Sustainability Strategies and Achieving SDGs: A Comparative Analysis of Leading Companies in the Automotive Industry

Abstract

Sustainability as a growing trend in the 21st century has encompassed almost the entire world economy, including the automotive industry. As a result of this trend, automotive companies are adjusting their strategies and operations to contribute to the achievement of the concept of sustainability at the global level. By turning to sustainability, the automotive industry is experiencing perhaps the biggest transition in its history. This paper therefore deals with the research of sustainable strategies of leading companies in the automotive industry. The paper aims to examine the extent to which the world’s leading companies in the automotive industry meet certain SDG UN goals. The method of the qualitative comparative analysis using the desk method alternative provided the information on sustainability strategies and their fulfilment within the top five companies in the automotive industry according to the Interbrand scale from 2021, considering the UN Agenda 2030 sustainability goals. The results of the analysis showed that the observed companies in the automotive sector meet most of the goals of sustainable development of the UN with their sustainability strategies, which indicates that they are successfully adapting their business operations to modern business requirements. This also makes their brands green, hence the application of the principle of sustainability also affects the strength of their brands, adding “extended customer value”. The paper contributes not only to the development of the framework and elaboration of business models of sustainability in the automotive industry, but also to the development of further theoretical and empirical research in this field and the conceptualization of the principles of sustainability in this area.