Creating a better environment
Sustainable design
Our commitment
We are committed to factoring sustainability into the vehicle design process and collaborating with partners to support our pursuit of innovation.
Our goal
Our goal is to make circularity integral to our vehicle design process and wider design processes.
Read about how we are taking action to embed sustainability into our vehicle design process.
Sustainable design and engineering
The scoping LCA identified that 60% of the total upstream materials impact comes from aluminium. Aluminium sheets, castings and extrusion are used extensively within our vehicles because of their light weight, but the aluminium manufacturing process is energy intensive, and the embedded carbon of the final aluminium fluctuates from supplier to supplier depending on the energy source used in the manufacturing process.
We have focused on the aluminium in the body structure of our vehicles, mapping where the aluminium alloys are utilised. This provides hotspots of where we can focus opportunities to move to lower embedded carbon aluminium.
Our strategy to reduce embedded carbon is focused on methods to reduce it on the heaviest aluminium parts including using lower embedded carbon aluminium or mass reduction.
Partnering for innovation
Pioneering innovation is driven by collaboration and partnerships. Our two government funded projects, ELEVATION and PIVOT (‘Performance Integrated Vehicle Optimisation Technology’), are testament to this and continue our focus on lightweight solutions including composites and aluminium.
ELEVATION: a six-partner collaborative research and development project led by Aston Martin. The project addresses the technical challenges of integrating lightweight components with a focus on the use of compression moulded composites. The project also addresses sustainability in the supply chain, digital toolchain development for both manufacturing and R&D, and the use of immersive technology (virtual and augmented reality) to provide a safe setting for staff training in hazardous environments.
PIVOT: a five-partner collaborative research project accelerating the development of lightweight, sustainable aluminium castings for our vehicles. As well as significant lightweighting opportunities and associated tailpipe emission reductions, this project is seeking to develop and validate 100% recycled (secondary) aluminium alloy for use in structural castings, reducing the embedded CO2 of these cast parts by up to 95%.
Vehicle end‑of‑life, recycling and restoration
We estimate that 95% of all cars ever constructed by Aston Martin are either still on the road, or capable of being so. However, vehicle end-of-life and minimising associated environmental impacts are important parts of our design process. We comply with the EU’s End-of-life Vehicle (‘ELV’) Directive with more than 85% of our vehicle content across all models being recyclable at the end of its life.
Whilst we currently have many elements of a circular approach to business, we are investigating and developing the most appropriate, overarching strategy which looks at keeping our vehicles on the road as long as possible, promoting material circularity and improving reuse of waste onsite through operations.
Restoration
Aston Martin Works is the historic home of Aston Martin. Alongside world-class showrooms showcasing our latest new car range and Certified Pre-Owned models, our state-of-the-art aftersales facilities are dedicated to servicing, repairing and restoring all Aston Martin vehicles. Supported by our team of highly skilled craftspeople, Aston Martin Works has a unique capability to ensure as many Aston Martin vehicles as possible can remain on the road.
As part of the restoration process, every effort is made to preserve as much of the original car as possible, with components disassembled and stripped of paint and corrosion. Every component is then carefully assessed to identify which can be reused or refurbished, or those that require replacement.
Operational efficiency
Read about how we are developing our strategy for addressing water scarcity and our dependency on nature in our wider value chain.
