ANNOUNCEMENTS
The imperative to mitigate climate change has intensified the focus on decarbonization across industrial value chains, particularly within energy-intensive sectors such as automotive manufacturing. This thesis presents a comprehensive study on value chain decarbonization, addressing both upstream and downstream components through targeted interventions in energy management and sustainability practices.
Upstream efforts are concentrated on reducing Scope 3 emissions by facilitating the transition of key suppliers from conventional to renewable energy sources. Downstream, an energy efficiency handbook is developed for vehicle dealerships, offering a structured framework for implementing energy-saving measures, optimizing operational practices, and promoting awareness among stakeholders.
Within the organizational boundary, the study supports the implementation of ISO 50001—an international standard for energy management systems—at the manufacturing plant level. This includes the establishment of systematic processes for continual energy performance improvement. Furthermore, the thesis introduces a normalization methodology for Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) to enable fair benchmarking across production facilities with heterogeneous product profiles. Vehicle paint area is adopted as a surrogate metric to convert diverse outputs into a standardized vehicle equivalent, ensuring consistency in energy performance evaluation.
The research underscores the necessity of an integrated approach to energy and emissions management across the value chain. The proposed strategies offer a scalable blueprint for organizations seeking to align with global sustainability goals while enhancing energy efficiency and operational accountability.
