How do BMW deal with their responsibilities to care for the environment and what initiatives do they employ?

* The use of lead free paint

* Improving efficiency and reducing waste

* Pollution reduction

* Green energy use

Clean Production

The BMW Group introduced uniform environmental and quality standards in all its production plants worldwide. One of the basic foundations for this concept is the "Cleaner Production Programme". Under this the company voluntarily undertakes the practice of preventive environmental management.

The responsible use of natural raw materials and the reduction of emissions worldwide is the focus of environmentally friendly production at BMW and as a result of this scheme figures show a massive improvement. In the last five years, CO2 emissions per vehicle produced have fallen by 15%, the use of solvents by 29%, the production of waste water by 16% and energy consumption per vehicle by 20%.

Innovative Recycling

BMW have introduced "Design for Recycling" and "Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)" so that environmental and recycling requirement's are not overlooked in the product development process.

Design for Recycling ensures that after its useful lifetime a BMW Group vehicle can be recycled simply and economically. To achieve this, recycling requirements are taken into account in the product development process and as a result current BMW vehicles can be recycled economically and almost completely.

LCA is more comprehensive it is designed to evaluate the ecological impact of new component concepts and bodywork variants over their entire product life cycle. From the extraction of raw materials and the manufacturing process to vehicle utilization and the recycling of all environmental impacts are analysed. The aim is to identify among alternatives that offer the greatest potential for increasing environmental compatibility through the entire life cycle of BMW vehicle.

Reducing Packaging Waste

BMW are working on reducing the amount of solid waste that ends up in landfill sites. The main way that they are managing to do this is by using returnable containers which can be reused many times and as a result the amount of packaging waste is decreasing quickly. (See appendix)

Lead free paint

BMW apply their cars with an anti-corrosion coating. This coating in the past had contained lead, which meant that recycling was made very difficult once the car came to the end of its use.

Improving Efficiency and Reducing Waste

When a BMW car is painted the same paint nozzle is used what ever the colour the car is due to be painted. To remove the remains of the previous paint the paint nozzle has to be purged which wastes time and paint. What BMW did to make sure that they solved this problem was to create a dual colour change system. (See appendix)

Reducing Pollution.

What BMW decided to do was introduce car pooling which they believe will help to reduce the congestion of roads and parking areas. They implement this scheme in all of their manufacturing plants through out the world and its popularity and number of participants continues to grow. BMW hope that this scheme will hope to improve local air quality because of the fewer cars on the road and reduction of vehicle emissions.

Green Energy

BMW have invested in an operation that allows methane, which is renewable and unpolluting to be recycled. This type of energy supplies more than 25 percent of BMW's Spartanburg plant. (see Apendix)

BMW believe that they are an "environmental leader" and say that they are always striving for environmental excellence. BMW can make this bold statement because they have so many innovative approaches, which means that they are above many of their competitors. Also BMW are always looking to improve and are always searching for new creative and realistic environmental approaches which would help to improve efficiency and protect the environment. BMW are always looking for ways to protect the environment and are looking at ways of doing more than what they are currently doing. BMW have many new innovations in the pipe line such as hydrogen powered cars.

Conclusion

As the BMW Group is a company operating on an international level, it must take a stand on global problems. It is a well-known fact that humans play a significant part in the damage done to the environment. The climate is changing and we do not have unlimited conventional energy resources. From the use of water-based paints to reduce harmful air emissions to hydrogen powered cars BMW show that are committed to environmental protection.

From this study I can see that the BMW Group are aware of this situation and is actively seeking innovative, and above all, practical, solutions. They accept their responsibility to care for the environment, and want to offer the next generation and the best possible solutions.

I have seen that BMW are doing their up most to conserve the environment and their original ideas and dedication that they pride themselves on helps to maintain their position as a well respected and huge force in the motor industry. BMW's care for the environment is obviously a big factor and well publicised, which helps them to remain ahead of their competitors in nearly every aspect of their varied business.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

* Class notes

* Edexcel Business studies for AS

* www.bmw.com

* www.bmw-history.com

* www.greenpeace.com

JAMES DAY 12G