Sustainability in strong supply

Design innovation and an exclusive new tool for measuring carbon footprint have made Adient a sustainability leader among Tier-1s.

Sustainability no longer is a vague aspiration for OEMs and suppliers looking for a ‘green’ veil. It's rapidly become a guiding tenet of product innovation, and ESG progress, as the industry pushes toward net-zero carbon goals in most major markets.

“Currently, it's coming mainly from the European OEMs and the European legislature,” explained Mike Maddelein, VP engineering, Americas, at seating systems Tier 1 Adient. “They're driving carbon-footprint reduction and the industry is getting very, very serious about it. The European OEMs are starting to specify sustainability targets in their RFQs.” North America is probably two years behind, he believes, but will follow Europe's sustainability plan - if not through direct legislation, then by the OEMs themselves.