As the grand finale of its four-day Sustainability Week 2026, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) successfully hosted the 1st International Conference on Automotive Material Compliance & Sustainability (AMCS) today at India Habitat Centre. Under the powerful theme “Driving Circularity, Compliance, and Innovation in the Global Automotive Supply Chain”, the conference highlighted the urgency to accelerate India’s transition towards sustainable materials, end-of-life vehicle management and transparent digital supply chains in the presence of global regulators, industry leaders, technology experts and policymakers.
Reinforcing SIAM’s commitment to building 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 day.
Welcoming the dignitaries, Mr. 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 decarbonization. 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.”
Later in the session, the much-awaited Context Paper titled “Strengthening Automotive Material Compliance Across the Vehicle Value Chain” was released in the presence of the dignitaries.
Mr. Jaywant Hardikar, Senior Advisor, ICAT, addressed the gathering by saying, “Sustainable mobility in India must be viewed through a lens for future generations, acknowledging that high resource consumption carries a cost in terms of emissions. First, we need circularity in the product life cycle, creating a strong linkage between a vehicle's end of life and its reuse is crucial. Second, reducing carbon footprint requires quantifiable targets, such as a Sustainability Index or a digital product passport for every vehicle, which would be the driving force in determining its sustainability factor. Third, we must consider what material is used from the design stage onwards, which is where government-registered scrapping facilities like RVSF will play a key role in ensuring proper segregation and procedure.”
Mr. Sanjeev Jain, Director- Purchase, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, also addressed the session and shared his insights, “India’s journey to global leadership in green mobility will be driven by circular economy principles and resilient supply chains, with sustainability guiding how we build 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 this transition. The shift will be anchored by clean technologies, including flex fuels, EVs, charging networks, green logistics and green hydrogen.”
The session featured presentations by Mr. Frank Nottebom, Account Delivery Executive IMDS & CDX, DXC Technology, where he highlighted, “India’s automotive ecosystem, with its vast base of vehicle and component manufacturers, represents a strategically significant market for the International Material Data System (IMDS). The sharp rise in India’s active IMDS users from 3,600 to 21,000 in 2025 reflects industry’s growing commitment to circularity, ESG alignment and data-driven compliance across supply chains. This scale of adoption shows how digital material data platforms can enable transparent, future-ready and globally aligned manufacturing.”
Mr. Hanno Focken, Managing Director, Catena-X, discussed about the Global Automotive Value Chain in his presentation. He highlighted, “Automotive value chains are complex, and evolving regulatory demands require significant transformation of industry processes. Open, neutral, and industry-governed solutions are the answer, especially as India positions itself as a central link in global digital automotive supply chains. India is not only participating in the transformation of the auto industry but shaping it, creating an opportunity to build more sustainable, compatible, and globally accepted standards through partnerships based on trust and shared responsibility.”
The session concluded with the Vote of Thanks by Dr. Prabhakar Bhangare, CEO, Global PCCS. He added, “Nation-building and environmental responsibility must be a shared commitment between manufacturers and service providers. As service providers, we must set clear targets to ensure that everything we produce safeguards air, water and soil. This means aligning operations and compliance systems toward the goal of zero pollution.”
The three Technical Sessions that followed provided deep insights into global best practices and India-specific strategies. Technical Session I focused on “Policy and Regulatory Framework for End-of-Life Vehicles Worldwide”. It was moderated by Dr. Rashid Hasan, Sr. Advisor, SIAM, and featured an address by Dr. A. Ramesh Kumar, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NEERI, where he explained, “Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic, carbon-based substances that persist in the environment and are regulated under the Stockholm Convention, which requires signatory countries to enforce controls on 37 listed POPs. As global chemicals management frameworks evolve, producers are responsible for demonstrating product safety and compliance across the value chain. The automotive sector must accelerate its shift toward environmentally benign chemicals and materials aligned with global regulatory and sustainability expectations.”
This was followed by international presentations on Navigating Global Regulatory Evolution in Automotive Materials delivered by experts from Europe, Ms. Naina Agrawal, Global Sustainability Manager, Marelli, representing CLEPA, and Mr. SaiKishore Uddandi, Assistant Manager-Global Product Sustainability, Joison Safety System, representing CLEPA; from the USA: Mr. Shridhar Rajappanavar, CEO, Key Sustainability, representing AIAG; and from Japan: Mr. Yoshihito Tanaka, Manager, JAPIA, and Mr. Yosuke Miyake, Executive Member, JAPIA.
Technical Session II on “Digital Transformation in Supply Chain Transparency: IMDS System Management, India’s Implementation Status, and Catena-X Strategic Roadmap” was chaired by Mr. Frank Nottebom, Account Delivery Executive, IMDS & CDX, DXC Technology, where he discussed about Digital Transformation in Material Compliance: IMDS as Enabler. Key presentations were delivered by Ms. Asmita Sathaye, General Manager, Tata Motors, on best practices of IMDS data, accuracy, and supply chain; Mr. Muthukumar N, Head–Regulations & Homologation, Ashok Leyland, on best practices of IMDS data; Mr. Hanno Focken, Managing Director, Catena X, on building a digital ecosystem for automotive data exchange; Ms. Anja Lang, Head – Catena-X at BMW Group & Mr. Shanawaz Sheik, Director Sustainability Flex Internationalization Committee Lead, Catena X, on Product Carbon Footprint integration in IMDS as the next step in sustainability, and Ms. Deepti Kapil, Additional Director, CPCB, on End-of-Life of Vehicle Management and Related Guidelines.
Technical Session III was a Panel Discussion on “Overcoming Product Compliance Challenges in OEMs & Component Manufacturers”. The session began with a Context Setting Presentation by the Session Chairperson & Moderator, Dr. Prabhakar Bhangare, CEO, Global PCCS, on “Current IMDS Adoption Level and Supplier Maturity in India”. This was followed by an address from Mr. Martin Eichhorn, IMDS Business Executive, DXC Technology. The panel discussion featured perspectives from Auto OEMs: Mr. Arun Kumar, Sr. Manager, R & D, TVS Motor Company, and Ms. Paurnima Barwe, Digital Product Manager, Volvo; from Auto Component Manufacturers: Dr. Naveen Verma, Vice President, DENSO; Mr. Deepak Patil, General Manager, Uno Minda, and Mr. Sharad Raut, Manager, Southco; and from Allied Industries: Mr. Sri Vinnakota, Head of Compliance, Chemical & Product Regulatory Compliance, APA Engineering, that marked the glorious end of a four-day Sustainability Week 2026.
Over the years, SIAM has consistently collaborated with governments, industry leaders, corporations, and key stakeholders to champion the transition to cleaner fuels and cutting-edge technologies. These purposeful engagements reflect SIAM’s core mission of ‘Building the Nation Responsibly’ while advancing sustainable mobility and contributing meaningfully to India’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
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About SIAM
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is an apex national body representing all major vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in India. It is a society with charitable objectives registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. Its objectives include enhancing the contribution of automobile industry to the growth and development of Indian economy, assisting the automobile industry to meet its social obligations and encouraging the efficiency of industry in general and automobile industry particularly in India. SIAM focuses on activities related to improvement of environment and ensuring safety and protection of automobile vehicle users and public at large. Recognising these objectives, SIAM has been granted registration under the Income Tax Act, 1961 as an institution with charitable purpose.
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