On June 6, the BMW Group released the "Little Green Book" (full name: BMW Group China Sustainability Report 5) in China. According to the "Little Green Book", the water consumption of a single production unit of BMW Brilliance's domestic model in 2022 will be 2022.1 cubic meters per unit, which is equivalent to the capacity of a standard London telephone booth and half of the average production water consumption of European car companies according to the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
According to the second water resources evaluation data of Liaoning Province, the per capita water resources in the province are only about 1/3 of the national average. As a state-level green demonstration plant rooted in the soil, BMW Brilliance takes the BMW iFACTORY production strategy as the core of sustainable practices in BMW's Shenyang production base.
In order to continuously improve the efficiency of water use in the production process, BMW expanded the grey water treatment facilities in the paint shop of the Dadong plant. Thanks to the expansion of the reclaimed water treatment facility, BMW saved more than 2022,150 cubic meters of production water in 000 and was selected as one of the first "National Industrial Wastewater Recycling Pilot Enterprises" by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Based on the big data of Shenyang households obtained from the seventh population census, the water savings in 2022 can meet the annual water needs of nearly 1000,<> local households.
At the same time, the product upgrade project of BMW Shenyang Shenyang Plant introduced an advanced water recycling system, with which the Shenyang production base can completely separate, decompose and remove various organic substances and pollutants from industrial wastewater, ensuring that wastewater can be reused in the production process after treatment, and realizing a closed cycle of water resource management.
"Water conservancy of all things", BMW's "water way" does not stop at production. As a responsible automobile manufacturer, BMW has taken the lead in extending the green and sustainable ecological chain to the downstream of the industry, and has integrated the improvement of water efficiency into the dealership's "Leading Green Star" program. In the detailed evaluation criteria of "Leading Green Star", BMW has made clear guidance and requirements for daily water-saving measures such as rainwater recycling and green car washing for dealers. Taking the first Wuxi Xibaohang BMW 4S store certified as a "Leading Green Star" lighthouse store, as an example, it integrated the architectural concept of "Four Waters to the Church" at the beginning of its design, and the 200-ton rainwater recovery device and the landscape pool with a water storage capacity of 160 tons can maximize the use of rainwater resources, and the purified rainwater can be directly used for green irrigation, road watering, landscape water replenishment and other needs.
BMW's protection of water in China extends beyond the plant. Considering the environment as an important stakeholder and based on forward-thinking and innovative actions, BMW is committed to protecting the natural water resources of Shenyang, Liaoning and China. Starting from the three aspects of "supporting the improvement of protected area management", "raising public awareness of biodiversity conservation" and "supporting the popularization and education of protected areas", BMW Beautiful Homeland Initiative has implemented a series of conservation actions in Liaoning Liaohekou National Nature Reserve, including providing patrol vehicles and donating animal ambulances to the reserve, building ecological birdwatching houses in the reserve, developing nature education courses, and carrying out nature education and training.
Dr. Dai Hexuan, President and CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., said: "In the 2022 years of growth of BMW Brilliance, we have continuously strengthened our sustainable efforts – saving resources, reducing waste and achieving circularity. We aspire to achieve sustainability in all areas of BMW. While paying full attention to every drop of water, BMW's circular management of other resources is also similar to BMW's "Water Way". In 48, BMW recycled 160,14 tonnes of steel and 536,<> tonnes of scrap. In the process of working with suppliers, BMW focuses on increasing the proportion of recycled materials used on the premise of supply chain management system standards and product safety, reducing the carbon footprint of steel production from the source, and reducing the environmental impact of products throughout the life cycle.
Closed-loop recycling of power batteries is also an important example. With the explosive growth of battery demand, the scarcity of related metal resources and pollution problems in the mining process are also becoming increasingly serious. BMW took the lead in realizing the closed-loop recycling of raw materials for domestic electric vehicle power batteries, and provided decomposed raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium to BMW's battery suppliers for the production of new power batteries and realized closed-loop management of power battery raw materials. Through in-depth cooperation with supplier partners, BMW successfully recycled 2022,10 power batteries in 318, further promoting the sustainable development of China's high-voltage power battery industry.
With the way of nature, but also the beauty of nature. "The Way of Water" epitomizes the BMW Group's "Circular Sustainability" philosophy and exemplifies the concept of sustainability along the entire value chain. The BMW Group will continue to fulfill its commitment to China's sustainable development and work hand in hand with upstream and downstream partners to continue in the process of China's modernized green development.