Suppliers Partnership for the Environment (SP), an association of automakers and their suppliers, in partnership with sustainability and energy advisory company Trio (formerly known as Edison Energy), has announced the “Transform: Auto” program, aimed at driving the adoption of renewable energy across the automotive supply chain.

Emissions accounting can be separated into three different scopes. Scope 1 emissions come from sources owned by a company, Scope 2 are the indirect emissions from purchased electricity, and Scope 3 are indirect emissions from the supply chain and use of sold products. The program, developed by Trio and initiated in collaboration with founding sponsors Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Honda, Magna and Toyota Motor North America, aims squarely at reducing Scope 3 supply chain emissions in the global automotive industry, by providing automotive suppliers with tailored guidance and dedicated expert support to help facilitate the procurement of renewable energy to reduce their Scope 2 emissions.

Earlier this year, SP announced the expansion of a collaborative effort with Manufacture 2030 (M2030) and these companies to engage nearly 20,000 supplier manufacturing sites in a more standardized approach to collecting supply chain emissions data.

Complementary to this effort, the Transform: Auto program – which is being made available at no cost to Tier 1 suppliers of Ford, GM, Honda, Magna and Toyota and SP member companies – is designed to help suppliers reduce indirect emissions from energy consumption, known as Scope 2 emissions, SP said.

SP said the program will help suppliers explore renewable energy options and give them the tools to pursue a renewable energy pathway on their own or through an organized cohort of suppliers. In the first year of the program, Transform: Auto will support suppliers in procuring renewable energy in North America through voluntary green tariffs, onsite solar, community solar, utility-scale renewable energy power purchase agreements, and environmental attribute certificates. The program will launch this fall.