Automotive subcontractor carbon footprint:
the complete 2026 guide.

The automotive subcontractor carbon footprint has become an unavoidable requirement for accessing the markets of tier-1 manufacturers and equipment suppliers. Stellantis, Renault, Valeo and Forvia now factor carbon performance into their supplier qualification criteria — here is what that means concretely for your business.

Why the automotive subcontractor carbon footprint has become a priority

The automotive industry has a massive carbon footprint, and it comes mainly from the supply chain, not the assembly plants. For a combustion-engine vehicle, 50 to 70% of manufacturing-related emissions come from suppliers, not the final manufacturer. For an electric vehicle, this figure is even higher — battery and electronic component manufacturing is highly emissive.

When Stellantis sets reduction targets aligned with SBTi standards, it cannot reach its goals without reducing emissions across its entire chain. Which means measuring, then reducing, at your level.

The pressure is not yet strictly regulatory for subcontracting SMEs — it is direct commercial pressure. Manufacturers are starting to build carbon performance into their supplier approval criteria.

Questionnaires specific to the automotive industry

Tier-1 manufacturers and equipment suppliers do not all use the same format. Here are the main ones you may receive as part of your automotive subcontractor carbon footprint process.

Used by Renault, Stellantis, Michelin. You create a free account on cdp.net and fill in a standardized questionnaire covering Scope 1, 2 and 3, as well as your reduction targets. For a first submission, the “Disclosure” level is accessible without dedicated carbon expertise.

Stellantis uses Coupa or Jaggaer depending on the purchasing category. Renault Group has its own standardized supplier CSR questionnaire. Less exhaustive than CDP but they ask for the same basic data: Scope 1, 2, 3 in tCO₂e, methodology used, any targets.

A supplier CSR assessment platform used by many players. It rates companies on 4 themes, including the environment. The carbon footprint is a major component of the final environmental score.

What is specific to automotive subcontractors

• Significant purchases of metals and raw materials. Steel emits about 2.3 tCO₂e per tonne, primary aluminium between 8 and 17 tCO₂e. These purchases are often the dominant item in upstream Scope 3.
• Industrial energy consumption. Presses, machine tools, welding robots, heat treatment furnaces — Scope 1 (gas) and Scope 2 (electricity) are significant items.
• Dense logistics flows. Just-in-time logistics generates a lot of movement. Transport by service providers falls under your Scope 3 category 4.
• Heavy equipment. Production machinery has a carbon footprint at the manufacturing stage (Scope 3 category 2). This item is often overlooked in first-time assessments.

Data to gather before you start

1. Energy data : Natural gas consumption in kWh/year · Electricity consumption in kWh/year · Fuel oil or propane if applicable · Internal fleet fuel (forklifts, company vehicles)
2. Purchasing data (from your accounts) : Metal purchases by type where possible (steel, aluminium, copper) · Plastic material purchases · Industrial subcontracting · Transport services · Other significant purchases
3. Operational data : Total floor area of premises · Number of employees and their commuting mode · Company vehicle mileage · Tonnes of industrial waste and treatment method

Orders of magnitude for your sector

These orders of magnitude help you position your automotive subcontractor carbon footprint against similar companies. For an SME with 50 to 200 employees in France:

• Scope 1: 50 to 500 tCO₂e depending on the share of gas in your industrial process
• Scope 2: 20 to 150 tCO₂e. The French electricity mix keeps this figure low (≈ 0.052 kgCO₂e/kWh according to ADEME)
• Upstream Scope 3: 500 to 5,000 tCO₂e, the dominant item, driven by your metal and material purchases
• Typical total: 600 to 6,000 tCO₂e for a mechanical or plastics-processing subcontracting SME

If your result is well below these ranges, check that you have indeed included your material purchases in Scope 3. This is the most common omission in first-time assessments.

What manufacturers concretely expect

• Scope 1 and 2 with measured data: no estimates, real data taken from your energy bills.
• Scope 3 using an accepted monetary approach: calculating from your accounting expenses with sector factors is acceptable for a first submission.
• Methodology cited: mention the ADEME Base Carbone and/or the GHG Protocol. This mention lends credibility to the report even if the data are estimates.
• Clear reference year: specify which year your data covers (generally year N-1).

The special case of the shift to electric vehicles

The shift to electric is transforming automotive subcontracting in depth. Components linked to combustion-engine powertrains will gradually be replaced by electrical and electronic components.

These new components have very different carbon footprints from traditional mechanical parts. The materials used — lithium, cobalt, large quantities of copper — have high carbon intensity at the extraction stage. If you diversify into these components, anticipate that your upstream Scope 3 will change significantly.

Complete your automotive subcontractor carbon footprint
in 2 hours with Oakbon.

Drop in your accounting export: FEC, Pennylane, Sage, or any CSV or Excel file. Oakbon identifies your metal and material purchases, applies ADEME factors and generates a report compatible with CDP Supply Chain and manufacturer questionnaires.

From €69/month · No commitment