Analysis of Sustainable Production Practices Implemented by Car Manufacturers

Abstract

Companies are increasingly implementing sustainable solutions as they face a growing sustainability demands from different stakeholders. The question is whether car manufacturers adhered to sustainable production principles and at what level they are doing it in practice. The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (LCSP) is used as a model to analyse the main aspects of sustainable production and assess the companies in the automotive sector in European Union. The data was collected from the Corporate Social Responsibility/ Sustainability reports of the individual car manufacturers found in the online data base of Global Reporting Initiative. Empirical evidence shows the adherence of these companies to the LCSP sustainable production principles. All the studied companies seem to be conscious of the significance of sustainability for the automotive industry. Although most of the sustainable production practices are focused on the environmental dimension of sustainability, employee and social aspects are not ignored in the reports.