Resource Inflows

Introduction

Autoneum’s focus on resource inflows reflects our responsibility to manage the materials entering our operations in a way that protects natural resources, strengthens long‑term business resilience, and meets the growing expectations of our stakeholders. Resource inflows are central to our environmental performance and integral to our ambition to be the sustainability benchmark.

New regulations like Europe’s End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive are pushing the automotive industry toward a circular economy. This means that making vehicles fully recyclable at the end of their life is becoming increasingly important. It will drive demand for automotive components with excellent environmental performance throughout their life cycle that can uphold the highest material quality and technical performance.

By embracing the principles of the circular economy—a system in which materials remain in use as long as possible through reuse, recycling, and regenerative design—we reduce our dependence on virgin resources, mitigate environmental impacts, and support the transition toward more sustainable mobility solutions. This approach is also at the core of our innovation efforts, where we continuously develop resource‑efficient products and explore new ways to embed circularity across our value chain, creating value for customers, communities, and the environment alike.

If we fail to manage our resources inflows sustainably, we could face risks related to mounting operational inefficiencies, increased costs, or the loss of business awards and customers.

Management Approach and Policies

Internal Policies to Manage Resource Inflows

Our main environmental management principles are outlined in the Autoneum Management Policy on Quality, Environment, Energy, Health and Safety. These include reducing our manufacturing environmental footprint by increasing water and waste efficiencies, and developing recycling-friendly parts to minimize environmental impact at product end-of-life. Further details on our efforts can be found in the Waste Material Topic and Water Important Topic sections.

Governance

Operational implementation of environmental risk management–including Resource Inflows–is conducted through the Corporate Responsibility Organization and the workstreams under the Corporate Responsibility Steering Committee. The Risk Council, comprising Business Group Controllers and Heads of Group Functions, performs semi‑annual reviews of risks and mitigation measures including for environmental topics such as Resource Inflows. The outcomes are summarized in the Risk Report and presented to the Board of Directors and Group Executive Board.

Toward a Zero Waste Vision

In 2024, we set a new target within our Level Up strategy regarding Resource Inflows: build a zero waste vision toward a circular economy by progressively eliminating production scrap, maximizing material efficiency, and designing products that can be fully recycled at end-of-life. Autoneum aims to achieve this goal by reducing waste at source through improved material efficiency, expanding in‑house recycling capabilities, and implementing global guidelines for reusing production offcuts across product lines such as carpet, felt, heavy layer, Propylat, and Ultra‑Silent. We are also investing in monomaterial solutions that simplify recycling both during production and at vehicle end‑of‑life.

A team of sustainability, technology and product experts have started to evaluate selected technologies and part families based on new ESG rating criteria vs. their projected revenue over the next three years. The ESG score covers the entire life cycle of the components from material extraction to end-of-life, enabling us to prioritize innovations that make our product portfolio more eco-friendly. Additionally, sustainability improvements for each product line (Interior, Noise Vibration & Harshness, Interior Trim, and Exterior) are reviewed monthly, with the status of the product roadmap presented at a workshop each month to the Research & Technology Development Centers and the Group Operations Function for approval.

Sustainable Product Innovation

In 2025, we wrapped up our Vision 2025 Operational Target (see the Introduction section of this Material Topic). Our aim was to ensure our innovations measurably improve material efficiency and sustainability via the Innovation Sustainability Evaluation (ISE) by reducing raw material use, increasing recycled content, and minimizing resource-related environmental impacts. We will continue to use ISE for our innovation projects going forward and will work on developing a new target for the Resource Inflows Material Topic in 2026.

The innovation process begins with our comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) across our product portfolio. These assessments include both cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave boundaries, ensuing a complete evaluation of environmental impacts throughout the entire product life cycle. By leveraging full LCA studies, we gain insights into a wide range of impact categories, including water depletion, land use, acidification, eutrophication, and, most critically, global warming potential. The results of these analyses play a pivotal role in guiding the development of innovative, sustainable products, and processes, while supporting the transition toward a circular economy.

Sustainability criteria are integrated into all stages of innovation (see our Technology Road Map Program). We begin by screening all emerging technologies with a balanced scorecard based on five dimensions: emergence, portfolio improvement, portfolio enlargement, simplicity, and sustainability. Waste, energy, recycling, and emissions are evaluated for the sustainability criteria.

Technologies with a low sustainability score are dismissed, while those with a high sustainability score are turned into innovation proposals and presented to the top management. Those innovations that are approved move to Gate 1, where the development process begins, including the ISE. During the ISE, the product's Autoneum Sustainability Index (SI) is calculated, considering four parts of the product cycle: raw material, production, service life, and end-of-life.

All Research & Technology (R&T) projects should show improvement in at least one of the life cycle phases to move forward with the roll-out.

Technology Roadmap Program

Key 2025 Actions, Progress, and KPIs

Improving Material Efficiency

In 2025, Autoneum implemented 55 projects globally across the plants to improve material efficiency and recycling. These projects were supported by Autoneum’s 10 Expert Networks, a group of specialists working in Autoneum’s Development Centers, Operations, Purchasing, and R&T. They identified best practices, new specifications, or design guidelines, and rolled them out throughout the organization. These initiatives will significantly increase the use of recycled materials and reduce waste and energy use, while improving the quality of the produced parts. The projects included:

Conventional carpet back-coating processes are highly energy-intensive, as they rely on gas-powered hot air ovens to dry the water content in latex emulsions. The Carpet Expert Network at Autoneum facilitated the implementation of a low-energy thermoplastic back-coating technology for recycled polyester yarn tufted carpets, thereby eliminating the requirement for latex. For needle punched carpets, the network provided expertise on advanced needling techniques that deliver comparable advantages. As a result, Autoneum is now able to offer monomaterial constructions across its entire range of automotive carpets, from basic to premium products.
The Felt Expert Network has been proactively advancing the adoption of recycled bico fibers to mitigate Scope 3 emissions. Progress in this initiative is tracked by monitoring the global percentage of bico fiber utilization. Needled airlay cotton felt serves as a lightweight acoustic barrier, particularly within Hybrid-Acoustic ECO+ constructions. The network also facilitated the vertical integration of this acoustic material across Europe, resulting in reduced transportation-related emissions. In certain cases, felts are combined with elastomeric acoustic barriers during manufacturing, which can generate mixed-material waste. To address this challenge, the Felt and Heavy Layer Expert Networks collaborated to develop a process for separating these two materials, enabling their reintegration into primary production lines as new feedstock.
Aluminum is recognized as a lightweight metal. However, its production has traditionally been associated with a significant carbon footprint. In addition to sourcing aluminum manufactured using renewable energy, it is critical to minimize material consumption, maximize the use of recycled content, and promote comprehensive recycling of production waste. The Heatshields Expert Network has implemented several initiatives to enhance material efficiency, including reducing thickness and blank size, optimizing coil width, and adopting advanced nesting strategies. The acquisition of bailing equipment has contributed to lower emissions from the transportation of production waste back to aluminum suppliers. Furthermore, the network has facilitated exploration into closed-loop recycling of end-of-life heatshields, with the objective of increasing the proportion of recycled material in procured aluminum across alloy types, packaging, and customs declarations.
The Heavy Layer Expert Network has introduced a technology that streamlines the production of Thermoplastic Olefin (TPO) surfaces and elastomeric acoustic materials, creating washable surfaces for heavy trucks. This innovation not only reduces transport-related emissions but also allows production waste to be reintegrated, thanks to advanced recycling equipment that uses gravimetric material separation and low-temperature processing to maximize yield and minimize VOCs. This technology is expected to play a vital role in cutting down non-hazardous waste at Autoneum.
Polyurethane foam with a density of 12 kg/m³ provides very lightweight engine bay absorbers that effectively match the acoustic absorption range of engine bay noise. Although various techniques—such as using inserts to create non-rectangular blanks—help reduce production waste, total elimination is not possible. The Theta-Cell Expert Network explored multiple methods to recycle this waste and suggested compressing and chemically recycling the low-density thermoset foam into new Polyol.
The Underbody and Wheelhouse Liners Expert Networks facilitated the adoption of monomaterial technologies, such as the innovative Ultra-Silent frunk, which is lighter, has a lower carbon footprint, higher recycled content, and improved recyclability compared to injection molded or glass-reinforced alternatives.

Toward a Circular Economy

New Products

In 2025, Autoneum rolled out E-fiber flame shields, which provide innovative and mica-free protection for EVs. The E-Fiber flame shields can be installed between the battery cells and the battery cover of the vehicle floor and contribute significantly to increasing the safety of vehicle occupants in the event of a battery thermal runaway. They thus offer a lightweight, safe, and geometrically adaptable alternative to standard flame shields on the market. In addition, the composite shields are completely risk-free from a compliance perspective. This contrasts with mica-based products, which can prove problematic in terms of responsible sourcing.

Autoneum’s new impact protection plates, made from thermoplastic composite material, shield the battery of EVs from impact, fire, and corrosion. The lightweight component not only meets the highest requirements in terms of shock resistance and durability but also contributes to improved energy management and thus to a longer range thanks to its thermal insulation properties.

Autoneum launched the N-Join1 carpet in response to vehicle manufacturers’ need for recycling solutions for end-of-life vehicles that meet sustainability targets and comply with new regulations that are accelerating the automotive industry’s transition toward a circular economy. The N-Join1 employs a unique process that joins the carpet surface together with the substrate in a single step. The substrate can be made from various materials including Autoneum’s Pure technology components made of 100 percent polyester. The monomaterial construction enables waste-free production and full recycling at the vehicle’s end-of-life. By eliminating the use of latex, which is water and energy-intensive, N-Join1 reduces resource usage and ensures cleaner production. Overall, the new carpet system achieves a significant reduction in the carbon footprint when compared to traditional carpet systems of equal weight. The greatest contribution comes from the end-of-life recycling potential enabled by the monomaterial system.

At the Automotive Acoustics Conference in Constance, Germany, held in July 2025, Autoneum presented a polyester felt-based sound insulation system that is lightweight, resilient, and shapeable, combining best-in-class acoustic performance and precise contours with enhanced recyclability. Composed entirely of polyester–up to 90% of which is recycled content–Flexi-Light PET can be used as a decoupler in conjunction with other PET-based technologies within Autoneum’s product portfolio to support full circularity, allowing for the reuse of production waste and end-of-life recycling of the product. Flexi-Light PET is the latest addition to Autoneum’s Pure technologies, which are intended to offer an excellent environmental performance throughout the entire product life cycle.