BMW puts words into action with sustainable efforts core part of work
The 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity has placed eco-civilization under the spotlight. Automobile brand BMW pledged to put more efforts into sustainable production, aimed at a scenario exemplifying the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
The results of such a pledge were seen at the International Mobility Show held in September in Munich. The German company made the world premiere of the BMW i Vision Circular concept car. The model is made completely from recycled and reusable materials, according to the company.
BMW AG Management Board Chairman Oliver Zipse took the concept as an embodiment of BMW’s consideration for sustainable travel. The company said it represented the company’s efforts in the field of the circular economy, showcasing the concept of rethinking, reducing, reusing and recycling.
The group predicted that 10 million BMW electric vehicles will be provided to the market over the next decade. By 2030, the carbon emissions in the use phase of its vehicles will be reduced to half of that in 2019.
By 2030, it will slash carbon-dioxide emissions per vehicle produced in its plants and sites by 80 percent from 2019 levels. It will also cut CO2 emissions through its whole supply chain by 20 percent from 2019 levels.
The life-cycle carbon emissions per BMW vehicle will be reduced by at least 40 percent by 2030 compared to that of 2019. And carbon neutrality throughout the company’s whole value chain will be realized in 2050, it predicted.
At BMW Group China’s first sustainability summit held in Beijing in June, the company declared it would work with its partners to help cut emissions.
It launched an initiative to help realize a green transformation across the industrial chain with the China Development Research Foundation. Together, they hope to share their successful experiences and practices and explore a new path of emission reduction for the auto industry.
At the BMW Brilliance Tiexi factory, a photovoltaic shed is reported to have contributed 44 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy by late June. This is enough to have provided 10,000 electric vehicles with the clean energy to drive for 30,000 kilometers.
Since 2013, four wind turbines at the BMW Leipzig plant in Germany have provided all the power needed to produce BMW i3 vehicles.
The new electric BMW iX and BMW i4 are to be produced totally by using hydroelectricity at plants in Dingolfing and Munich.
In terms of forestry protection, BMW is the first automobile manufacturer to use tires made of Forest Stewardship Council-certified natural rubber.
The control panel of BMW iX also features FSC-certified wood, echoing the company’s target to reduce the effects of deforestation.
In order to limit damage to the marine environment caused by resource exploitation, BMW and the World Wide Fund for Nature jointly launched an initiative to suspend deep-sea mining and exclude seabed minerals across the supply chain.
The company is endeavoring to reduce marine plastic waste and turn it into materials that can be used in products. This is manifested in the BMW iX, a model which
uses carpets and mats made of 100 percent recycled nylon.
Some of the raw materials used by the company come from abandoned
fishing nets recovered from the seabed, which is significant in the campaign to clean up the living environment of fish and coral.
Regarding the protection of freshwater resources, the BMW Chennai plant in India collected about 6.47 million liters of rainwater during the monsoon season, which meets 50 percent of the water demand of the plant.
In 2020, BMW Group became the world’s first automobile manufacturer to join the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance to reduce ecological damage caused by mining.
With the transition toward a low-carbon economy that places electricity as the core power, it is estimated there will be a demand for lithium and other key metals used in power batteries among global automakers.
In the first half of this year, BMW signed a multiyear contract worth about 285 million euros ($329 million) with Livent, a US-based lithium compound manufacturer that owns patented technology to obtain lithium from brine resources in northern Argentina.
In order to minimize the effects on the ecosystem, most of the brine used is returned directly to the habitat. This largely helps maintain a balance between the brine and the groundwater layers.
Biodiversity is not only the basis of biological survival, but that of human life. Automobiles are one of the most complex consumer goods whose production embodies nature’s wisdom and involves the efforts of thousands of hours of research and development.
“If no measures were taken, the average carbon footprint of each vehicle in the supply chain alone would increase by 40 percent in the next decade. This is what we are not willing to see,” Zipse said.
“How to deal with climate change and resources will determine the future of the whole of society and BMW Group. Therefore, we take sustainability as the core and believe that this is a magnificent cornerstone for reshaping the future,” he added.