As the grand finale of its four-day Sustainability Week 2026, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) hosted the 1st International Conference on Automotive Material Compliance & Sustainability (AMCS) at India Habitat Centre. Under the theme ‘Driving Circularity, Compliance, and Innovation in the Global Automotive Supply Chain’, the conference emphasised the urgency of accelerating India’s transition towards sustainable materials, end-of-life vehicle (ELV) management and transparent digital supply chains, in the presence of global regulators, industry leaders, technology experts and policymakers.

Reinforcing SIAM’s commitment to a responsible, circular and future-ready automotive ecosystem, the Opening and Welcome Session on ‘India’s Transition towards Sustainable Mobility & Material Compliance’ set the tone for the conference.

Welcoming the dignitaries, Prashant K. Banerjee, Executive Director, SIAM, said, “India, the world’s third-largest auto industry, advances sustainable mobility through global safety standards, material stewardship, and circular economy-driven decarbonisation. Compliance with the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Rules, 2025 strengthens structured vehicle scrappage, recycling efficiency, and resource recovery. SIAM drives responsible nation-building through policy advocacy, innovation, and industry collaboration.”

During the session, the Context Paper titled ‘Strengthening Automotive Material Compliance Across the Vehicle Value Chain’ was released.

Jaywant Hardikar, Senior Advisor, ICAT, stated, “Sustainable mobility in India must be viewed for future generations, recognising that high resource consumption carries an emissions cost. First, circularity must link a vehicle’s end of life to its reuse. Second, reducing carbon footprint requires quantifiable targets, such as a Sustainability Index or a digital product passport for every vehicle. Third, material selection must begin at the design stage, where government-registered scrapping facilities like RVSF will ensure proper segregation and procedures.”

Sanjeev Jain, Director–Purchase, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, “India’s journey to global leadership in green mobility will be driven by circular economy principles and resilient supply chains, with sustainability guiding our shared future. With a targeted 45% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030, policy measures such as EPR mandates, vehicle scrappage norms and CAFE standards are accelerating the transition. The shift will be anchored by clean technologies including flex fuels, EVs, charging networks, green logistics and green hydrogen.”

Frank Nottebom, Account Delivery Executive IMDS & CDX, DXC Technology, highlighted, “India’s automotive ecosystem, with its vast base of vehicle and component manufacturers, is a strategically significant market for the International Material Data System (IMDS). The rise in India’s active IMDS users from 3,600 to 21,000 in 2025 reflects industry commitment to circularity, ESG alignment and data-driven compliance. This adoption demonstrates how digital material data platforms enable transparent, globally aligned manufacturing.”

Hanno Focken, Managing Director, Catena-X, discussed the global automotive value chain, stating, “Evolving regulatory demands require transformation of industry processes. Open, neutral and industry-governed solutions are essential as India positions itself as a central link in global digital automotive supply chains. India is shaping this transformation, building sustainable and globally accepted standards through trusted partnerships.”

The session concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Dr Prabhakar Bhangare, CEO, Global PCCS, who said, “Nation-building and environmental responsibility require shared commitment from manufacturers and service providers. Clear targets must ensure that production safeguards air, water and soil, aligning operations and compliance systems towards zero pollution.”

Three technical sessions followed. Technical Session I, ‘Policy and Regulatory Framework for End-of-Life Vehicles Worldwide’, was moderated by Dr Rashid Hasan, Sr. Advisor, SIAM. Dr A Ramesh Kumar, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI, explained, “Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic, carbon-based substances regulated under the Stockholm Convention, requiring controls on 37 listed POPs. Producers must demonstrate product safety and compliance across the value chain. The automotive sector must shift towards environmentally benign chemicals and materials aligned with global regulatory expectations.”

International presentations on global regulatory evolution in automotive materials were delivered by experts from Europe, Naina Agrawal, Global Sustainability Manager, Marelli, representing CLEPA, and SaiKishore Uddandi, Assistant Manager–Global Product Sustainability, Joison Safety System, representing CLEPA; from the USA, Shridhar Rajappanavar, CEO, Key Sustainability, representing AIAG; and from Japan, Yoshihito Tanaka, Manager, JAPIA, and Yosuke Miyake, Executive Member, JAPIA.

Technical Session II, ‘Digital Transformation in Supply Chain Transparency: IMDS System Management, India’s Implementation Status, and Catena-X Strategic Roadmap’, was chaired by Frank Nottebom. Presentations were delivered by Asmita Sathaye, General Manager, Tata Motors, and Muthukumar N, Head–Regulations & Homologation, Ashok Leyland, on IMDS data accuracy and supply chain practices; Hanno Focken on building a digital ecosystem for automotive data exchange; Anja Lang, Head – Catena-X at BMW Group, and Shanawaz Sheik, Director Sustainability Flex Internationalisation Committee Lead, Catena-X, on Product Carbon Footprint integration in IMDS; and Deepti Kapil, Additional Director, CPCB, on End-of-Life Vehicle Management guidelines.

Technical Session III featured a panel discussion on ‘Overcoming Product Compliance Challenges in OEMs & Component Manufacturers’. The session opened with a context-setting presentation by Dr Prabhakar Bhangare on current IMDS adoption and supplier maturity in India, followed by remarks from Martin Eichhorn, IMDS Business Executive, DXC Technology.

The panel included representatives from Auto OEMs—Arun Kumar, Sr Manager, R&D, TVS Motor Company, and Paurnima Barwe, Digital Product Manager, Volvo; Auto Component Manufacturers—Dr Naveen Verma, Vice President, DENSO, Deepak Patil, General Manager, Uno Minda, and Sharad Raut, Manager, Southco; and Allied Industries—Sri Vinnakota, Head of Compliance, Chemical & Product Regulatory Compliance, APA Engineering.