Valeo's Sustainability Strategies in the Automotive Industry

Introduction

Automobiles are used across the globe to transport people and goods from one point to another. The automotive industry — comprising passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks — is a major source of pollution worldwide, generating ozone, particulate matter, and other smog-forming emissions. Passenger vehicles are a particularly significant contributor, producing substantial amounts of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and additional pollutants. Statistics indicate that transportation accounts for more than 50 percent of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, as well as approximately 25 percent of the hydrocarbons discharged into the air (Holdsworth, 2018). In recent years, automotive corporations have therefore made significant efforts to develop innovations and technologies that reduce transportation-related air pollution and climate change emissions. Achieving meaningful emission reductions from motor vehicles is essential for meeting air quality standards and protecting the environment.

One company that has been at the forefront of steering sustainability is Valeo, a France-based corporation that manufactures automotive parts. The company designs and produces products that help automakers reduce emissions. According to Forbes, Valeo is ranked as the third most sustainable company in the world, with a sustainability score of 83.6 percent (Strauss, 2018). As an international automotive supplier, Valeo operates in 33 different countries, developing innovative technologies and systems intended to make the vehicles of tomorrow more natural, self-sufficient, connected, and environmentally friendly. Key sustainability figures from Valeo's website indicate that the company has spent 17.2 million euros on environmental protection and investment, and an additional 1.9 billion euros on research and development. Furthermore, the company has invested substantially in employee development, logging 2.2 million training hours in the 2017 fiscal year. Most notably, over the past five years, Valeo has facilitated a 5 percent decline in direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions since 2009 (Valeo, 2018).

Strategies of Natural Capitalism

Valeo has engaged with several dimensions of Natural Capitalism in its fundamental objective of becoming a more sustainable and environmentally responsible corporation. One strategy it has embraced is radical resource productivity — an approach to preserving natural sustainability through methods such as reducing resource depletion, decreasing pollution, and supporting economies. Valeo creates innovative products and systems that protect the environment, reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, and promote the development of intuitive, connected, and more autonomous driving.

A fitting example is the company's work on transmission automation. Several technologies contribute to this area, including automatic transmissions, automated manual transmissions, and double clutch transmissions. Notably, the double clutch transmission reduces carbon dioxide emissions by between 6 and 10 percent compared to traditional automatic transmissions. Valeo has developed both wet and dry double clutch technologies. Its Dry Double Clutch module produces lower CO₂ intake and emissions than a Wet Double Clutch, and its design incorporates fewer components than competing products, making it more reliable.

A second dimension of Natural Capitalism that Valeo has embraced is biomimicry. Biomimicry is an approach that supports environmental sustainability through the continuous reuse of materials in closed cycles and the elimination of toxicity. It emphasizes imitating nature's systems and processes in order to find sustainable solutions to existing problems. Valeo has made significant efforts to incorporate bio-inspired and biomimetic designs into its automotive parts. The company also applies biomimicry principles through material reuse: 98 percent of the new generation of Valeo i-STARS starter-alternators are recycled, and 94 percent of Valeo e-superchargers are recycled. This continuous reuse of materials helps eliminate toxicity and reduce environmental impact (Valeo, 2018).