Help is on the way for automakers challenged by ESG compliance

Automakers and their suppliers face a new and serious challenge: conforming to the growing number of environmental, societal and governance (ESG) regulations that affect the industry.

These regulations are wide-ranging and include rules for:

• End-of-life vehicles (ELV)
• Recyclability
• Materials compliance
• Conflict minerals
• Supply-chain social factors
• Sustainability
• The circular economy
• Digital product passports (coming soon)

But there’s good news, as well. DXC Technology helps automakers comply with ESG regulations with our advanced portfolio of solutions. This starts with IMDS, the auto industry’s leading materials data system.

Inside IMDS

IMDS is now used by more than 200,000 employees at over 120,000 automotive suppliers worldwide. Data from this large community serves as the foundation for consistent reporting across the supply chain; for example, about Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), per the EU's REACH regulation, which establishes procedures for collecting and assessing information on the properties and hazards of substances.

To stay current, IMDS is continually being updated with new, innovative features. Take the IMDS Advanced Accelerator (IMDS-a2). It includes more than 40 checks to analyze and ensure that materials comply with many regulations. Also, a2’s specialized analysis and reporting module lets automakers analyze their IMDS data with in-memory databases and big data technology.

Another advanced solution, IMDS Advanced Interface (IMDS-AI), helps automakers integrate IMDS communications with their suppliers and customers into their local processes and systems. Its download function lets manufacturers transfer data from IMDS to their internal systems.

IMDS’s new product carbon footprint (PCF) functionality is now in development and is expected to go live later this year. This function will collect PCF values for all materials and components from the entire supply chain. For example, using this feature, IMDS would be able to compare the total carbon footprint of aluminum fabricated in China with the same material coming from Scandinavia in order to help determine and select the more sustainable option. Longer term, this function will be extended even further to include the total environmental footprint.

Materials matter, too

One big advantage of IMDS is its ability to produce a full material declaration of all chemicals. But IMDS also lets manufacturers strike a balance between reporting duties and confidentiality. It can exclude any nonhazardous chemicals, representing no more than 10% of all by weight, that a company marks as confidential using the Global Automotive Declarable Substance List (GADSL) as a reference.

And because the IMDS materials data sheet is compiled independently of any single specific regulation, information collected by IMDS can be used for compliance with multiple regulations. Essentially, it’s “collect once, apply many.”

For example, if a company collects data via IMDS for ELV reporting, it could later reuse that data for a battery passport — a digital record of the battery containing all information necessary to be compliant with the new EU Battery Regulation — or the REACH regulation. By contrast, many dedicated material-collection platforms focus on a single regulation only. This means any new inquiry must be started for a new regulation, and even for updates of existing regulations.

IMDS will also help automakers prepare for the forthcoming digital product passport (DPP). As proposed by the European Commission, the DPP will share product information across the entire value chain, including data on raw-material extraction, production and recycling. Companies can prepare for the DPP by using IMDS to calculate the real impact of production and recycling efficiency.

Extending IMDS: CDX & MaCS

To allow other durable-goods manufacturers to enjoy the benefits of IMDS, DXC has extended the system with the Compliance Data Exchange (CDX). This SaaS-based solution is used mainly outside the automotive industry for product data management and supply-chain communications. Durable-goods makers can use CDX to assess their product safety, compliance and sustainability.

Of course, CDX can be used by automakers. For them, CDX functions as an additional solution for material compliance for products that are not part of a vehicle, such as accessories or merchandising products.

To extend the reporting capabilities of IMDS, DXC has created MaCS, the material collector system. It’s a powerful tool that runs on a SaaS platform, empowering automakers to maximize their recyclability and reusability indexes when designing products, and to minimize their environmental footprints. And like IMDS, MaCS is continually updated and extended.

MaCS lets automakers match the composition of each supplier’s part as described in the associated Materials Data Sheet, with the structure of the final product typically described in the OEM’s bill of materials (BoM). Automakers can also use MaCS to test different versions of their BoMs and find the version likely to have the lightest impact on the environment.

For other industries, MaCS can be used to manage nonautomotive products, proving the manufacturer will collect its materials information from its supply chain through CDX.

Tap into DXC’s expertise

DXC can help automakers and other durable-goods manufacturers comply with the latest ESG regulations and requirements that they are obligated to support. Our related consulting services start with systems integration, a service necessary for connecting systems and data both inside and outside a manufacturer’s firewalls.

Learn more about DXC Automotive, DXC Analytics & Engineering and DXC Consulting.