Aston Business School are working with West Bromwich manufacturer, Metal Assemblies, to tackle one of the industry’s biggest sustainability challenges.
In a UK-first for the automative supply chain, they will team up to calculate and report the carbon cost of every metal component used in car production, in a bid to transform how vehicle parts are made and regulated.
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) hope to set a new standard for transparency and low-carbon manufacturing across Europe with the results they receive from this report, and have chosen to work with Metal Assemblies who produce a wide range of machined metal components and welded assemblies, supplying Toyota, BMV and Nissan, among other manufacturers across the UK and Europe.
As new environmental regulations, such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, require detailed data on the carbon cost of each vehicle component to place tariffs on carbon intensive goods, these results are very important.
It will largely help the sector to limit tariffs and support efforts to decarbonise the automotive industry, through developing more sustainable approaches to manufacturing vehicle parts.
The KTP between Aston University and Metal Assemblies will span three years, and the project will design and integrate an innovative approach to energy efficiency across the company’s entire manufacturing process, through gaining access to specialist data and operations expertise. This project will charge its plans for being the first in the sector to offer detailed carbon cost information.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are funded by Innovate UK – where collaborations between a business, a university, and a highly qualified research associate are formed. Aston University is a sector-leading KTP, offering UK-wide programmes which help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills.
A product cycle analysis will be used to collect and analyse data on energy consumption at Metal Assemblies, and will create a sustainable manufacturing strategy for the company that will allow it to better market different products and processes based on their carbon content and possible trade-offs.
A concept called Sustainability Fitness, developed by Aston University academics, will also be used, to measure how healthy and sustainable the company is. With this, the team expects to identify the most urgent and cost-effective improvements, whilst ensuring the company stays competitive and meets regulations.
This partnership will support the wider sector to adopt alternative, lower-impact manufacturing techniques, with Metal Assemblies working with their customers to design more sustainable components.
CEO of Metal Assemblies, Iain Collis, commented: “There isn’t yet a structured, robust approach in the automotive supply chain for measuring the carbon cost of parts and reporting this up the chain to customers.
“By working with Aston Business School to develop a systematic method for assessing environmental impact, we’ll be transforming this end of the supply chain in ways that provide value to our customers while differentiating ourselves from our competitors.”
With reader in sustainability operations management at Aston Business School, Dr Breno Nunes, adding: “Through the Corporate Sustainability Fitness Model, we’ll be providing Metal Assemblies with a visual dashboard that clearly shows the company’s sustainability performance, trade-offs of each potential shift in their strategy, and a clear direction to take for a more sustainable future. This offers a new way to think about sustainability – one that balances short-term economic needs and longer-term sustainability requirements.”
Aston Business School is one of the leading business schools, ranking in the UK’s top ten and 66th in 2024 QS World Rankings by subject for Business and Management Studies, which is why it offers advanced research capabilities and specialist knowledge required to transform manufacturing processes at Metal Assemblies.
Through bringing a wealth of expertise in data security, data analysis, and performance and impact measurement into the business, they are supporting the vision of a greener future.
