Greenpeace Report Highlights Carbon Emissions from Automakers’ Steel Supply Chain

A recent report by Greenpeace reveals that the world’s leading automakers are collectively responsible for an estimated 74 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, primarily due to the industry’s failure to decarbonize its steel supply chain.

The automobile sector, heavily reliant on steel as a primary manufacturing material, witnessed the use of an estimated 39-65 million tonnes of steel by the top 16 automakers in 2022, according to Greenpeace’s environmental advocacy report.

In 2022, Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, utilized 6.3 million tonnes of steel, followed by Volkswagen and Hyundai-Kia with 5.2 million tonnes each, as outlined in the report released on Thursday.

Greenpeace contends that this dependency on steel comes at a significant environmental cost, contributing substantial carbon emissions and pushing global temperatures closer to the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) threshold identified by climate scientists as a potential disaster.

Wenjie Liu, Senior Analyst at Greenpeace East Asia, emphasized the role of automakers in addressing climate concerns, stating, “Automakers are steering us toward climate catastrophe by failing to decarbonize their steel supply chains.”

Steel manufacturing itself produced 573 million tonnes of CO2 in the previous year, a figure equivalent to Australia’s annual carbon output. Liu emphasized that without increased involvement from the auto industry, which consumed 16 percent of global steel in 2022, the heavy carbon footprint associated with steel production is unlikely to change.

The Greenpeace report evaluated major automakers, including Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai-Kia, General Motors, Stellantis, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Geely, BMW, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, SAIC Motor, Great Wall Motor, and Mazda. Notably, none of these companies discloses the carbon emissions from their steel use, and only a few disclose their annual steel consumption, leading to rough estimates of emissions figures.

While Greenpeace acknowledged some efforts by European automakers to decarbonize their steel supply chains, it stressed that more ambitious goals are required. The report urged greater efforts in East Asia, which hosts 60 percent of global steel production but has seen limited automaker-led initiatives.

To address the issue, Greenpeace proposed key steps for automakers, including the disclosure of steel-related emissions, green steel procurement commitments, and a long-term commitment to achieving net-zero emissions across their supply chains through reduced steel usage and a transition to zero-carbon steel.

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