Environmental, Social & Governance Overview
Corporate Sustainability
At Standard Motor Products, we demonstrate the importance of corporate sustainability through commitments to our company, our employees, our customers, business partners, and the communities in which we operate. Collectively, these commitments are vital our success. Our Corporate Sustainability Report shares some of the specific ways we pursue environmental and socially responsible business and corporate governance practices.
SMP GHG Emissions Reduction Goals
- By 2030, reduce our total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 25% compared to our 2019 baseline year.
- By 2040, reduce our total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 67% compared to our 2019 baseline year.
- By 2050, achieve carbon neutrality in total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions across the Company.
Environmental
Providing Solutions for a Greener Car Parc
As a leading automotive parts manufacturer and distributor, we recognize that we have an important role to play towards promoting a greener car parc. The ISO 14001:2015 Environmental certification that our facilities maintain, provides an important framework for establishing an effective environmental management system that helps us to achieve our environmental objectives.
Achieving Net-Zero Scope 1 & 2 GHG Emissions
We are doing our part to proactively tackle climate change by addressing our own carbon footprint. Our goals are ambitious — by 2030 reduce our total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 25% (compared to our 2019 baseline year), 67% reduction by 2040, and it’s our intention to achieve net-zero total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG Emissions by 2050.
Sustainability Through Remanufacturing
Our extensive Remanufacturing Program diverts certain types of used automotive parts from traditional waste streams, reprocessing and returning them to same-as-new condition and performance. We remanufacture key categories such as air conditioning compressors and diesel injectors, resulting in the production of like-new premium remanufactured parts through processes that save energy and reduce waste.
Ensuring Vehicles Operate Safely & Efficiently
In our core automotive aftermarket business, we supply premium automotive parts used in the maintenance, service and repair of vehicles. Many of our parts extend the service life of vehicles by replacing critical components that have failed over time. These parts are necessary for vehicles to operate safely and efficiently, as designed.
A Solutions Provider for the Next Generation of Vehicles
As we look to the future and the evolution of automotive technologies, we see our role as a solutions provider, developing and bringing to market premium products for the next generation of vehicles. Fundamentally this is no different from the role we have played historically in our 100-plus years of business.
SMP GHG Emissions Reduction Goals
By 2030, reduce our total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 25% compared to our 2019 baseline year.
By 2040, reduce our total Scope 1 and Scopе 2 GHG emissions by 67% compared to our 2019 baseline year.
By 2050, achieve carbon neutrality in total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions across the company.
We have reduced our total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions intensity for 2024 - a 25% reduction compared to 2019 baseline year.
GHG Emissions
(Metric Tons)
2019
2020^
2021
2022
2023
Scope 1 GHG
(MT CO2e) - Actual
8,145
7,142
7,481
6,785
6,061
Scope 1 GHG
(MT CO2e / $mm Net Sales) - Intensity
7.2
6.3
5.8
4.9
4.5
Scope 2 GHG*
(MT CO2e) - Actual
33,590
29,240
30,415
28,447
29,625
Scope 2 GHG*
(MT CO2e / $mm Net Sales) - Intensity
29.5
25.9
23.4
20.7
21.8
Total Scope 1 & 2* GHG
(MT CO2e) - Actual
41,735
36,382
37,895
35,232
35,687
Total Scope 1 & 2* GHG
(MT CO2e / $mm Net Sales) - Intensity
36.7
32.2
29.1
25.7
26.3
* Emissions factor data sources used to generate Scope 1and Scope 2 GHG emissions included: IPCC, EPA, DEFRA/DECC, EIA and Green-e databases, among others. Scope 2 GHG emissions are calculated using the market-based method.
Making an Impact
The primary metrics that we use to measure our environmental impact include our consumption of electricity, our generation of waste and the percentage of waste recycled, our management of water, and our Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. The following tables describe our performance across these metrics for the periods presented.
Energy
Our facilities use electricity, natural gas and propane to power our operations. Managing our consumption of energy in the pursuit of efficiency and lessening our impact is a critical component of our environmental initiatives.
Water Use
Our manufacturing processes are not water intensive, but we prioritize responsible water use as part of our sustainability efforts. We source all water from local municipal services and have installed low-flush toilets and automated, low-flow faucets to reduce consumption.
Waste
We operate administrative, manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and we are committed to sustainable practices at all of our facilities. One of the ways that we achieve this focus is through our waste management and recycling initiatives, which aim to reduce the quantity of waste generated throughout our operations and increase the volume of waste recycled.
Remanufactured Products
Our facilities use electricity, natural gas and propane to power our operations. Managing our consumption of energy in the pursuit of efficiency and lessening our impact is a critical component of our environmental initiatives
We estimate that our remanufacturing processes in 2024 prevented more than 9,194 metric tons of material from entering landfills, and avoided the need to process certain base metals, such as aluminum, saving more than 141 million kWh of electricity.
Hybrid-Electric Sales Fleet
In 2024, we substantially completed the process of transitioning the vehicles that we provide to our sales force employees to hybrid electric vehicles to help improve our fleet fuel economy, lower fleet fuel costs and reduce our Scope 1 GHG emissions. Now approximately 98% of our sales fleet vehicles are hybrid electric vehicles, which is estimated to have achieved a reduction of approximately 998.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MT CO2e) in 2024.
Waste Management
We operate administrative, manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and we are committed to sustainable practices at all of our facilities. One of the ways that we achieve this focus is through our waste management and recycling initiatives, which aim to reduce the quantity of waste generated throughout our operations and increase the volume of waste recycled.
In our production and distribution operations, we place significant emphasis on improving efficiencies and asset utilization to minimize waste and improve our cost position. Our commitment to continuous improvement is a key element of this strategy. Our waste management and recycling programs in our production and distribution environments focus on corrugated boxes, shrink wrap and other packaging materials, pallets, spools and trays, batteries, light bulbs, scrap metal, chemicals and used oils, among others.
In 2024, we recycled 85% of the total amount of waste generated by our operations, and we reduced our total generation of non-recycled waste intensity for 2024 by 14% compared to 2023, and by 59% compared to our 2019 baseline year.
Social Responsibility
Employee Engagement and Retention
At SMP, we understand that our most important asset is our workforce, which provides enormous value through its range of skills, experiences, and perspectives. To preserve the value in our workforce, we prioritize our employees by investing in their training, benefits, health and safety. We focus on culture and employee engagement to create a supportive work environment where all people feel welcome. We believe these investments ensure that we attract and retain individuals from a wide variety of background and have proved effective through high employee satisfaction and low employee turnover.
SMP beat the industry benchmark by 20% when asking employees if they are likely to recommend SMP to a qualified friend or a family member as a great place to work. As a result, SMP has continued to be an employer of choice, being certified as a Newsweek Most Loved Workplace ®, and has been recognized as one of U.S. News and World Report’s 2024 Best Companies to Work For.
At SMP, our people are our first priority. We continually work to sustain our culture and a workplace where We All Belong.
Health & Safety
We prioritize the physical safety and well-being of our employees through a company-wide commitment led by senior leadership and executed at the facility level. Our health and safety efforts ensure compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, and include regular training on workplace safety and hazardous material handling. We invest annually in safety equipment and training, and each facility sets performance goals to drive continuous improvement. As a result, our 2024 Recordable Injury Rates in U.S. locations are significantly lower—by about 67% for Warehousing and 57% for Manufacturing—than national averages.
We believe that part of corporate responsibility means giving back to the people and communities that have made our success possible.
Governance
Consistent with SMP’s values, our Board of Directors oversees an enterprise-wide approach to risk management while promoting SMP’s long-term strategic objectives and enhancing shareholder value.
Board Oversight & Governance
The Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the Company’s governance programs and processes that are designed to comply with applicable policies, laws and ethical standards while promoting SMP’s long-term strategic objectives and enhancing shareholder value. To this end, the Board regularly reviews all stakeholder’s sustainability-related communications to ensure that all their concerns are considered and addressed. Our four standing committees provide oversight in areas that include accounting, security and risk management; and health, safety and human capital management. The Strategic Planning Committee oversees SMP’s response to climate related issues, such as the initiatives to shift to electric and hybrid electric vehicles.
Supporting Our Sustainability
We believe we have the necessary board and executive oversight, and governance policies to effectively support our sustainability programs and to reach our environmental goals. Management regularly reports to the Board and each of its committees on strategic short, medium and long- term initiatives and objectives as well as other sustainability issues. As part of its oversight function, our Board has approved our approach to our climate transition strategy in furtherance of our ambition to be carbon neutral in our Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Board Composition
The below information is based on the composition of our Board of Directors as of December 31, 2024.
Our ESG Commitment
Our team at SMP is committed to taking an active role in global environmental sustainability, to help protect the environment for both people and planet, and perhaps more importantly, our future generations. As a team, we are encouraged in our sustainability journey, because together we can achieve much more than any one of us can accomplish individually.
