23rd International Colloquium Tribology - January 2022 25 Different Dimensions of Sustainability Inga Herrmann VSI German Lubricant Manufacturers association, Hamburg, Germany Corresponding author: inga.herrmann@vsi-schmierstoffe.de Sebastian Dörr VSI German Lubricant Manufacturers association, Hamburg, Germany 3. Introduction Climate change and sustainability are key terms in our daily lives - and more and more companies are claiming to act in a climate neutral way: whether to seriously demonstrate there responsibility for a livable planet or simply to promote climate neutral products for marketing purposes. But is this the right approach to sustainable business? “Green marketing” is the task, “green washing” too often the result! 3.1 Subheading (2 columns) One of the best-known standards is the Greenhouse Gas Protocol which divides the carbon footprint into Scope 1 - 3: Scope 1 includes direct emissions - that is relatively simple. Scope 2 already takes into account energy supply and is more demanding. Scope 3 is extremely complex, as all aspects of the value chain, services, in-use phase and end-of-life as well as the side effects - utilities, waste treatment, employee commuting, business travel etc. have to be included. Sustainability has more dimensions than just the carbon footprint of an individual or a company. It also requires the consideration of environmental impact, resource constraints and social aspects (as the German “Supply Chain Act”). This is indeed a dramatic change for society and economy! Sustainable business is a key issue for the whole society and hits the lubricants industry at its core: What do lubricant manufacturers need to do to improve their own sustainability measures? What changes can we expect in our upstream chain - availability of raw materials, responsibility for selections? What do our key customers expect and demand? How can a reliable and comparable carbon footprint be calculated in a competitive environment? How do society and legislation affect our business models? What impact does the financial sector have on our activities? What will our market look like in 20 years? How do we deal with offsetting of emissions? Sustainable business models are already demanded by our key customers such as OEMs; investments are evaluated according to sustainable key figures; raw materials have to meet much stricter criteria than before. Most resources are limited and we need to use them appropriately. Climate change and reducing the carbon footprint of our activities are challenges and in some cases already mandatory. 26 23rd International Colloquium Tribology - January 2022 Different Dimensions of Sustainability The European Green Deal and other legal and societal requirements will have a strong impact on the European lubricants industry, forcing it to integrate sustainability into its economic activities. Annual sustainability reporting has been mandatory for larger companies in Europe since 2018. The development of specific measures that are reliable, transparent and accepted is of great importance for lubricant manufacturers, their suppliers and distributors as well as customers in order to create a level playing field. 4. Conclusion The German VSI (German Lubricant Manufacturers association) is working closely with OEMs, institutions and other associations to create such a sustainability concept in order to calculate the carbon footprint of lubricants, assess the supply chain and develop business models for the circular economy. References [1] Ghg Protocol - The Ofy [2] VSI - German Lubricant Manufacturers association