Sustainability has transitioned from being a buzzword to a core component of business strategy. As the world struggles with shrinking resources, a fast-growing population, and the serious effects of climate change, sustainable business practices have become a decisive element in a company’s future success.
As a business, AkzoNobel has ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions by 50% across the value chain by 2030, and as a supplier to the bodyshop and repair shop industry, it is committed to supporting its clients’ ambitions in making their business more sustainable. One of the ways it is helping with these ambitions is through the Sustainable Repair Network.
The Sustainable Repair Network is a program that delivers the products, services and digital tools to make a measurable difference to a bodyshop’s goal to reduce its carbon footprint. By visiting bodyshops and carefully evaluating various aspects of their operations, we can identify opportunities to help them start their journey or enhance and accelerate their existing strategies.
While most businesses focus their attention toward addressing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and direct and indirect emissions, AkzoNobel deliberately targets Scope 3 which considers those emissions that extend beyond a company’s own operations. The Sustainable Repair Network program specifically targets emissions that occur downstream – arguably the data that is the most difficult to measure, influence and manage.
Within the Sustainable Repair Network are three main ‘Services’ that enable AkzoNobel to create journeys that are bespoke to each customer and that provide them with the actionable insights to drive sustainable change.
The first tool is the ‘Carbon Pulse’, which is designed to comprehensively assess and quantify the carbon footprint created by a bodyshop’s operation. By collecting energy consumption and production data, including vehicle throughput and repair statistics, AkzoNobel can deliver key performance indicators (KPIs) to help businesses evaluate their current emissions status and develop targeted strategies for future improvement.
Helping the bodyshop to achieve its emissions target is the second service. Energy Pulse is effectively an audit that covers all areas of energy consumption in a bodyshop from the spray booth, and illumination to HVAC. Every aspect of operations can have a significant impact on energy consumption over the course of a year, so even a seemingly small change can be crucial for helping clients reduce their carbon footprint.
Element three is the ‘4 R Pulse’ - repair, reduce, reuse and recycle – and which of the ‘Rs’ are best used at a particular time. Replacing a bumper with a new part may be more economical than repairing what’s there. But when all factors are taken into consideration – the manufacture, shipping, and transport of the new part and the disposal of the old – it may not in fact be the most cost-effective option, neither is it the most sustainable, and ‘repair’ may be the better option.
Rather than solely focusing on the financials, the key lies in shifting the mindset toward durability and sustainability. So how we can change our perspective and prioritise long-term sustainability over short-term financial gain?
When it comes to sustainability, fostering open dialogue is crucial. At AkzoNobel, we actively drive change in the market by identifying and recognising that collaboration with competitors is essential, and learning from our peers can have a positive impact on other businesses who are also committed to building a sustainable future.
Understandably, however, appetite and demands can differ depending on where you are in Europe. Some regions are more advanced than others in their thinking and their actions, and in the progress being made. With the Sustainable Repair Network, we are following the pyramid principle, seeking to initiate a change from the ground up, and from the broadest base.
Our ambition is to have the whole repair industry joining our initiative. It is open to all players within the value chain so that we can collectively create a positive impact throughout the industry as a whole. Success will be measured not only in the number of bodyshops we help, but also how that support is having a tangible impact on meeting our own 50%1 reduction target, pinpointing the precise contribution, with real data and no longer estimations, made by those within the network.
From the shop floor to the executive suite, the focus lies in fostering collaboration between key stakeholders and suppliers, with sustainability as the driving force. This shift is driven by a growing awareness of sustainability issues and the desire to drive positive change.
In today’s constantly evolving business landscape, AkzoNobel’s vehicle refinishes business is not only exploring how it works just with the bodyshops. For the future of the Sustainable Repair Network, AkzoNobel is currently actively exploring partnerships with third parties in order to elevate our positioning as leaders in the sustainable and Net-Zero landscape.
There is still a long way to go, and the journey is only just beginning, there are many unknowns and as an industry we are all mindful of greenwashing, which means we have to establish trust. And what we do know is that access to real data can bring real, meaningful change.
Learn more about the Sustainable Repair Network
[1] Baseline 2018