Definition and Rating of Green Wheels

With a commitment to the 2050 Paris Agreement, the European Union (EU) established a climate and energy framework to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Known as Fit for 55 [1], the EU’s regulations and targets aim to stimulate innovation and speed up the transition to zero- and low-emission mobility.Europe is not the only governing entity to set carbon reduction targets, nor are vehicle manufacturers only in Europe. Globally, the automotive industry is undergoing a disruptive shift in the journey to sustainability and the entire value chain is under pressure to ramp it up. In its haste to cut emissions and meet targets, the industry has been operating without certain sustainability standards. One such standard is defining how to measure and communicate equivalent emissions at the part level. When an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is looking to reduce its carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) footprint, the wheel, one of the vehicle’s more prominent automotive components, is one of the first parts under consideration.In this paper, I present and discuss a new wheel CO2e sustainability indicator rating scale and label as a key communication tool for vehicle manufactures and car buyers to quickly understand a wheel’s sustainability contribution.