Application of Catena-X in Upstream Supply Chains within the Automotive Industry A Case Study on How Catena-X Supports Circularity and Emission Reduction for an OEM and a Tier-1 Supplier

Abstract

Due to increasing sustainability requirements and electrification of vehicles, automotive supply chains are becoming increasingly dependent on electronic components. While this development supports the transition toward more sustainable transportation, it also increases challenges related to Scope 3 emissions, supply chain transparency and circularity. Since environmental data is distributed across multiple supply chain tiers and often treated as commercially sensitive, companies struggle to obtain reliable primary data needed for accurate product carbon footprint calculations and sustainability initiatives. To address these challenges, collaborative data ecosystems, such as Catena-X, have emerged with the ambition to enable standardized and sovereign data exchange across the automotive value chain. Despite growing industry interest, there is still limited research regarding the practical challenges and benefits associated with Catena-X adoption, particularly within upstream automotive supply chains for electronic components. Thus, the thesis motivation originates from an ambition to increase the understanding of how Catena-X can support circularity and emission reduction opportunities while also addressing the challenges associated with ecosystem adoption and data exchange. This case study aspires to investigate how the Catena-X ecosystem can support increased circularity and emission reduction opportunities within upstream automotive supply chains for electronic components. To fulfil the research objectives, a qualitative case study was conducted with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), a Tier-1 supplier, additional upstream actors and representatives connected to the Catena-X ecosystem. The empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews and complemented with secondary data consisting of academic literature, industry reports and publicly available Catena-X documentation. A theoretical framework was developed to support the analysis of empirical findings. The empirical data highlighted two main categories of challenges related to both sustainability management in general, and to Catena-X implementation specifically. Some highlighted challenges are, for example, organizational readiness, ecosystem maturity, data transparency, standardization, implementation costs, and low awareness regarding Catena-X and its practical applications. At the same time, the findings identified several perceived benefits related to improved standardization, increased data transparency, enhanced collaboration and support for emission management. Together, the findings and the discussion provide insights into both the opportunities and challenges associated with Catena-X adoption within automotive supply chains.