Mobility has traditionally relied on fossil fuels, but if we are to reduce the rate of CO2 emissions globally, the whole industry must change. A sustainable business model will become critical in securing finance over the coming decades and therefore increasing corporate value.
PWO is an engineering group headquartered in the German Black Forest region with production plants in all major mobility markets. Carlo Lazzarini, CEO at PWO says that his company’s survival for over 100 years can be defined in one word: innovation.
“We have frequently adapted as a company and transformed ourselves through innovation. Innovation and change are part of our DNA. PWO has become a leading developer of sophisticated metal components and subsystems for modern vehicles in climate-friendly, lightweight construction. As our product portfolio is completely independent from the combustion engine, we are actively driving the decarbonization of our industry.”
The PWO motto covers the three dimensions of PEOPLE. PLANET. PROGRESS. As Lana Takarenka, CFO Canada at PWO says, the group is eager to encourage employees to use their voices, despite the size of the organization:
“PWO recognizes the potential of its employees. The group is global, but it has managed to stay familiar. And this makes employees happier and more comfortable. Thanks to good training and promotion opportunities, employees have the chance to leave their own mark. Basically, the potential of individual employees is considered, and they are taken seriously. And that is something that people notice.”
Takarenka believes that despite the emphasis on technology, the human element of what the company is trying to achieve is never forgotten:
“PWO has highly engineered processes and is one of the most innovative companies in the world. We also make material goods that guarantee the safety of people who use mobility.”
In the past, engineering has too often come at a cost to the environment, but Dr Cornelia Ballwießer, CFO at PWO, says that this is changing.
“We are an engineering house. This means we believe in science-based solutions, and that's why we are committed to the Science Based Targets initiative. Steel is our most important raw material, and it has great characteristics. We utilize steel scraps and reuse them. We collect the remnants of our products in a container for the material and process it. This way we can reintroduce it into our production cycle and work in an enormously resource-efficient manner.”
Ballwießer says that emissions are being cut along the value chain by finding innovative solutions to reduce CO2:
“In the manufacturing process, we work with extreme pressure. This generates heat, which we cool in a particularly resource saving way. The hot lubricant is cooled down by water tanks and then made ready for use again by condensation. With this highly efficient system, we focus on maximum reuse and minimum consumption of resources. We will reduce our emissions in our own production by almost half and in our supply chain by almost a third by 2030.”
To achieve this goal, an industry-wide change is required. Johannes Obrecht, COO at PWO says that as an engineer, he believes that innovation can overcome almost any challenge:
“PWO is one of the world's leading developers and we enable a climate friendly, safe, and comfortable mobility. Good examples are seat structures made of modern high strength steel, combining high functionality and low weight. For example, instrument panel carriers effectively reduce emissions over their entire lifetime. Our product range is completely combustion independent. This makes our business model futureproof.”
Obrecht says that the group is geared towards agility:
“We are not attached to individual technical products. We are attached to our mission to shape future mobility sustainably through technical innovation.”
For Carlo Lazzarini, innovation and technology are the key aspects for the German mobility industry to become green and sustainable:
“We may not have all the solutions yet, but PWO as a group does not stand still. We are constantly pushing and reinventing ourselves. Sustainability is ingrained in our corporate strategy. We have clear targets, and we will execute on them with discipline and focus.”
Lazzarini says that his wish is for PWO to inspire the whole industry to take bold action:
“Pledges are great. However, the entire global business community needs to step up. We need to move much faster from commitment to action in delivering on decarbonization. It is the right thing to do, and we have to get it right. Together we have incredible potential. So, let's use it for the future of our planet.”
