Why is knowledge about the carbon footprint so important?
There are two reasons why it is. In view of climate change, a low carbon footprint is an asset not only ecologically but also economically: For consumers at the point of sale as well as for parties within the supply chains, a low, transparent performance indicator in that area is an increasingly compelling selling point. In addition, a low carbon footprint helps companies improve their position on the competitive labor market. In both cases, green scores with consumers, with customers, with colleagues.

Plus, if you want to lower the carbon footprint of your products you first need to know where the emission shoe pinches most. Is it on your own factory floor, is it in transportation, is it with raw materials? Once problem areas have been identified responsibilities can be addressed and actions prioritized.

How does Schaeffler calculate the carbon footprint of its products?
To capture and analyze the millions of data points from a wide variety of sources that are needed to establish the carbon footprint of a product, Schaeffler developed a digital tool and had it certified by TÜV SÜD. The automatic calculation of the carbon footprint breaks down all the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a product – from primary (raw material) production to manufacturing to transportation and warehousing – and totals them. That enables Schaeffler to provide all stakeholders with transparent access to the emission data of its products. The CO₂ calculator itself depends on transparency: an accurate and credible calculation requires low-threshold access to the relevant data of all the parties along the supply chain.

What databases does the tool access? Are the sources exclusively Schaeffler’s or external ones as well?
The central CO₂ calculation tool is fed with input from various databases such as digital applications like the Material Supplier Database (MSD) and Transportation Data Cube (TDC), etc. that Schaeffler has developed as well. “In addition, we use SAP data such as bills of material, work schedule data, and related energy consumption information,” says project leader Calin-Adrian Pintea.

© Schaeffler

“Our CO₂ calculator enables us to calculate existing or new products at any time and to develop decarbonization actions.”

How exactly does the CO₂ calculation tool work?
A Schaeffler employee uses our tool to query the data for the raw materials, services, and production steps of the component the customer requires. “Based on the existing data, the program subsequently calculates the exact carbon footprint by means of an automated analysis,” says Pintea.

For how many of Schaeffler’s products is sustainable calculation possible at this juncture? By when are the rest of the products going to follow?
Schaeffler has been using the tool since the middle of 2023. Based on 500 reference products, Schaeffler covers its entire product portfolio. Pintea: “We’re already giving our divisions and internal customers the opportunity to calculate existing or new products using our CO₂ calculator at any time to appropriately respond to customer inquiries and to define decarbonization actions.”

What benefits does the calculation tool offer?
The previously mentioned transparency for customers concurrently enables a critical assessment of our own factory floor. This puts Schaeffler in a position to identify the places along the value chain at which high emissions are generated as well as the materials, manufacturing, or logistics stages where that’s the case. Following that identification, those critical aspects can systematically be improved: for instance, by using materials produced in climate-friendly ways such as green steel or innovative production methods as well as by implementing efficiency-enhancing artificial intelligence. “In addition, our customers can, for example, instantly identify whether it makes more sense for emission-related reasons to manufacture a pre-product in-house or to purchase it. The same obviously applies to us as well,” says project leader Pintea.