Wheel Sustainability Indicator

With a commitment to the 2050 Paris Agreement, the European Union (EU) established a climate and energy framework to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Known as Fit for 55, the EU’s regulations and targets aim to stimulate innovation and speed up the transition to zero- and low-emission mobility.

Europe is not the only governing entity to set carbon reduction targets, nor are vehicle manufacturers only in Europe. Globally, the automotive industry is undergoing a disruptive shift in the journey to sustainability and the entire value chain is under pressure to ramp it up. In its haste to cut emissions and meet targets, the industry has been operating without certain sustainability standards. One such standard is defining how to measure and communicate equivalent emissions at the part level. When an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is looking to reduce its carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) footprint, the wheel, one of the vehicle’s more prominent automotive components, is one of the first parts under consideration.

Maxion Wheels is actively running several customer programs that require specific “green” energy and/or materials sourcing, and we know these requirements will only increase. These same requirements come with no standardization. 

By knowing the main influence factors for the wheel's Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), one can quickly predict the environmental impact, but the LCA value does not qualify as a distinguishing indicator for sustainability performance by itself. What is missing is mass and load capacity adding lightweight performance to the sustainability evaluation.

By working within the closed cradle-to-gate life cycle evaluation, Maxion Wheels and its industry peers developed a Sustainability Indicator methodology that addresses the industry’s need for a standard definition and rating approach to calculate and report CO2e emissions at the wheel level.