Integration of environmental activities in Veoneer Sweden AB Assessment of an implementation of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol

Abstract

The integration of environmental activities with Veoneer as case company and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol as case activity was assessed. Veoneer’s identity as manufacturing company was defined to be focused on quality and cost efficiency to supplying with safety products for enabling safer utilisation of vehicles. The environmental work is mainly based on compliance-driven reactions to key stakeholder expectations, while perspectives of the different actors in Veoneer concludes in high awareness of the need to take a more proactive role. The demand for a further developed environmental management system and environmental policy was additionally identified. Both can be combined with environmental measurements which would support improvements. A path on how to integrate and address the Greenhouse Gas Protocol within the existing quality approach was identified. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol as accounting standard for emissions of companies’ whole operational impacts was applied to assess how an implementation can be approached. For most of the categories, preliminary results could be developed to show how already existing data and reporting procedures could be used. Scope 1 makes up 3.05%, scope 2 1.67% and scope 3 95.28% of all emissions, which is in line with average automotive industry distribution. An implementation requires the spreading of knowledge related to the benefits of environmental work in order to reach a critical mass to encourage a top-down directive. The protocol’s function as an environmental accounting tool contributes to the company’s ability to measure environmental performances. The natural involvement of employees and business partners in the data collection supports changing processes as well as it creates ripple effects in the value chain. However, the correlation between financial and environmental accounting for the GHG Protocol application needs to be assessed further to produce even more convincing knowledge.