Heavy vehicle manufacturer Scania has announced that it will decarbonise its supply chain by 2030 in conjunction with its suppliers.

The trucks and bus major said that it was taking “far-reaching measures” together with its suppliers to eliminate the largest carbon emissions sources from the most common production materials and batteries that go into its vehicles. The Swedish company called the step “an ambitious, industry-leading strategy”.

Scania elaborated that its 2030 target is 100 per cent green batteries, 100 per cent green steel, 100 per cent green aluminium and 100 per cent green cast iron in its production.

Andreas Follér, head of Sustainability at Scania, said: “Once again Scania leads the way in ambitious climate action. We were the first in our industry to adopt Science Based carbon reduction Targets and we are now showing the way by decarbonising our supply chain.”

Scania said that it has identified four emission “hotspots” through life cycle analyses, which are batteries, steel, aluminium and cast iron, together constituting approximately 80 per cent of carbon emissions arising from production materials.

The company explained in its statement that “in electric vehicles, for example, batteries can account for half of sourcing emissions whereas in combustion engine vehicles, steel has the greatest carbon footprint”.
“These four hotspots are, therefore, the focus of Scania’s supply chain decarbonisation strategy,” said the company.

Scania’s definition of “green” requires eliminating the main sources of emissions by utilising new technologies, green electricity and/or recycled material. In batteries, for example, access to green energy in production is decisive. In the production of flat steel, replacing coal with green hydrogen is key.

John van Rossum, head of Purchasing at Scania, said: “Scania has ambitious decarbonisation targets for all its activities, including our supply chain sourcing. We’re pleased to note that several of our current and future suppliers are frontrunners in decarbonisation and will collaborate with us to reach the targets.”

The supply chain decarbonisation strategy and targets initially comprise Scania’s European production facilities but will gradually be extended to its production in China and Latin America.