Aston University Business School has teamed up with West Bromwich manufacturer Metal Assemblies to cerate what has been described as a ‘UK First,’ calculating and reporting the carbon cost of every metal component used in car production.

Labelled the ‘Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)’, the university hopes it will transform how vehicle parts are made and regulated, setting a new standard for transparency and low-carbon manufacturing across Europe. 

The project will collect and analyse data on energy consumption at Metal Assemblies based on a product life-cycle analysis and will create a sustainable manufacturing strategy for the company.

The firms said the project will supercharge its plans to be the first in the sector to offer detailed carbon cost information.

Metal Assemblies produces a wide range of machined metal components and welded assemblies, supplying Toyota, BMW and Nissan, among other manufacturers across the UK and Europe.

New environmental regulations, such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, now require detailed data on the carbon cost of each vehicle component and place tariffs on carbon intensive goods.

According to the university, developing more sustainable approaches to manufacture vehicle parts is expected to help the sector to limit these tariffs and support efforts to decarbonise the automotive industry.

Iain Collis, CEO of Metal Assemblies, said: “There isn’t yet a structured, robust approach in the automotive supply chain for measuring the carbon cost of parts and reporting this up the chain to customers.

“By working with Aston Business School to develop a systematic method for assessing environmental impact, we’ll be transforming this end of the supply chain in ways that provide value to our customers while differentiating ourselves from our competitors.”

The team said it will also use a concept called Sustainability Fitness, developed by Aston University academics, to measure how healthy and sustainable the company is.

Dr Breno Nunes, reader in sustainability operations management at Aston Business School, said: “Through the Corporate Sustainability Fitness Model, we’ll be providing Metal Assemblies with a visual dashboard that clearly shows the company’s sustainability performance, trade-offs of each potential shift in their strategy, and a clear direction to take for a more sustainable future.

“This offers a new way to think about sustainability – one that balances short-term economic needs and longer-term sustainability requirements.”