Porsche Embraces Green Manufacturing
Porsche is making efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in its supply chain. The sports car manufacturer is calling for its roughly 1300 suppliers to use exclusively renewable energy in the manufacture of Porsche components as of July. The proposal applies to any contracts awarded for providing production material for new vehicle projects. Suppliers who are unwilling to switch to certified green energy will no longer be considered for contracts with Porsche in the long-term. “Our battery cell suppliers have already had to use green energy since 2020,” said Uwe-Karsten Städter, member of the executive board for procurement at Porsche AG. “And now we are taking the next important step: we stipulate that our series suppliers also use only renewable energy to produce our components, to help reduce CO2-emissions even further. We recognize we have a responsibility to ensure that supply chains are transparent and sustainable.”
As for Porsche, the company has set a goal to be CO2-neutral across the entire value chain by 2030. At the moment, the sports car manufacturer’s supply chain is responsible for around 20% of Porsche’s total greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s set to rise to around 40% by 2030 due to the increasing electrification of vehicles. “By using only renewable energy sources, our suppliers are following our example in our efforts to reach CO2 neutrality,” said Städter. “We plan to have even more intensive talks with our partners in order to drive forward improvements in our sustainability. It is only by working together that we will be able to combat ongoing climate change.”
In addition to its supply chain, Porsche is reducing CO2 emissions in its own plants. The production of the Taycan – the first all-electric sports cars made in the Zuffenhausen plant in Stuttgart, Germany – has been carbon neutral since it was launched in 2019. Since 2020, this has been true for all vehicles made at the company’s headquarters, and therefore, for the Porsche model 718 and model 911. At the start of 2021, the Development Center in Weissach and the plant in Leipzig, where the Macan and Panamera models are produced, followed suit. This means that all of the large Porsche sites are already CO2 neutral in terms of operations.
The company will also be investing more than a billion euros in decarbonization measures over the next 10 years. Porsche reached a milestone with the world premiere of the Taycan Cross Turismo at the beginning of March. The all-rounder among electric sports cars is the world’s first ever vehicle to be carbon neutral throughout its entire service life. More model series are set to follow. And by 2030, the aim is for more than 80% of all new vehicles sold to be purely electric or plug-in hybrid models. As early as 2025, at least 50 % of new vehicles sold are to feature an electric drive.
