Sustainable Packaging Specification Recommendations for Automotive Operations
The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) provides a forum for global automotive manufacturers and their suppliers to work together toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact. SP’s Sustainable Packaging Work Group was established as a platform for companies from across the automotive value chain to collaborate to minimize automotive packaging waste and address barriers to packaging recyclability and/or reuse.
The work group has published the following guidance documents to provide straightforward industry-supported guidance to help automakers and their suppliers identify opportunities to design and source sustainable packaging designs for use in automotive manufacturing and service parts operations.
The guidance documents were produced through a collaborative process co-chaired by Magna International and Toyota Motor North America, including the review and input of automotive original equipment manufacturers such as Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Honda Development & Manufacturing America, Stellantis, Toyota Motor North America, tiered suppliers, packaging suppliers, and recyclers.
Going forward, the SP Sustainable Packaging Work Group intends to build on learnings from this process to promote further alignment on sustainable packaging practices within the automotive industry and identify targeted opportunities to improve packaging sustainability in support of industry sustainability goals. The guidance documents will continue to be reviewed on a regular basis.
Sustainable Packaging Specification Recommendations for Automotive Manufacturing Operations
Version 3.0, Last Updated: February 2024
A succinct set of practical recommendations to help automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers source sustainable packaging designs for use in automotive manufacturing operations. These recommendations focus on opportunities to minimize automotive packaging waste and address barriers to recyclability in the design phase.
The document includes information on the viable recyclability of a variety of different packaging material types and designs commonly used in the automotive industry in the United States. The guidance also includes information on common packaging attachment methods that can be detrimental to recycling, as well as information on alternative designs that tend to have more viable outlets for recycling in key automotive regions.
Sustainable Packaging Specification Recommendations for Automotive Expendable Packaging
Version 1.0, Last Updated: October 2023
A succinct set of practical recommendations to help automakers and suppliers identify opportunities to design and source sustainable packaging designs for use in expendable packaging applications. Expendable packaging is most commonly used in service parts operations in the automotive industry. Service parts are defined as replacement parts manufactured to OEM specifications which are procured or released by the OEM for service part applications. Expendable packaging could also be used for international shipping and as backup for returnable packaging, when needed.
This document builds on and is designed to align with established SP sustainable packaging guidelines for automotive manufacturing operations.
Automotive NA 48 x 45 Wood Stringer Pallet Specification Recommendations
Version 1.0, Last Updated: December 2023
This guidance document includes voluntary industry-developed recommendations intended to help automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers within the North American region to source uniform 48 x 45 wood stringer pallets, where appropriate, to enable increased re-use and improve efficiency across the supply chain.
Acknowledgements: The above guidance documents were produced through a collaborative process by the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) Sustainable Packaging Work Group. The work group projects were co-chaired by Bridget Grewal, Magna International, and, Matt Marshall, Toyota Motor North America, and facilitated by Kellen Mahoney, SP. The documents included input and review from work group members representing automakers, tiered suppliers, packaging suppliers and recyclers, as listed in the acknowledgements of each publication.
Disclaimer: This document is intended solely to provide information for automakers, their suppliers and the general public on sourcing sustainable packaging designs. This document sets forth various findings based on information available to working group members at the time of issuance. These findings are not intended to set forth any industry rule, requirement or standard. Each company should independently determine its own processes and practices, including, without limitation, levels, measurements, vendors, materials, equipment, energy sources, energy use, emissions, and recyclability.
This document should not be considered to contain legal advice. SP and its member companies make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this document, and they will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The authors of this document reserve the right to change it at any time, as they deem appropriate within their sole discretion. SP and its member companies will not be liable for any losses, injuries or damages that may result from the use of the information contained in this document. It is the sole and exclusive responsibility of every company designing and sourcing packaging materials to undertake individual, unique analysis as it pertains to their own specific application and production process, as well as to understand and comply with all applicable laws, regulations, standards, and individual customer requirements.
Contact: Please submit any feedback on this guidance or suggestions for future improvements to info@supplierspartnership.org.