Building a Sustainable Automotive Industry
At Auto Trader, our environmental strategy focuses on three key pillars: Auto Trader, consumers and our customers and the industry. The first pillar, Auto Trader, focuses on how we can realise our ambition to be net zero by 2040, the second is centred around supporting consumers to make more environmentally friendly vehicle choices, and the third focuses on supporting the industry and our customers to be more sustainable.
A key part of our work to support the industry and our customers with their own sustainability journeys has been our ‘Building a Sustainable Automotive Industry’ event series. The goal of the series is to help facilitate the progression of practical conversations, knowledge sharing and external expertise specifically on achieving sustainability goals within the automotive industry. The events focus on the need to put aside competitive concerns and put collaboration at the centre of the sustainability movement in the industry.
Whilst electric vehicles will play a key part in the decarbonisation of the automotive sector, this series focuses on what can be done to fully decarbonise premises, logistics and broader business operations.
The series launched in November 2022 with an event focusing on measuring carbon emissions and featured Patagonia, Nissan and the Carbon Literacy Trust. The second instalment was held online in March and focused on engaging employees in sustainability endeavours.
In October 2023 Auto Trader hosted the latest event, in partnership with Capgemini, with a focus on building a carbon reduction plan. Featuring Capgemini’s Carbon Reduction Canvas, a tool that breaks down the steps to understanding an organisations’ carbon emissions and how to plan to reduce them, attendees also enjoyed a panel discussion with Dr David Greenfield, an expert in circularity and Courtney Holm, VP of Sustainability at Capgemini which touched on topics of prioritisation, personal behaviours and procurement.
With high attendance and strong levels of participation, the event successfully brought together industry stalwarts, from the likes of Ferrari and GWM Ora to Arnold Clark and Lex Auto Lease, to discuss carbon reduction.
In many ways, Auto Trader sits at the centre of the automotive industry, connecting retailers and consumers, and this series is a natural extension of that connected position.
Ian continued:
“We believe we have a vital role to play in helping the industry to become more sustainable and to put decarbonisation at the heart of the future of the industry. We’re all a work in progress when it comes to this topic, we don’t profess to have all the answers but we’re hoping activities such as this can facilitate conversations and stimulate progress throughout the industry and our own business.”
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