Sustainable Development Model for the Automotive Industry

Cioca Cioca,Turi Turi,Găman Găman,Ivascu Ivascu,Artene Artene

doi:10.3390/su11226447

Abstract

The relationship between sustainability and business has become one of the central debates at the national and international level in both industrialized and emerging countries. A series of existing business models lack some critical aspects. The automotive industry strongly affects economic development, requiring rethinking business models in order to reduce their impact on the environment. An evaluation of the websites of the major automotive industry companies shows they have reported sustainability (through different methods) and present various practices in implementing organizational sustainability (OS). This paper aims to present a new business model for the automotive industry that takes into account the three dimensions of sustainability and emphasizes the importance of involving stakeholders in the OS approach. This model is developed based upon the literature review of three focus groups with a participation of 33 automotive industry members, of which three are highly-skilled experts of the industry. The proposed sustainable development model is scientifically relevant as it considers that all dimensions of sustainability exist and aims to increase organizational capacity for sustainable organizational development. It is also relevant from a practical point of view because it has been developed and validated by industry experts with automotive industry companies, taking into account the industrial, technical, and technological requirements for organizational sustainability assessment. The findings of this research will guide shareholders and managers in planning and developing organizational strategies.

Highlights

Concerns at the international level regarding the environment and social development are an important part of the business activity [1,2]
Evaluation is sometimes difficult because there may be a number of barriers, such as lack of staff training, too much time spent on one evaluation, lack of trust by employees in sustainability, and others
Over 80% of the stakeholders were aware of the importance of sustainable development, but they would only implement it if it enabled economic benefits

Summary

Introduction

Concerns at the international level regarding the environment and social development are an important part of the business activity [1,2]. Under the pressure of market regulations and procedural requirements, large manufacturing companies have started to report their efforts and involvement in sustainable development according to standards established on an international level. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), on the other hand, play an important role in enabling efficiency within the economic structure and social stability for developed and emerging economies. These companies undertake substantial approaches to expand and communicate their sustainability efforts to stakeholders, but their implications remain limited [2,3,4]

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Conclusion