NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN AUTOMIBILE INDUSTRY

SUBMITTED TO
SUBMITTED BY
Mr. Gangadhar Mallik
BHASWATI PANDA
Asst. Faculty
HIMANSHU SHARMA
NIFT BHUBANESWAR
KAUSTAB BRAMHACHARI
INTRODUCTION:

Sustainable manufacturing practices have been defined mostly from an

environmental perspective, aiming at minimizing the impacts of manufacturing
operations on the environment while optimizing the production efficiency of the
company. The most common environmental sustainability practices used among
large companies are eco-design, renewable energy usage, energy and material
optimization, recycling, product life cycle and end of life-cycle management, and
waste minimization.

The automotive industry plays a significant role in today's economy, both in

shaping capital and in creating new technologies and jobs. The expansion of
car-based transport over the last half-century has brought a wide range of ecological
and social impacts, such as noise, congestion, accidents, air and water pollution,
climate change and resource depletion. Caring for the natural environment and
striving for sustainable development has become the biggest challenge for
these companies.

NEED TO ADOPT SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN AUTOMOBILE SECTORS

There are five main environmental impacts of the life cycle associated with
manufacturing, use and disposal of vehicles:

(i) automotive production processes are associated with high levels of resource
utilization, sometimes non-renewable;
(ii) There are impacts associated with the use of water and energy in
manufacturing and the emissions resulting from energy production;
(iii) some elements of vehicle assembly and manufacturing, especially during
metal painting and finishing, result in the emission of
pollutantsintotheair,waterandsoil;
(iv) The wide geographic range of the industry means that it must be supported
through global logistics and distribution systems, increasing the mileage of
transport and emissions;
(v) At the end of life stage, vehicles also represent a large waste stream.
Intermsofreducingtheenvironmentalimpactassociatedwiththeproduction,the
industry has focused on out sourcing renewable and recycled materials,as
wellas implementing clean technology and environmental management
systems in individual manufacturing sites and throughout the supplychain.
 Companies have also made efforts to reduce material inputs, changing
manufacturing processes to reuse by products and,where
possible,alternative,less toxic materials. By addressing the environmental
problems associated with emissions, some vehicle manufacturers have been
motivated to seek technological alternatives to the internal
combustionengine(ICE).

Major companies taking initiative towards a sustainable production:

FORD

Many of the materials used by Ford for manufacturing are waste or by products of
the food industry like rice and oat hulls. Presently Ford features nine sustainable
materials in their production vehicles– soy, wheat, rice, castor, kenaf (hibiscus), tree
cellulose, jute, and coconut. Since 2008 soy foam has been one of Ford’s crowning
achievements—reducing the use of oil by more than 3 million pounds a year and
reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 15 million pounds. This initiative, led by
Debbie Mielewski, pushes manufacturing to make design decisions to create lighter,
cheaper, and more-sustainable vehicles that also yield a greater number of
recyclable or reclaimable parts and materials.

TOYOTA

Toyota Motor Corporation has created the “Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050”
to reduce environmental impact and to aim for “Challenge to Zero and Beyond.” It is
estimated that Toyota’s hybrid technology has helped save more than 7.66 billion
gallons of gasoline worldwide and resulted in nearly 77 million fewer tons of CO2
emissions. Toyota introduced the Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle that provides over
300 miles of driving range, a refuelling time of around five minutes, and the only
tailpipe emission is water. The Mirai was introduced in Japan, followed by Europe
and California in 2016.

HONDA MOTORS

Honda was the first and only automaker to mass-produce a passenger car that ran
on natural gas, called the Civic GX. They were also the first to introduce a low-
emissions hybrid, called the Insight. Honda claims its products to be 99% recyclable
at end-of-life. Recycled or natural materials like sugar cane are used in the
manufacturing materials of the Honda Clarity’s instrument panel, as well as the sun
visors, roof lining, seat upholstery, step garnish.
TESLA :

Tesla strives for zero-emissions future by implemented several programs and

initiatives at manufacturing facilities and in the communities in which they operate,
providing clean energy, partnering with local schools and non-profits and everything
in between. Tesla’s all-electric vehicles combine performance, safety and efciency,
making them the best cars in the world, while Tesla’s energy generation and storage
products power both urban and remote communities with reliable, afordable energy.

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES ADOPTED BY THE AUTOMOBILE

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
 Products and packaging are designed to be safe and ecologically sound
through their life cycles; services are designed to be safe and ecologically
sound.
 Wastes and ecologically incompatible by-products are reduced, eliminated or
recycled.
 Redesigning of components to reduce solid waste Non-conforming products
reduction Reuse and recycle of direct and indirect waste Employee training on
sorting and waste reduction Process water and emulsions close loop systems
External and on-site recycling Biological process for processing waste waters
Donation of waste and by-products to other industries or institutions.
 Energy and materials are conserved, and the forms of energy and materials
used are most appropriate for the desired ends.
 Work places and technologies are designed to minimize or eliminate
chemical, ergonomic and physical hazards.
 Management is committed to an open, participatory process of continuous
evaluation and improvement, focused on the long-term economic performance
of the firm.

SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS IN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY

ECO INNOVATION

Cars represent the largest source of pollution of the global air, accounting for
approximately 30% of emissions from industrialized countries and 17% of CO2
emissions. During more than a hundred years the propulsion has been based on the
internal combustion engine (ICE). Electrification or hybridisation is the main focus
for most car manufacturers today .However it implies large changes, both in terms of
the vehicle itself (technology and integrated systems) and in terms of usage and
business models. Some companies have developed the hybrid engine technology in
an effort to perceive some environmental benefits while continuing to provide
consumers with the security of an IC engine.

The use of electricity with low CO2 emissions—in particular, through the company's
own production of electricity from renewable energy—significantly reduces the
carbon footprint of the battery. The same applies to the constantly advancing
optimization of battery technologies, such as through higher storage capacities and
more efficient production processes (e.g., due to the economies of scale already
discussed).

Another technologically-driven concept, which has not yet turned into commercial
application, deals with fuel cell technologies using hydrogen. Developments of turbo
technologies for gasoline cars or injection technologies for diesels are illustrations of
such incremental innovations.

There has also been an intermediate solution between full electrification and full
internal combustion is the HEV concept, illustrated by the Toyota Prius, which
consists in supplementing the ICE by electric motors and batteries.

 EVs can also reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change and smog,
improving public health and reducing ecological damage. Charging your EV on
renewable energy such as solar or wind minimizes these emissions even more. 

CLIMATE NEUTRALITY

Achieving their declared goals of climate neutrality means car manufacturers have to
assess their carbon footprints and improve their processes and the materials they
use. They need to consider the whole lifecycle of vehicles, including all direct and
indirect emissions.

FUEL EFFICIENCY

Fuel efficiency targets for passenger cars, trucks, and buses are formulated by
applying “top runner” criteria whereby the target value for a given vehicle weight
category is established based on the leading fuel efficiency performance to date for
that weight category. To comply with stringent 2015 average fuel efficiency targets
for passenger cars and small trucks and buses as well as for heavy-duty vehicles
and, subsequently, with even stricter 2020 targets for passenger cars and 2022
targets for small trucks, manufacturers have been making continuous efforts to
increase the fuel efficiency of conventional vehicles and expand the supply of
alternative-energy vehicles.

RESTRICTION ON FEW METAL USE

The automobile makers have liminated the use of four heavy metals—lead, mercury,
hexavalent chromium and cadmium—in new vehicles to lessen their environmental
impact, particularly when they are dismantled and processed at the end of their
service life. Restrictions on the use of these substances in motorcycles have been
established separately.

Vehicle Recycling and Waste Reduction

■ Reductions in Vehicle Weight For greater vehicle fuel efficiency: Automobile

manufacturers are increasing the amount of recycled and biobased content and
decreasing volatile organic components (VOCs) inside cars. In relation,
‘lightweighting’ of vehicles to improve fuel efficiency is also important. As we
continue to move toward a true circular economy, the automotive industry must
respond at an accelerated rate to meet the demands of diverse yet interdependent
consumers.
Automobile manufacturers and importers are being responsible for recovery,
recycling and appropriate disposal with respect to fluorocarbons, airbags, and
automobile shredder residue (ASR). Compliance with the law was anticipated to
enable ASR to be recycled at a rate of 70% by 2015, resulting in an automobile
recycling rate, by vehicle weight, of 95% (as compared with the 80% rate prevailing
prior to the introduction of the law); those rates were in fact surpassed in 2008.
Automakers are also striving to design vehicles using lightweight materials that are
easy to dismantle and recycle, and to reduce and recycle waste generated in the
manufacturing process.

BIO MATERIALS USED : Currently low-melt polymers are being developed to make
foamy car seats which cann be repurposed in future for other uses. including other
materials like

 renewable oils in partial substitution of petroleum for foams

 soy oil based urethanes and foam, castor oil based foam
 renewable fibers and fillers in plastic composites
 reinforcements: wheat straw, hemp, cellulose, coconut coir
 fillers: soy hulls, soy flour, coconut shell powder
 renewably sourced thermoplastic resins
 bio-polymers: PLA, Sorona (PTT), etc.
 bio-based chemicals: PE, PP, PET, etc

RECYCLING

Auto recyclers have been focusing on the recyclability of some car parts and
components for decades, most notably steel parts. In contrast, automotive plastics
recycling is still in its relative infancy, given the fact that recycling some plastic and
polymer composite components can be challenging in terms of costs, technologies
required and the very properties of plastics. Significant strides are being made to
recycle plastics, however, particularly post-industrial scrap, and use recycled plastic
materials in car parts as automotive companies have made strong commitments to
reduce waste and incorporate recycled materials in new vehicles. The quality of
recycled bales and materials have dramatically improved over the past few decades,
increasing the ability of engineers to use recycled plastic for new components.
GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) INVENTORY:

Supercharger, energy, warehouse and ofce facilities. For this baseline year, Tesla
focused on tracking electricity and natural gas usage for our sites. Moving forward,
we will continue to build out this data, which will help us set specific targets with the
goal of driving down our GHG footprint on a perproduct basis as we continue to grow
our business.

REDUCING ENERGY USAGE:

The installation of LED lighting, as well as efficiency improvements to manufacturing

systems such as compressed air, castings, injection molding, water test booth and
cooling towers, combined with a new energy-efcient paint shop, have resulted in
over 10 GWhs of energy savings over the last 5 years. These savings are the
equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of almost 1K households. As a result
of many improvements, the energy usage at the vehicle manufactured has
decreased by 19% compared to 2016.

REDUCTION OF WATER USAGE:

Through effciency improvements and water reuse systems, automobile industries

work to lower the per-product water usage in our manufacturing process. In addition,
water reduction efforts are included in the sales, service and delivery facilities.
Where possible, technicians are using a waterless car wash method to maintain
Tesla vehicles while minimizing environmental impacts.

Manufacturing facilities are not only looking to increase water-use efciencies, but
also to improve wastewater and stormwater management. These projects include
reverse osmosis and distilled water system installations to improve water quality and
to allow existing water sources to be recycled and reused in other processing areas
such as the closed-loop system of our facilities’ cooling towers. Projects in
development include water mapping to identify opportunities for either recycling or
increased passes in closed-loop systems as well as leak identification.

VEHICLE BATTERY RECYCLING

Innovative car batteries developed will remain at the end of their life, when they can
be recycled to recover its valuable materials for reuse over and over again. Battery
packs are made to last many years, we are only just starting to receive these
batteries back from the field. The unique battery recycling system is processing both
battery manufacturing scrap and end-of-life batteries. Through this system, the
recovery of critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt will be maximized along with
the recovery of all metals used in the battery cell, such as copper, aluminium and
steel. All of these materials will be recovered in forms optimized for new battery
material production. The closed-loop battery recycling process presents a compelling
solution to move energy supply away from the fossil-fuel based practice of take,
make and burn, to a more circular model of recycling end-of-life batteries for reuse
over and over again.