Automotive Industry Develops New Guidance for Measuring Recycled Content of Automotive Products

WASHINGTON and SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) and the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) today announced the publication of a new guidance document, "Measuring Recycled Content of Automotive Products."

The guidance document was produced through a collaborative process by the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment's (SP) Materials Efficiency Work Group, whose members include automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Honda Development & Manufacturing of America, LLC (HDMA), Stellantis, Toyota Motor North America and their suppliers, in collaboration with the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG).

The document is designed to outline a common industry-supported definition and straightforward approach for measuring recycled content of automotive products consistent with those approaches outlined in other standards.

"As we continue forward in our aspiration to maximize use of sustainable content in vehicles, we decided to pull together a team of automakers and suppliers with the objective to develop straightforward common definitions of key terms related to the topic of sustainable materials to minimize duplication of effort and promote consistent approaches in communications with suppliers, sustainability reporting and measuring industry progress," said Reeshemah Howard, Sustainability Mission Leader, General Motors.

"Striving to eliminate waste and optimize use of sustainable materials in automotive operations and products is a key priority for our member companies. While there are established definitions of certain terms related to the topic of sustainable materials, we have found that a range of different definitions and interpretations of such terms may be in use across industry today and feel there is an opportunity for the automotive industry to take the lead in promoting further alignment in this area through its supply chain," said Kellen Mahoney, Program Director, Suppliers Partnership for the Environment.

"AIAG was pleased to collaborate with Suppliers Partnership in developing a common definition of recycled content for use throughout the automotive industry. We believe this new guidance document will help reduce confusion associated with differing definitions, and consequently support industry efforts surrounding the use of sustainable and recyclable materials. Our team also plans to convene a new work group in the coming months to focus on sustainable materials-specific initiatives and developing additional resources for companies throughout the supply chain," said Lecedra Welch, Program Manager, Environmental Sustainability, Automotive Industry Action Group.

SP and AIAG are recommending that automotive companies reference the definitions and process outlined in this guidance and that this document be distributed widely across the automotive supply chain as best practice guidance when determining recycled content of an automotive product.  In the coming month, SP and AIAG will also be releasing a companion guidance document outlining a common process for measuring renewable content of automotive products.

"This project is a first of its kind collaboration between SP and AIAG in order to help build alignment and promote the use of common, consistent language across the industry when speaking to sustainable materials. Going forward, SP's Materials Efficiency Work Group intends to build on learnings from this process to address common definitions for additional aspects related to sustainable materials where needed and we look forward to continuing collaboration with AIAG and other industry organizations with shared interests in improving the sustainability of the automotive supply chain," concluded Reeshemah Howard.

The guidance document is available to download at no cost at https://www.supplierspartnership.org/recycledcontent and https://www.aiag.org/recycled-content-definition.

About SP
The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP) is an association of automakers and their suppliers working in collaboration with the US EPA and other governmental entities toward a shared vision of an automotive industry with positive environmental impact. https://www.supplierspartnership.org/

About AIAG
The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) is a unique not-for-profit organization where OEMs, suppliers, service providers, government entities, and individuals in academia have worked together for more than 39 years to drive down costs and complexity from the automotive supply chain. With more than 4,000 member companies, AIAG provides a legal, non-competitive forum for collaboration on innovative solutions to common industry issues. https://www.aiag.org/