World’s Most Sustainable Automotive Company in 2016
The BMW Group has once again been named the world’s most sustainable automotive company in the rating published yesterday by RobecoSAM AG for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI).
Sustainability is firmly embedded in the BMW Group’s culture and corporate strategy. In 2001, the BMW Group committed itself to the United Nations Environment Programme, the UN Global Compact and the Cleaner Production Declaration. It was also the first company in the automotive industry to appoint an environmental officer back in 1973. Today, the Sustainability Board, comprising all members of the Board of Management, defines the strategic alignment through binding targets.
The BMW Group adopts an holistic approach, implementing sustainability throughout the value chain. In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, its strategy also focuses on achieving continuous progress in areas such as corporate environmental protection, supply chain sustainability, employee orientation and social commitment.
Between 1995 and 2015, the BMW Group succeeded in reducing the CO2 emissions of its new vehicles sold in Europe (EU 28) by 40 per cent. In 2015, its average CO2 emission across Europe (EU28) stood at 127 g/km and worldwide 147 g/km. Systematic expansion of alternative drive trains in the BMW fleet, combined with innovative mobility services have made a significant contribution to this progress.
The BMW Group aims to be a leader in the use of renewable energy in production and value creation. 58 per cent of the electricity purchased by BMW Group worldwide already comes from renewable sources. The company operates four wind turbines at its Leipzig site, for example, which exclusively supply energy for production of the BMW i3 and BMW i8. Its American plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, uses methane gas from a nearby landfill to generate up to 50 per cent of the power needed for production.
A further goal of the BMW Group is to significantly increase transparency and resource efficiency throughout its supply chain by 2020. In this connection, around 1,900 supplier locations were evaluated for the first time using an industry-specific sustainability questionnaire in 2015. These evaluations are performed for all nominated, potential and active supplier locations. -Press release
