GKN Automotive, the global leader in drive systems, today launched its Sustainability Progress Report 2024, which showcases the company’s continued progress across all areas of its sustainability strategy.
In January 2024, GKN Automotive’s near- and long-term carbon reduction targets were approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), while it reduced its total direct CO2e emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 30% versus the previous year.
Dr. Clare Wyatt, Chief People, Communications and Sustainability Officer at GKN Automotive, said: “As the global leader in drive systems and trusted partner to 90% of the world’s global automotive manufacturers, we have a critical role in ensuring that we are reducing our environmental footprint, while having a positive impact on the lives of our employees and communities in which we operate. Our continued resilience and future growth are reliant on our long-term commitment to embedding sustainability at the heart of our operations to drive a cleaner, more sustainable world.”
The organisation also launched a global philanthropic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programme across three strategically important locations, Poland, Mexico, and India, to support hands-on educational opportunities for over 1,000 children and develop tomorrow’s engineers.
Further highlights across the four pillars of its sustainability strategy – Climate Action, Our Impact, Responsible Sourcing and Our People – include:
- Climate Action: Signed a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Recurrent Energy to cover 65% of the company’s European electricity load from 2026, while developing net zero action plans for its top 20 sites, ranked by GHG emissions, to continue to drive progress on its net zero ambitions
- Our Impact: 85% of GKN Automotive’s research and development spend contributed to the decarbonisation of the sector, while 86% of its sites had local charitable relationships and as a business, it made a total of £740,000 in charitable cash donations in 2024, maintaining its contributions versus the previous year
- Responsible Sourcing: Following the introduction of the Supplier Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) platform to strengthen its sustainable procurement practices in 2023, 80% of GKN Automotive’s direct material spend is now covered by supplier assessment questionnaires, while 78% of steel is now procured from electric arc furnaces
- Our People: Achieved a 0.1% accident frequency rate, while 98% of eligible employees completed annual performance reviews, reinforcing the business’ commitment to ongoing employee development.
The Tier One supplier, which is the trusted partner of 90% of the world’s global automotive manufacturers, has also announced the expansion of its responsible sourcing targets to include: 95% of supplier spend required to be with partners to be SAQ rating of ‘C’ or above; 50% of supplier spend to have SBTi accredited emission reduction targets; and 90% of steel to be sourced from electric arc furnaces (EAFs).
Tom Salisbury, Director of Sustainability at GKN Automotive, said: “There is continuing demand from our customers to consistently improve the sustainability of our products, processes, and operations, and we are actively partnering with them across the business to drive this forward. Our focus has been on Scope 1 and 2 reductions to achieve our aim of decarbonising our operations and value chain and we are proud of the progress made to date.”
In November 2024, the company was awarded a prestigious EcoVadis Gold rating, placing it in the top 1% of participants in the automotive category and further building on the successes of its Silver rating in 2023 and Bronze in 2022.