ESG at Adient
At Adient, we are always innovating and continually improving the experience of a world in motion. We are at the forefront of sustainable automotive seating, providing cutting-edge solutions to our customers as they work toward their vehicle electrification and sustainability goals.
We have firmly integrated sustainability into the core of our company, and we will continue to meet, collaborate with, and participate with organizations around the globe concerning our responsibility and commitment to sustainability.
The information required by California’s Assembly Bill 1305, the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Business Regulation Act, may be found in the 2023 Sustainability Report. Scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions and total energy consumption metrics contained within the 2023 Sustainability Report were reviewed by a third party. For additional important information regarding risks and uncertainties related to the forward-looking statements expressed here and in the Sustainability Report, please see the “About this Report” section of the Sustainability Report.
Our Company
With 70,000+ employees in 29 countries, Adient plc operates in more than 200 sites worldwide. Our global teams deliver a diverse range of seating products to every major automaker in the world. We partner with these automakers to develop customized seating systems and components that excel in quality and cost efficiency.
Our ESG Strategy
The materiality assessment we conducted in 2023 reaffirmed we are focusing on the right priorities. Specifically, we aspire to progress in the areas of Climate Action and Natural Resources; Sustainable Materials, Products and Circular Economy; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Human Rights and Workforce; Corporate Governance; and Health and Safety at Work.
What Guides Us
We deliver win-win solutions to our customers. We approach our work with a quality mindset, driving operational excellence. We respect and empower our people, always acting with integrity. We support the communities in which we work, including being environmentally conscious globally. We proactively manage costs, profitability and cash generation through our financial discipline.
Our Sustainability Vision
Our sustainability vision — “Together, we are committed to creating a sustainable future for our employees, customers, and communities” — concisely conveys our pledge to be a good steward of everyone for whom we are responsible.
Culture of Integrity
Our Ethics Policy is our foundational document that sets the standard for how we operate and provides the ethical framework for our organization. We strongly encourage and promote this speak-up culture through trainings, communications, transparency in our processes, easy access to our Integrity Helpline, an open-door culture from managers and our strict no-retaliation policy.
ISS Prime Rating
In 2024, Adient was awarded Prime Status by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a company that provides ESG ratings and services to corporations around the world. Prime Status is awarded to companies with an ESG performance above their sector-specific Prime threshold, which means that they fulfill ambitious absolute performance requirements. The ESG Corporate Ratings score companies based on an analysis of more than 100 sector-specific ESG factors.
UN Global Compact
Adient is a proud supporter of the UN Global Compact initiative — a voluntary initiative for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices. We are committed to operating our business in accordance with the Compact’s Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption and file an annual Communication on Progress expressing Adient’s progress and ongoing commitment to the Ten Principles. Keeping these principles at heart, we are engaging in activities that help advance the UN’s broader Sustainable Development Goals.
Carbon Disclosure Project
To help enhance innovation and efficiency, and foster stakeholder engagement, since 2021, Adient has proudly supported the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). CDP is a not-for-profit organization responsible for the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. We complete CDP’s detailed climate change, forests and water security questionnaire each year disclosing key data, initiatives and progress for each topic.
2023 CDP Score: Climate Change (B), Forests (C), Water Security (B).
Protecting the Environment
We are embedding sustainability into our core business processes of design, sourcing and manufacturing operations to meet the needs of our employees, customers and communities — both now and in the future. We are committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and are a proud supporter of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
Our goal is to be reliant on 100% renewable electricity at our manufacturing sites globally by 2035, and we aspire to reach carbon neutrality at our manufacturing sites for scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
Climate Change
We have developed scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions-reduction targets in line with SBTi to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. SBTi validated our near-term targets — a 75% reduction in absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions at our manufacturing plants by 2030 and a 35% reduction in scope 3 emissions by 2030 — in 2022. Since 2019, we have reduced our global scope 1 and 2 absolute CO2e emissions 34%.
Supply Chain Emissions
Our scope 3 (value chain) emissions account for 95.4% of our total greenhouse gas emissions. To help reduce our scope 3 CO2e emissions and achieve our SBTi target of a 35% reduction in scope 3 emissions by 2030, we implemented a new supplier due diligence process in fiscal year 2023 that includes an ESG-related due diligence questionnaire to assess and improve supplier sustainability maturity.
Sustainable Operations
We are committed to reducing our energy consumption and transitioning to renewable electricity sources, and in fiscal year 2023, we completed more than 640 energy-saving projects globally. As of Sept. 30, 2023, 52 Adient sites are using renewable electricity, and 26% of our total electricity consumption is attributable to renewable sources.
Air Quality
Air pollution poses a significant threat to human health and is accelerating climate change. As the standards governing the release of air pollutants become increasingly stringent, we proactively work to curb our volatile organic compound (VOC), nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter emissions in our operations. We continue to explore and implement manufacturing methods to lower our emissions and reduce waste.
Sustainable Product Design
Through our Evolution of Seating Systems Sustainability (ES3) approach to product design, we identify materials and manufacturing methods that minimize our environmental impact through a more circular approach to product design, development and production. Our award-winning products and innovative processes keep us at the forefront of sustainable automotive seating.
Deforestation and Natural Resources
We are committed to standardizing best practices that help preserve our natural resources. Our recently updated Deforestation Policy defines our commitments, actions and targets, and our company Water Policy outlines requirements and best practices for effective water resource management in our operations. Read more about our goals and progress on our Natural Resources page.
Waste Reduction and Handling
Our goal is to operate as efficiently as possible while generating the least amount of waste we can. We are working to reduce, reuse, recycle and renew materials whenever possible across all our operations. Globally, we logged more than 250 waste-reduction projects in fiscal year 2023 that kept a total of 2,032 metric tons of waste from entering the landfill.
Chemicals Management
Some chemicals used in the automotive industry may impact human health and the environment, and handling them properly is vital to keeping workers and the environment safe. We use the International Material Data System (IMDS) to ensure we’re meeting our legal obligations for managing hazardous chemicals and other materials.
People and Communities
Our people are our top priority. That includes our employees, suppliers and customers — and the communities in which they live and work. We will continue to work to protect the human rights, health and safety of our people while fostering an inclusive culture that values diversity.
We are committed to respecting the UN Global Compact’s 10 Principles, including the six principles on human rights and labor, and we understand that our excellence as a company depends on creating and sustaining a work environment where our employees feel valued and respected for who they are.
Additional information about our commitment to respecting and upholding human rights is available in our Human Rights Policy Statement.
Human Rights
Human rights are fundamental to society and imperative to the success of our business. In November 2023, more than 93% of salaried Adient employees voluntarily participated in human rights training, underscoring our commitment to making the UN Global Compact’s principles part of the strategy, culture and day-to-day operations of our company. Read more in our Human Rights Policy Statement.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We’re committed to fostering a culture of inclusion that celebrates diversity and empowers our people. With more than a dozen active employee-led business resource groups (BRGs) globally — and with support at the highest levels of the company — we are working to create inclusion opportunities at all levels, all around the world. Read more in our DE&I Commitment Statement.
Supporting Diverse Suppliers
For 30 years, we have recognized the importance of diversity and inclusion — in both our own workforce and our supply base — in fueling strong business performance. Since becoming Adient in 2016, we have spent $8.7 billion with diverse-owned suppliers — that’s more than $1 billion each year. We continue to achieve our customers’ supplier diversity targets and collaborate on initiatives that drive opportunities for diverse-owned suppliers.
Community Engagement
Our sustainability vision — “Together, we are committed to creating a sustainable future for our employees, customers and communities” — concisely conveys our pledge to be a good steward for our stakeholders. Through our employees and the Adient Foundation, we have contributed to numerous organizations that support health and social services, education, culture and the arts, and civic activities.
Employee Development
We believe attracting, developing, motivating and retaining employees is key to our sustainable and profitable growth. Through programs like Adient Accelerate, APAC Leading Excellence Acceleration program (LEAP), and our Leadership Talent Review, we monitor our talent pipeline and identify career advancement opportunities across the organization.
Employee Health, Safety and Well-being
We are committed to protecting the physical and mental well-being of our colleagues, customers, suppliers and anyone with whom we are in contact around the globe. By working together across regions to share best practices, procedures and information about accidents and injuries, we have achieved year-over-year decreases in our OSHA Recordable Rate over the last several years, including in fiscal year 2023.
Governance and Compliance
We are committed to operating our business ethically and in accordance with Adient’s policies as well as applicable laws and regulations. Our Ethics Policy sets the standard for how we operate and provides the ethical framework for our organization. To guide our ESG efforts, Adient has created an ESG Steering Committee, which is comprised of the President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer, Executive Vice President Americas, Executive Vice President EMEA, Executive Vice President APAC, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Vice President of Global Sustainability, Vice President of Investor Relations, Executive Director and Associate General Counsel, Compliance and the Executive Director of Sustainability. The ESG Steering Committee meets quarterly and reviews key sustainability initiatives, activities and disclosures. A summary of the primary areas of risk oversight of the Board and its committees can be found in Adient’s 2024 Proxy Statement.
Additionally, our 2023 Sustainability Report follows the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) international standard for ESG reporting as well as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards for impact reporting.
Ethics and Integrity
Adient updated its Ethics Policy in 2023 to further address evolving laws, regulations and risk, including in the areas of human rights, forced labor, sustainability, and DE&I, among others. The updated Ethics Policy — available in over 25 languages — provides deepened and enhanced guidance to its employees, suppliers, and business partners. Additionally, we encourage anyone with an ethics-related concern to report them via our 24-hour Integrity Helpline.
Bribery and Corruption
We do not tolerate any form of bribery within our business dealings and actively oppose corruption within our business. In addition to our Ethics Policy, our Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Standard, Global Supplier Standards Manual, Terms and Conditions, and other compliance program elements (including training) provide detailed guidance regarding how to conduct business with integrity and make decisions that are legal, ethical and responsible and that minimize risks related to bribery and corruption.
Trade Compliance
We are committed to complying with applicable laws — including laws regarding the international trade of goods, services and technology — as noted in our Ethics Policy. Such laws include exports controls, sanctions, embargoes, import/export regulations, and supply chain security programs.
Data Privacy
We have a responsibility to safeguard our employees’ data as well as other personal data, and we follow applicable data and privacy laws. We follow local data protection and privacy laws and continuously monitor changes in this area. Adient has an internal network of local privacy coordinators that support Adient’s Global Privacy Office. Read more in our Data Privacy Notice.
Cybersecurity
We are focused on securing and preserving the confidentiality, integrity and continued availability of the information we own as well as the information of our customers, suppliers, employees and anyone else in our care. Adient leverages threat intelligence to monitor our customers, vendors and partners specifically around cyber and data breaches. Our program adheres to applicable industry standards.
Product Safety
Our products often form an integral part of our customers’ total vehicle system safety strategies. We take this responsibility seriously and have robust processes in place to identify, address, mitigate and prevent product safety issues. We promote a culture of safety at Adient where our employees are empowered to identify potential safety issues with our products.
Supplier Management
We expect our suppliers to conduct their businesses safely, sustainability and in compliance with applicable regulatory guidelines. Our Ethics Policy and Global Supplier Standards Manual outline the minimum set of expectations we have for our suppliers. In October 2023, we updated our Global Supplier Standards Manual to reflect revised requirements for our suppliers in the areas of labor, environmental responsibility, conflict mineral management and more.
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