Sustainability within the Swedish automotive industry - A qualitative study of the incorporation of sustainability criteria in the decision-making process

Abstract: An increasing amount of pressure has been seen from stakeholders that companies should transition their business to become more sustainable. The result of this pressure can be seen in the Swedish automotive industry as the largest companies have all committed to ambitious sustainability goals. The purpose of this study was to explore how the Swedish automotive industry has incorporated sustainability criteria in the decision-making process. The literature review covered the concept of sustainability through the triple bottom line, long-term planning methods, and some decision-making methods that include multiple criteria. To receive an in-depth understanding of this, a qualitative study was conducted with an exploratory approach. The primary data collection was gathered through eight semi-structured interviews, and along with the secondary data it was contrasted with the literature. The findings suggest that as the economic criterion has always been prioritized in decision-making, the environmental criterion has caught up and is now arguably as important as the economic one. The findings also suggest that the social criterion is viewed as a management subject, and that little attention is given to it on a functional level. As the industry is facing many challenges, the results indicate that scenario planning is an important tool for decision-makers' ability to plan for a sustainable future. Lastly, the main barriers identified were the difficulty in measuring and collecting qualitative sustainability criteria, and ensuring the incorporation of sustainability criteria across the entire value chain with limited insight.