SP Member News Roundup – November 2021

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.

This series collects recent news and updates though November 2021 highlighting efforts of SP member companies and partners to advance initiatives with positive environmental impact.

• ABC Technologies ESG Report. ABC Technologies announced its third annual ESG Report for the fiscal year 2021. The report details program performance and progress toward facilitating its core mission — to be one of the world’s leading automotive components and system solutions provider for global customers by delivering best-in-class products and services that are rooted in cutting edge innovation. Learn more.
• Bolder Industries and Liberty Tire Recycling announce recycling partnership. Bolder Industries, Inc. announced a new partnership with Liberty Tire Recycling, one of the leading providers of tire recycling services in North America. Learn more.
• DEKRA becomes a member of “Business Ambition for 1.5°C”. DEKRA is fully committed to sustainability and reducing carbon footprints – by providing specialized services as well as on its own account. This is why the global expert organization has now signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and its worldwide “Business Ambition for 1.5°C” project aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating global warming. Learn more.
• DENSO Receives Automotive Innovation Award for Collaboration with Ford Motor Company on Respirator Components. Ford Motor Company and DENSO have received an Automotive Innovation Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers’ (SPE) Automotive Division. They earned the honor for their alliance to produce respirators for frontline workers battling COVID-19. It was a project that represented unprecedented mobilization across the companies to ramp up new production and help those in need. Learn more.
• DOE Launches Better Climate Challenge. SP member companies Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Lear Corporation were announced as inaugural partners of DOE’s Better Climate Challenge committing to reduce their portfolio-wide GHG emissions (scope 1 & 2) by at least 50% within 10 years. Learn more.
• Ford, Ford Credit Introduce Sustainable Financing Framework Prioritizing EV, Clean Production, Community Investments. Ford Motor Company and its financing subsidiary, Ford Motor Credit Company, introduced a sustainable financing framework, focusing on and paying for ambitious plans in vehicle electrification and other environmental and social areas. Learn more.
• GM Joins Initiative to Certify Sustainability and Human Rights in EV Supply Chain. General Motors announced it has joined the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), adding another element to company programs that support the sustainability and human rights of the EV supply chain. Learn more.
• General Motors was recognized with this year’s U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Citizens Award for the Best Disaster Response and Community Resilience Program. As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened, GM recognized its unique supply chain relationships and harnessed its ability to quickly scale manufacturing. The company partnered with Ventec Life Systems to build more than 30,000 ventilators at its manufacturing facility; additionally, more than 5,000 employees volunteered to make and distribute more than 7 million masks across the country. Learn more.
• Henkel successfully issued sustainability-linked bonds. Following the introduction of its new “Sustainable Finance Framework” just over a month ago, Henkel has now issued the first two sustainability-linked bonds under this framework. The financing costs for the bonds are linked to the achievement of Henkel’s sustainability targets, as defined in the Sustainable Finance Framework. Learn more.
• NFI expands partnership with Li-Cycle. NFI Group, a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, has expanded its partnership with Li-Cycle Corp. to offer heavy-duty electric vehicle battery recycling to public transit customers in North America through Li-Cycle. Learn more.
• Li-Cycle Partners with Arrival to Advance EV Battery Recycling. Li-Cycle announced a collaboration with Arrival. Through this newly established collaboration, Li-Cycle and Arrival will work together on thought leadership initiatives and R&D efforts to improve lithium-ion battery recycling, while also working together to improve the efficiency of the EV battery supply chain in the U.S. and Europe. Learn more.
• Atlis Motor Vehicles Forms Strategic Partnership To Recycle Lithium-ion Batteries. Atlis Motor Vehicles, a startup mobility technology company, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Li-Cycle Corp. Learn more.
• Magna Helps Ford Electrify the Future With Battery Enclosures for F-150 Lightning. When the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning hits showrooms next spring, Magna battery enclosures innovation will be protecting the truck’s important power source. The F-150 Lightning battery enclosures will be the first built by Magna for Ford in the North American market. Learn more.
• Stellantis Signs Lithium Supply Agreement with Vulcan Energy. Stellantis N.V. and Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd. announced the signing of  a binding agreement for Vulcan to supply battery grade lithium hydroxide in Europe for use in electrified vehicles to the Stellantis Group. The five-year agreement calls for shipments to begin in 2026. Learn more.
• Stellantis North America Leadership Team Earns 2021 CADIA Impact Award. The leadership team of Stellantis North America has been selected as the overall winner of the 2021 CADIA Impact Awards in the category of Leadership Commitment.  CADIA, the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion, and Advancement, works to address diversity and inclusion in the automotive industry, with the goal of doubling the number of diverse leaders in automotive by 2030. Learn more.
• Stellantis and Factorial Energy to Jointly Develop Solid-State Batteries for Electric Vehicles. Stellantis and Factorial Energy announced the signing of a joint development agreement to advance Factorial’s high-voltage traction solid-state battery technology. The agreement also includes a strategic investment from Stellantis. Learn more.
• Titan Advanced Energy Solutions Raises $33 Million Series B Led by HG Ventures to Transform Battery Diagnostics and Management. Titan Advanced Energy Solutions announced a $33 million Series B financing led by HG Ventures, the corporate investment arm of The Heritage Group. This new capital positions the company to accelerate industrial-scale deployments of its battery diagnostics and battery sensing/management technologies to drive safer and more efficient manufacturing, operation and repurposing of lithium-ion batteries. Learn more.
• Waste Management’s Five-year Recycling Investments Expected to Exceed $700 Million By 2022. Waste Management announced it expects to invest $200 million in recycling infrastructure in 2022, bringing the company’s investment in new and upgraded recycling facilities to over $700 million since 2018. With the demand for recycled content products continuing to rise, the investment will enable WM to capture more recycled materials and increase access to recycling for its customers. Learn more.
• WHC and SP Receive EPA Award to Promote Pollution Prevention in Southeastern U.S. Auto Industry. Corporate conservation organization Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) and automotive industry environmental sustainability association Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) will receive $68,000 in funding from the EPA Region 4 Source Reduction Assistance (SRA) Grant Program, an initiative that supports pollution prevention (P2) efforts in the American Southeast. Learn more.

SP members may send their environmental sustainability news to info@supplierspartnership.org for consideration in future news roundups. And, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn to keep up with the latest SP news and updates.