SP holds 1st quarter meeting at GM Spring Hill Manufacturing

The 1st Quarter meeting of Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) was held on January 30-31, 2018 at GM Spring Hill Manufacturing in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

SP / RBC work group meeting

On January 30, the first meeting of SP’s new Responsible Battery work group was held at GM Spring Hill.  Co-chaired by Alessandra Carreon (Ford) and Adam Muellerweiss (Johnson Controls) the new work group is a collaborative effort between SP and the Responsible Battery Coalition. In this meeting, members discussed a new collaborative project designed to establish a baseline assessment of the current landscape of end-of-life (EOL) management for all types of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) used in hybrid and electric vehicles, and identify opportunities for the North American automotive industry to advance responsible management of such technologies.

Later that day, members participated in an SP Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) Forum meeting focused on Culture and Emerging Technologies. Co-chaired by Greg Rose (FCA US LLC) and Jack Nunes (Lear Corporation), the EHS Forum is designed to provide a platform for deeper discussion, networking and exchange of ideas on key EHS challenges and opportunities facing multinational automakers and their suppliers.  This meeting focused on topics such as adapting to a changing workforce, getting buy-in for EHS projects and emerging technologies and included presentations from Natalie Pryde (Tetra Tech), Gary Vegh (ERA Environmental Management Solutions) and Kelly McInnis and Mark Steadman (US Ecology).  Following the work group meetings, members gathered for a networking reception at The Diner Nashville, sponsored by SP member companies EnSafe and Hytch.

SP Q1 meeting

On January 31, SP’s Vice Chair Russell Brynolf (FTS Technologies) welcomed SP members to the SP 1st Quarter Meeting 2018.  The meeting included updates and discussions regarding key topics such as biodiversity, EHS management, materials efficiency, renewable energy and supply chain sustainability with speakers from Edison Energy, EnSafe, FCA, General Motors,  Honda, Hytch, Responsible Battery Coalition, SP,  Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation, Toyota, and the US EPA. 

The meeting also included several announcements, such as:

• • SP’s launch of a private member engagement channel on the Manufacture 2030 Channel. Open to employees of SP member companies, the channel is designed to help make collaboration, best-practice sharing, and dialogue between SP members happen more easily and regularly, outside of the quarterly face-to-face meetings.
  • SP’s formation of a new Biodiversity work group.  In collaboration with the Wildlife Habitat Council, members of this SP work group will work together to demonstrate leadership as an industry by strategically working together across property lines, cities, states, regions, and countries, to collectively achieve greater impact and success while protecting natural resources and improving our communities.

SP Vice-Chair Russell Brynolf (right) recognizes and thanks John Bradburn (left) for his leadership and commitment to advancing materials efficiency

• SP’s kickoff of a new collaborative project with the Responsible Battery Coalition (RBC) focused on establishing a baseline assessment of the current landscape of end-of-life (EOL) management for all types of lithium-ion batteries (LIB) used in hybrid and electric vehicles, and identify opportunities for the North American automotive industry to advance responsible management of such technologies.

SP was very pleased to have an opportunity during the meeting to recognize and thank John Bradburn (General Motors) for his 15-year commitment to the mission of SP and for his leadership in driving materials efficiency efforts across the auto supply chain and around the world.