SP Q1 Membership Meeting of 2023

SP’s 1st Quarter Membership Meeting of 2023 was held on January 25-26 in Southfield, Michigan. A special thank you to SBS Ecoclean Group and FigBytes for their sponsorship of the Q1 event.

The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) provides a forum for global automotive manufacturers, their large and small suppliers, the US EPA and other government entities from around the world to work together toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact.  SP’s quarterly membership meetings provide an opportunity for members to connect and share environmental sustainability best practices and strategies with industry peers, learn about emerging issues impacting the environment and their business operations, and identify new opportunities for collaborative action.

January 25 — Pre-Meetings

On the morning of January 25, attendees had the opportunity to participate in a tour of SBS Ecoclean Group‘s Southfield, Michigan facility. The SBS Ecoclean Group develops, produces, and markets machinery, systems and services for applications involving industrial parts cleaning and degreasing, ultrasonic precision parts cleaning, high-pressure water jet deburring, surface preparation and surface treatment. SP tour guests were able to see several systems under construction, tour the laboratory area where testing and validation of various parts and machine options exist to measure cleanliness levels, and define sustainability levels of water, energy, and chemical use.

Later that afternoon, attendees gathered for a networking dinner event at a nearby restaurant.

January 26 — Membership Meeting

On January 26, SP’s Q1 membership meeting opened with welcoming comments from Kevin Butt, Toyota Motor and Chair of SP’s Board of Directors. Kevin reflected on SP’s accomplishments in 2022 and shared key values, themes and initiatives that were highlighted in the Board’s December 2022 strategic planning meeting.  

The meeting then continued with presentations from a range of speakers regarding environmental sustainability trends, best practices and opportunities, including:

• Warwick Stirling (US CAR) provided a high-level overview of the mission and key programs and projects of USCAR and discussed future opportunities for USCAR beyond 2023.
• Thomas Klotz (GZA) shared information on proposed rules from the US SEC for climate-related disclosures, highlighting the key items addressed by the proposals and activities companies may want to consider to prepare for expected future disclosure needs.
• Michael Lipowicz (GZA) reviewed key aspects of GHG disclosures for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and resources available to companies for GHG calculation methodologies and emissions factors.
• Shintaro Watanabe (Toyota Tsusho America) and Andrew Amigo (Blackburn Energy) provided an overview of commercial vehicle electrification solutions and technologies to harvest wasted energy.
• Rustum Narvaez (Toyota Tsusho Canada) provided an overview of the company’s smart factory solutions supporting acquisition, visualization, and analysis of equipment data to support carbon and energy improvements.
• Andy Cooper (Unison Energy) provided an overview of microgrids and their potential to improve resilience, reduce energy supply costs and lower Scope 1 and 2 carbon footprints.
• Resa Dimino (RRS) provided an overview of recent trends related to extended producer responsibility legislation for plastics in the United States.
• Brian Dynda (Doug Brown Packaging Products) provided an overview of a new corrugated and film packaging design for headlamps that has been successfully implemented as a recyclable alternative to a previous expanded foam design.
• Kellen Mahoney (Suppliers Partnership) reviewed several current SP work group activities and provided an update on their plans for the coming three to six months, including items related to Carbon Neutrality, EV Battery Recycling, Product Chemical Compliance, Pollinator Projects and Nature Based Solutions, Sustainable Materials, Sustainable Packaging, Technology & Innovation, Water Stewardship, and others.

The next quarterly SP membership meeting will be held on April 25-26, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Additional information on the Q1 meeting discussions, presentations and next steps is available to current SP member companies. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about SP and opportunities to participate as a member.