Climate Strategy in focus incl. CCF, PCF, SBT
Customer: Huf Hülsbeck & Fürst GmbH & Co. KG
Category: Automotive
Date: December 2024
Founded in 1908 by Ernst Hülsbeck and August Fürst, the Huf Group is a global automotive supplier specializing in the development and production of mechanical and electronic locking systems. Today, Huf is a leading specialist for secure access and authorization systems and supplies almost all car manufacturers around the globe with pioneering innovations and products for greater convenience and security.
Huf promotes sustainability within the company and deals intensively with environmental and social issues. As Huf’s chosen partner, DFGE supports the company in various areas such as the annual calculation of a Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF), the calculation of selected key products as a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), participation in CDP and EcoVadis as well as the development of Science-Based Targets (SBTs). In 2023, DFGE supported Huf in developing a dedicated climate strategy that enables the company to reliably meet regulations in different regions of the world as well as divergent customer requirements.
Challenges
Increasing sustainability requirements
In today’s world, automotive suppliers are facing increasing pressure and growing demands in the area of sustainability. This development is driven by a variety of factors, including increasing environmental awareness among consumers, stricter legal requirements and regulatory standards such as CSRD, as well as the growing demand from automotive OEMs for sustainable solutions along their entire supply chain. For example, more and more OEMs are requiring their suppliers to participate in sustainability platforms, publish sustainability indicators and set climate targets.
Consequently, one of the biggest challenges for automotive suppliers is to design their products and processes in such a way that they reduce their environmental footprint and maximize resource efficiency. This can mean using materials with a lower environmental impact potential, improving energy efficiency in production or integrating recyclable and biodegradable components.
Solution
Between reduction measures and climate targets
Every year, DFGE supports Huf in calculating the CCF and submitting the data to the CDP and EcoVadis sustainability platforms. The CCF in particular serves as a fundamental basis for drawing up a climate strategy in order to identify starting points for reduction measures. Based on hotspot analyses and deep dives in the CCF, it was possible to determine which scope categories make a significant contribution. At Huf’s request, DFGE identified several reduction approaches and potentials in numerous scope categories. In addition to the opportunities within the CCF, the external side was also examined.
The requirements of car manufacturers play a central role for automotive supplier Huf. These increase from year to year and oblige the company to set specific targets and reduction measures. In addition to the SBTs set, which were successfully validated this year, all internal and external requirements and targets relevant to Huf were seen as a prerequisite for a successful climate strategy. During several workshops, the identified reduction potentials and target requirements were brought together to show Huf a roadmap for a 1.5°C-compatible future. An important milestone for Huf towards CSRD.
Result
Climate strategy as a roadmap for a sustainable future
By linking various projects – from CCFs, PCFs and SBTs to CDP – the climate strategy was able to make a significant contribution to strengthening sustainability activities at Huf. The DFGE has helped to identify starting points for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to develop concrete proposals to meet customer requirements and climate targets.
Another positive side effect of the cross-functional approach to the sustainability strategy at Huf that should not be underestimated: Awareness of the relevance of sustainability has been further increased across the company. For example, departments such as Purchasing or Product Development, which play a major role in meeting reduction targets in the automotive sector, were able to identify additional savings potential and optimization approaches and raise awareness of these issues in the teams. The company is therefore well on the way to CSRD, and DFGE will be happy to continue its support.
