All of the Design Tech Centre’s current facilities are rented facilities where the main services of power, water, heating and recycling are the responsibility of the landlords from whom the facilities are rented. Consequently, the Tech Centre’s responsibility for the main factors affecting environmental sustainability is limited, but the Design Tech Centre supports all the environmental initiatives introduced by the landlords such as waste and paper recycling, energy saving etc.
Currently, the Design Tech Centre is actively involved in the specification and design of the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC), which it will share with Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Warwick from 2017, and this is being done with environmental sustainability at its core design.
The Design Tech Centre plays a significant role within Tata Motors R&D and product development programme to reduce the environmental impact of future vehicles. This is achieved by various projects aimed at the following
Fuel consumption and CO2 reduction improvements to current vehicle fleets, as they are upgraded and refreshed. Design and development measures include acting on the engine and transmission design, calibration, vehicle aerodynamics, tyre selection etc.
A number of the R&D projects for low carbon vehicle technology that the Design Tech Centre is engaged in are collaborative projects with UK Government or European funding support, such as Innovate UK, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), the newly created Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) and the various Framework Programmes (e.g. FP7), where the Design Tech Centre is represented either at national or local levels.
Homologation monitors a product's legal compliance throughout its development life from concept through to end of production. Keeping abreast of current and emerging legislation worldwide is vital and this is achieved at the Design Tech Centre through industry working bodies such as the SMMT, Euro NCAP and OICA.
Tata Motors Design Tech Centre compiles all legal documentation in conjunction with the relevant legal authorities, manages approval test programmes, market certification and ensures continued legal conformity throughout the vehicle's production life.
Ensuring product compliance to the wide ranging EU REACH regulations that cover the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restrictions on chemicals is of high importance to the Design Tech Centre.
Design for the EU vehicle 'end of life' (ELV) requirements, such as hazardous material control, recyclability and the provision of a 'take-back' network, is part of the Design Tech Centre’s jurisdiction. This includes the authoring and provision of vehicle treatment guides and the declaration of actual recycling data.
Tata Motors Design Tech Centre meets company and vehicle type approval requirements for recyclability, reusability and recoverability (RRR), which include the demonstration of controls over hazardous materials use and the calculation of recyclability rates.
Tata Motors Design Tech Centre, in common with other Tata companies in the UK, recognises its responsibility to deliver corporate sustainability to its employees and to the business environment in which it operates, including its stakeholders, partners, affiliated companies and suppliers. The Design Tech Centre has cherished the Tata tradition of corporate sustainability by endeavouring to work in the Tata way Whether it is trying to maximise the job satisfaction and general wellbeing of its employees, its relationship with key partners and affiliates, such as the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick and Jaguar Land Rover, the numerous suppliers, some of whom have evolved and developed since the Design Tech centre has established itself as a serious engineering company in the West Midlands, or its relationship with local and central government bodies, such as the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and Innovate UK, the Tech centre has taken its responsibilities seriously and thoughtfully and nurtured a win-win approach to all its business dealings.
Tata Motors Design Tech centre has an objective to attract, develop and retain the best automotive talent to safeguard its future skills and capabilities. It strongly encourages continuous professional development and membership of the relevant professional institutions across all functions. In addition to fulfilling vocational training needs identified through the annual appraisal process, the Design Tech centre has a well-established policy of supporting up to 5% of its permanent workforce through degree courses by the payment of fees and providing study leave.
The Design Tech centre will continue to evolve its corporate sustainability to help Tata Motors and the Tata brand establish a footprint in the UK and in Europe that is based on trust and mutual care and respect for its employees and corporate partners.