EU must lead global sustainability strategy with unified, market-ready standards 

Newly updated industry data reveals that Europe’s 27 largest automotive suppliers have collectively reduced their Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by 7% between 2023 and 2024, while achieving an 87% recycling and recovery rate for production waste. While these numbers prove the industry is delivering on its green commitments, CLEPA’s annual Materials Regulations and Sustainability event highlighted a critical warning: this momentum will stall unless it is backed by robust incentives and the right framework conditions.

In his opening address, CLEPA’s Secretary General, Benjamin Krieger, highlighted the key role of automotive suppliers in driving Europe’s sustainability and innovation efforts. He underlined the importance of incentivising operations and production in Europe to enable industry to scale these efforts effectively: “Sustainability must work for industry: by fixing how we finance the transition, securing strategic inputs, and prioritising reuse, including repair and remanufacturing, over low-value recycling, Europe can turn decarbonisation into a driver of competitiveness and autonomy.” 

Sustainability as a driver of competitiveness 

A dedicated policy debate brought together policymakers and industry leaders, including Paulius Saudargas, Member of the European Parliament; Arthur Corbin, Member of the Cabinet of European Commission Executive Vice-president for Prosperity and Industry Stéphane Séjourné; Jean-Luc di Paola Galloni, Vice-president of CLEPA and Global External Affairs & Chief Sustainability Officer at Valeo; and Stijn Vervoort, Manager at the Forum on Automotive Aftermarket Sustainability. The discussion was moderated by Kait Bolongaro, Managing Editor at MLex. 

Panellists highlighted challenges in current frameworks and anticipations for the upcoming Circular Economy Act. Europe needs to secure investment frameworks that actively drive the transition, secure resilient supply chains and scale circularity beyond recycling through repair, reuse, and remanufacturing. 

From compliance to opportunity 

The event demonstrated that sustainability is increasingly embedded in core business strategies. From advanced material data systems to circular design and climate risk management, automotive suppliers are developing solutions that can position Europe as a leader in sustainable mobility. 

To support this transition, CLEPA calls for greater regulatory consistency, recognition of full lifecycle impacts, and stronger alignment between sustainability and competitiveness objectives. European suppliers’ priorities can be found in the CLEPA Sustainability Manifesto. 

This event was sponsored by DXC.