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Sustainability

Removing the finish line

How the circular economy will reinvigorate the automotive industry

The automotive industry spawned a new wave of manufacturing in the twentieth century: assembly line innovation, lean manufacturing, robotics, automation, and safety. But times change, and so must the automotive industry. It is clear the traditional linear model is no longer viable.

Sustainability imperatives are pushing automakers to deliver net-zero strategies in their production and manufacturing processes and to electrify their parks. The industry already experienced multiple disruptions in its supply chains (e.g., semiconductor crisis) but the urgent need to produce batteries at scale is going to exacerbate those issues on material sourcing such as cobalt, lithium, or nickel. However, beyond carbon, resources represent another battle that deserves its own attention, especially as it becomes a matter of sovereignty. Fortunately, the circular economy is rapidly becoming the next standard for greater control of materials’ value chains.

But that’s not all.

By inserting end-of-life products into a new cycle, OEMs can prolong the value of products, materials, and resources. As such, circular economic principles add and preserve more value than traditional manufacturing models. OEMs have all the ingredients needed to succeed in this new era. But they must make broad changes to their operations, adopt new partnership models within and across industries, and act now to overtake their competition.

With our new ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Invent publication, we enable you to remove the finish line and do just that.

Sustainability through a sector lens

Contact our experts

Sebastian Tschödrich – Our Expert

Sebastian Tschödrich

EVP, Global Client Partner, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½
Sebastian Tschödrich leads ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s support for one of the world’s leading automotive companies, ensuring that it benefits from the breadth and depth of our evolving service portfolio. He has more than 15 years’ experience in digital transformation and automotive consulting in Europe and China, including a spell as Head of the Global Automotive practice for ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Invent. He has authored papers and is a frequent key note speaker on key strategic priorities for automotive companies, such as connectivity, customer experience, data and circularity.

Siegfried Adam

Director, Global Lead Sustainable Mobility, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Invent
Director for Automotive consulting and Global Lead for sustainable mobility in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Invent. He has been working with major automotive OEMs, suppliers, and cities on digitalizing and electrifying cars as well as in the shared mobility space for more than 10 years.

Dr. Josefine Diekhof

Manager, Sustainability Strategy, Circular Economy & ESG Data Management
With broad experience in the economic industry, where adherence to complex regulations is paramount, Josefine became Business Consulting Manager in 2022. Currently based in Berlin, she leads the Sustainability Strategy, with a key focus on the circular economy and ESG data management.
Clément Chenut – Our Expert

Clément Chenut

Circular Economy Services Leader
Part of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s Sustainability Accelerator, set up to increase awareness of sustainability issues and develop practical solutions for clients, my focus is to promote and accelerate the adoption of circular economy business models. With ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ colleagues, we’ve developed a suite of CE services from strategy to digital/engineering solutions. These services guide clients from a linear economy that can destroy value, to a circular economy that preserves value – by minimizing the use of raw materials and resources, and reducing the production of waste. I’ve also led digital transformation programs, mainly in banking and transport, and was part of the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½â€™s 5G Lab team, set up to help clients strategize, build and monetize the advantages of 5G.

Philipp Kolbeck

Senior Consultant & Chief of Staff @ ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Invent | Bocconi
I specialize on customer experience, sales & marketing transformation, service innovation, and project management & design. I focus on applying the latest concepts and strategies from these fields in automotive, mobility, energy & utilities and related industries.