Managing Life Cycle Sustainability Aspects in the Automotive Industry

Abstract

An important target on the way to a sustainable development is ensuring a more sustainable production and a reduced consumption of energy and material resources. The automotive industry is considered one of the most strategic contributors to reach this objective. On the one hand, the automotive sector represents a meaningful pillar for the economic stability and social welfare of several countries; on the other hand, with its huge supply chain, it is often a cause of negative environmental as well as social impacts. In the past, the main focus was the reduction of environmental impacts in the use phase first, and then along the entire life cycle. More recently, the attention has moved to include the social performance according to the three pillars concept of sustainability. If the target of achieving a more sustainable development is clear, the methodology and tools that should be used to assess the sustainability performance of a vehicle along its life cycle still needs to be settled. This chapter presents and discusses the benefits and challenges of methods and tools that have been used in the automotive industry.