The BMW Group announced on August 11 that it has implemented several projects in its packaging logistics to further advance its sustainability targets. The company claims that its European plants will start using more recycled material in their packaging.
The luxury carmaker aims to almost double the proportion of recycled material in reusable packaging for logistics purposes this year from around 20% to over 35%.
To further cut its emissions, the company says it will use alternative sustainable materials, reduce single-use packaging, and introduce lightweight packaging.
Michael Nikolaides, Head of the BMW Group Production Network and Logistics: “Our ‘re:think, re:duce, re:use, re:cycle’ approach is being implemented consistently in packaging logistics, too.”
“We’re using innovative strategies to consistently reduce the volume of resources we use, thus reducing our carbon footprint. We in Logistics are also doing our part to get the BMW iFACTORY up and running – with a particular focus on the ‘green’ side of things.”
BMW Group’s new EPP (expanded polypropylene), which offers protection by adapting to the shape of the item being packaged, contains 25% recycled materials. The firm uses around 360,000 of the packaging material per annum. Using 25% recycled material allows the German car manufacturer to save almost 280 tonnes of CO2 annually.
There are plans to increase this proportion of recycled material even further, with the first pilot schemes with 100 percent recycled material currently underway. If these tests are successful, this configuration will become standard for new contracts from 2024.
An additional 680 tonnes of carbon emission reductions can be made per year using covers and so-called load materials with 50% recycled content, the company claims.
BMW iFACTORY. LEAN. GREEN. DIGITAL. is the compnay’s strategic vision for the global production network, with an emphasis on flexibility and efficiency, sustainability, and digitalization. ‘Green’ means leveraging the latest technologies to create a production process that uses minimal resources the carmaker stated.