the world's largest organizations meet their strategic, financial and sustainability goals. Visit trioadvisory.com

SOURCE Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP)