Automotive component supplier GKN Automotive is on track to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2045.
The Tier One supplier, which produces drive system components for 90% of global automakers, reduced its CO2e emissions by 30% in 2024.
GKN Automotive supplies a range of drivetrain components, from sideshafts to torque management systems, for combustion vehicles as well as EVs.
The firm’s carbon reduction targets, both short and long-term, have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Dr Clare Wyatt, chief people, communications and sustainability officer at GKN Automotive, said: “We have a critical role in ensuring that we are reducing our environmental footprint, while having a positive impact on the lives of our employees and communities in which we operate.
“Our continued resilience and future growth are reliant on our long-term commitment to embedding sustainability at the heart of our operations to drive a cleaner, more sustainable world.”
85% of GKN’s research and development spend contributed to decarbonisation efforts, while 78% of the steel procured by the firm is now produced using electric arc furnaces, with an aim to reach 90%.
Last year, GKN signed a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement with Recurrent Energy, which will see 65% of the firms European electricity demand met by renewables, from 2026.
GKN has continuously progressed in sustainability, being awarded a Gold rating by independent sustainability assessor EcoVadis in 2024, placing in the top 1% of automotive participants in the scheme, and in the top 5% overall.
It came after the company achieved a Silver rating in 2023, and a Bronze in 2022.
Tom Salisbury, director of sustainability at GKN Automotive, said: “There is continuing demand from our customers to consistently improve the sustainability of our products, processes, and operations, and we are actively partnering with them across the business to drive this forward.”
GKN has also launched a philanthropic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programme, supporting education for over 1,000 children in India, Mexico, and Poland.
