Sustainability in the Automotive Industry: An Essay

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Body paragraph 1.......................................................................................................................4
Body paragraph 2.......................................................................................................................5
Body paragraph 3.......................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
Reference List............................................................................................................................9
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Introduction
Sustainability refers to collaborative efforts aiming to manage rates of pollution creation,
renewable resource harvest, resource depletion and others. It is essential for car
manufacturers to address environmental issues of waste removal, carbon dioxide emission,
dependence of fossil fuel and others. Automotive industry is witnessing increased growth and
progress due to increase in a number of car manufacturers. Fuel consumption, rise in
emission of green house gases, and other issues are leading to global warming. Automotive
companies are formulating key strategies to ensure sustainability in innovative ways.
Production of sustainable vehicles may address these environmental issues up to a greater
extent. The thesis statement of this essay is car manufacturers should focus on production of
sustainable vehicles. Sustainable production improves community, employees and product
safety. It may conserve natural resources and non-renewable energy. The opposing position is
car manufacturers should not emphasise on production of sustainable vehicles. This process
may be costly to car manufacturers.
The essay shall present three arguments on sustainable production of vehicles. These
arguments will be supported with counter arguments and rebuttal. Some examples will be
provided to support arguments and counter-arguments. Important points to be mentioned
within the essay include production costs, regulations, and tax incentives.
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Body paragraph 1
Argument
As depicted by Mayyas et al. (2012), car manufacturers may launch sustainable initiatives in
manufacturing process for good financial reasons including tax incentives. They may take
complete advantages of incentives available in local, state and federal level. This could make
decisions more advantageous for automotive companies. According to Ghadimi et al. (2012),
sustainability is no longer a reason for improving a firm’s image or enhancing community
relations. It has become a reason of excellent economic sense. Senior executives and
managers of car manufacturing companies recognise strategic and financial benefits, which is
the result of managing an operation that can reduce long-term environmental impacts.
Many car manufacturers devote their resources and time to clean up emissions, reduce waste,
increase recycling, reduce energy consumption, and others. This poses a good chance to
receive some types of incentives in the form of sales tax exemptions, discretionary grants,
property tax abatements and low-interest financing (smmt.co.uk, 2019). Activities qualifying
for tax incentives are an instalment of pollution control equipment, manufacturing vehicles
from recycled products, production of alternative fuels for cars and others. For instance, car
manufacturers in the UK are eligible for 35% of tax benefits on actual tax amount due to
sustainable business practices (Gov.UK, 2019). Hybrid Chevrolet and Nissan Leaf got tax
incentives from the Government due to emphasising on sustainable manufacturing.
Counter argument and rebuttal
Tax incentives from sustainable manufacturing can be advantageous for large car
manufacturers, as they can earn more revenue. This may discourage small businesses, as they
have to pay actual corporate tax. They cannot emphasise on sustainability due to large
investment for which they are not eligible for tax incentives. With the increase in their tax
expenses, they cannot take initiatives for growth and development of their businesses. For
instance, SMEs require financial help to fulfil sustainability standards and participate in the
global automotive value chain. With on-going sustainable practices, their financial burden
will increase (Jasiński et al., 2016). Tax incentives will not be beneficial for small car
manufacturers due to burden involving repayment of the loan.
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Body paragraph 2
Argument
Environmental regulations have a major impact on car manufacturers, which force them to
adopt sustainability in production of vehicles. These regulations influence the performance
and design of vehicles along with ways in which they are produced. With imposition of
environmental regulations, car manufacturers are able to reduce environmental impact by
changing their manufacturing process. This has resulted in cutting usage of water and energy
by 35% and 19% respectively (smmt.co.uk, 2019). Carbon dioxide emission has been slashed
to 31% in the last fifteen years. If the Government continue to impose strict regulations, car
manufacturers will become more sustainable in their approaches. Public policy and vehicle
legislation department of the UK concerns with various issues including climate change,
vehicle emission standards, automotive legislation, road safety and others. It works closely
with specialist departments to ensure whether reputed car manufacturers are adopting
sustainable practices or not.
The UK’s Climate change Act 2008 has a target to meet 80% reduction in carbon and other
green house gases by 2050 as compared to 1990 (Gowlingwlg.com, 2019). This forces car
manufacturers to reduce the manufacturing of diesel and petrol cars by 2040 in order to
accomplish zero emission vehicles completely. Car manufacturers are accountable for major
percentages of waste removal as compared to other industries. According to Golinska (2013),
environmental regulations force companies to produce vehicles from recycled products and
emphasise on efficient waste disposal to minimise their impact on a living being. Some
directives have been implemented by the Government to support car manufacturers in the
sustainable production of vehicles. Manufacturers are required complying with environmental
necessities concerning safety and pollutant emission standards, production of light vehicles
and others. They should acquire better information regarding greenhouse gas emission and
fuel efficiency. This enables them to develop engines that can consume fuel generated from
renewable sources.
Counter argument and rebuttal
Environmental laws and regulations affect a manufacturer’s bottom line. Devices like
catalytic converters reduce emissions but at a high investment. Car manufacturers require
huge expenses to manufacture, test and design systems to reduce emissions from vehicles.
When these expenses are passed to consumers by increasing the cost of vehicles,
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environmental regulations become stricter that affects day-to-day business operations of car
manufacturers. Some car manufacturers may have to follow global environmental regulations
that may add further expense and affect the production and design process. It happens due to
the presence of different criteria for meeting environmental standards in different regions of
the world. Many countries are establishing and adjusting regulations to create better
infrastructure for car manufacturers. This modification in rules, regulations and legislation
forces car manufacturers to change their internal production systems and designs. It indicates
how manufacturers are forced to bear high expenses resulting from Government regulations.
Body paragraph 3
Argument
Car manufacturers pursue sustainability to enhance operational efficiency by reducing the
cost of manufacturing. They treat sustainability as a key objective in business operation to
attain global competitiveness and enhance growth. As opined by Sezen and Cankaya (2013),
sustainable production practices and green manufacturing are major ways to ensure long-term
cost reduction. Manufacturers perform beyond traditional cost cutting measures to adopt
advanced sustainable methods. This enables to make a plan for using fewer materials, energy
and other resources. With application of fewer resources, cost of production reduces and
thereby increases operational efficiency (Oecd.org, 2019). Sustainable manufacturing of
vehicles encourages organisations to adopt lean manufacturing, which involves producing
vehicles only when required by consumers. Elimination of waste is an advantage of a lean
approach that leads to less waiting, transportation, space and other processes (Cherrafi et al.,
2016). Production cost tends to decrease with the elimination of waste products.
Car manufacturers can have other advantages of increased productivity and quality, and
better lead times. As depicted by Semmens et al. (2014), with the adoption of sustainable
manufacturing practices, harmful waste products, toxic substances and emissions are reduced.
Manufacturers do not have to invest much for safe disposal due to a reduction in waste
removal. Penalties and fines are reduced through sustainable manufacturing. For instance, the
Government imposes zero or no fine on manufacturers focusing on less waste removal.
Going green and using renewable resources in the manufacturing of vehicles reduces the
usage of non-renewable resources that are costlier. Sustainable practices make a car
manufacturer more marketable in the industry, as consumers are more concerned about
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environment. It is easy to attract new consumers and improve sales in association with
sustainable production. Additionally, car manufacturers can get Government contracts by
adhering to green manufacturing standards.
Counter argument and rebuttal
Application of sustainable policies and practices require changes in manufacturing pattern.
Car manufacturers may require hiring talented personnel, who can support in facilitating
sustainability in production. This shall increase recruitment, training and other costs of car
manufacturers. Additionally, it may require installing advanced technologies in
manufacturing sites to support sustainable production. For examples, green technology is
used to lighten the carbon footprint. However, the operational and maintenance cost of green
technology is high that can increase production costs (Stoycheva et al., 2018). This shall
increase operational expenses of manufacturers. Therefore, it is not feasible to adopt
sustainable practices always.
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Conclusion
The essay has presented arguments on whether car manufacturers should emphasise on
production of sustainability vehicles. These arguments have considered production costs, tax
incentives and environmental regulations. It can be stated that car manufacturers may have
benefits of tax incentives in state and federal level, and lower production costs due to
application of sustainable approaches. Environmental regulations imposed by the
Government pressurise some manufacturers to consider sustainability during the production
and design of vehicles. This helps them to reduce carbon emission, use fewer resources and
dispose of wastes effectively. Organisations can get benefits of reduced production costs
because of fewer resources, minimisation of waste and increased production efficiency.
Therefore, car manufacturers should concentrate more on sustainability.
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Reference List
Cherrafi, A., Elfezazi, S., Chiarini, A., Mokhlis, A. and Benhida, K., 2016. The integration of
lean manufacturing, Six Sigma and sustainability: A literature review and future research
directions for developing a specific model. Journal of Cleaner Production, 139, pp.828-846.
Ghadimi, P., Azadnia, A.H., Yusof, N.M. and Saman, M.Z.M., 2012. A weighted fuzzy
approach for product sustainability assessment: a case study in automotive industry. Journal
of Cleaner Production, 33, pp.10-21.
Golinska, P. ed., 2013. Environmental issues in automotive industry. Springer Science &
Business Media.
Gov.UK. 2019. Environmental taxes, reliefs and schemes for businesses. [online] Available
at: https://www.gov.uk/green-taxes-and-reliefs [Accessed 2 May 2019].
gowlingwlg.com. 2019. The potential consequences of Brexit for environmental law and the
impact on the automotive industry. [online] Available at: https://gowlingwlg.com/en/insights-
resources/articles/2018/brexit-environmental-law-and-automotive-industry/ [Accessed 2 May
2019].
Jasiński, D., Meredith, J. and Kirwan, K., 2016. A comprehensive framework for automotive
sustainability assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 135, pp.1034-1044.
Mayyas, A., Qattawi, A., Omar, M. and Shan, D., 2012. Design for sustainability in
automotive industry: A comprehensive review. Renewable and sustainable energy
reviews, 16(4), pp.1845-1862.
Oecd.org. 2019. Sustainable manufacturing good practices - OECD. [online] Available at:
https://www.oecd.org/innovation/green/toolkit/sustainablemanufacturinggoodpractices.htm
[Accessed 2 May 2019].
Semmens, J., Bras, B. and Guldberg, T., 2014. Vehicle manufacturing water use and
consumption: an analysis based on data in automotive manufacturers’ sustainability
reports. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 19(1), pp.246-256.
Sezen, B. and Cankaya, S.Y., 2013. Effects of green manufacturing and eco-innovation on
sustainability performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 99, pp.154-163.
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smmt.co.uk 2019. Environment - SMMT. [online] Available at:
https://www.smmt.co.uk/industry-topics/environment/ [Accessed 2 May 2019].
Stoycheva, S., Marchese, D., Paul, C., Padoan, S., Juhmani, A.S. and Linkov, I., 2018. Multi-
criteria decision analysis framework for sustainable manufacturing in automotive
industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 187, pp.257-272.
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