BMW has an ISO Certification proves it goes verifiably sustainable
An ISO certificate for environmental footprint of the BMW i3. It clearly shows BMW goes verifiably sustainable in my experience. The TÜV SÜD Technical Inspectorate confirms that the total life cycle potential of the BMW i3 for emitting greenhouse gases is around 30 to 50 percent less than in comparable conventional vehicles.
BMW i3 Hits the Road With a Smaller Environmental Footprint
Munich — The BMW i3 is ready to hit the road. Moreover, BMW designed the all-electric car to deliver the driving experience expected from the brand while significantly reducing its environmental impact.
The BMW i3 officially launched on November 16, 2013. However, even before the market launch, BMW took an important step toward proving the vehicle’s environmental credentials. Independent inspectors evaluated the electric car across its entire life cycle.
In fact, the BMW i3 received certification under the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards. These standards provide a framework for assessing a product’s environmental impact throughout its life.
Therefore, BMW looked far beyond tailpipe emissions. The company evaluated the environmental effects of sourcing raw materials, manufacturing the vehicle, driving it, and eventually recycling it.
Furthermore, TÜV SÜD independently reviewed the assessment. The organization issued a Declaration of Validation for the BMW i3’s product-related environmental footprint. As a result, the review confirmed both the methods BMW used and the results of its environmental analysis.
Most importantly, the assessment showed significant reductions in greenhouse gas impacts. Compared with conventional vehicles of similar size and performance, the BMW i3 reduced its greenhouse warming potential by roughly 30% to more than 50%, depending on how the electricity used to charge it was generated.
Consequently, the BMW i3 represented more than BMW’s move into mass-market electric mobility. It also demonstrated how an automaker could consider sustainability throughout a vehicle’s entire life cycle. From materials and manufacturing to everyday driving and eventual recycling, BMW aimed to reduce the i3’s environmental footprint at every stage.
ISO Certification
The ISO certification represents much more than a quality seal for the BMW i3. In fact, it provides independent verification of BMW’s approach to sustainability. Moreover, the certification supports the broader environmental strategy behind the BMW i brand and its vision for more sustainable personal mobility.
For the first time in BMW Group history, the company established sustainability targets for a newly designed vehicle during the earliest stages of development. Therefore, engineers considered environmental performance alongside design, efficiency, materials, and driving performance.
Furthermore, BMW examined the entire life cycle of the i3. The assessment started with the extraction of raw materials. Then, it evaluated vehicle manufacturing and production processes. Next, it considered the environmental impact of everyday use. Finally, the analysis examined recycling at the end of the vehicle’s useful life.
BMW i3 Certification Confirms a Broader Sustainability Strategy
“For the first time in the history of the BMW Group, we already defined sustainable targets for a newly designed vehicle over the entire value chain during the early strategic phase,” explained Ulrich Kranz, Senior Vice President BMW i.
As a result, BMW could measure the i3’s environmental impact across the complete value chain instead of focusing only on emissions from driving. Additionally, the company could identify opportunities to reduce environmental impacts before the vehicle even reached production.
“The inspection looked at the entire life cycle from extraction of raw materials and manufacture, through usage to recycling, in order to take account of all environmental aspects,” Kranz added.
Meanwhile, TÜV SÜD Management Service GmbH carried out the independent certification process. The organization conducted a detailed review of the environmental data BMW used for the i3. Moreover, inspectors evaluated the production process and examined the results of BMW’s environmental footprint analysis.
Finally, TÜV SÜD compared the information against clearly defined criteria. Therefore, the certification provided outside verification of BMW’s methods and environmental claims. More importantly, it showed how the BMW i3 introduced a life-cycle approach to sustainability that extended from raw materials to the road and, ultimately, to recycling.
Experts agree BMW goes verifiably sustainable
BMW i3 Meets Stringent International Environmental Standards
Independent experts concluded that BMW met the requirements of the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards when it conducted the BMW i3 environmental footprint study. Moreover, inspectors determined that BMW used methods consistent with advanced engineering standards.
In addition, the review confirmed the accuracy of the input data and environmental information. Therefore, the certification provided independent support for BMW’s environmental claims. More importantly, it showed that the BMW i3’s life-cycle assessment met demanding international standards.
Electric Drive Makes the Biggest Difference
Naturally, the BMW i3’s electric drivetrain plays a major role in reducing its environmental footprint. An electric motor operates much more efficiently than a conventional gasoline or diesel engine. However, BMW also considered where the electricity used to charge the vehicle came from.
As a result, the environmental benefits could increase substantially when drivers charged the i3 with cleaner electricity. In addition, BMW reduced the vehicle’s impact through its use of recycled materials and a more energy-efficient manufacturing process.
According to BMW’s assessment, charging the i3 using the EU-25 electricity mix reduced its greenhouse warming potential by approximately 30% compared with conventional vehicles of similar size and performance.
However, renewable electricity produced an even greater improvement. When owners charged the BMW i3 exclusively with renewable energy, such as wind or solar power, its greenhouse warming potential dropped by more than 50% compared with a comparable conventional automobile.
Therefore, the source of electricity mattered. The cleaner the electricity became, the greater the environmental advantage of driving the BMW i3.
Reducing the BMW i3’s CO2 Footprint
BMW did not achieve the i3’s lower carbon footprint through one technological breakthrough alone. Instead, the company combined numerous sustainability measures throughout the vehicle’s development and production.
In fact, BMW placed sustainability alongside traditional development priorities such as cost and vehicle weight. Consequently, engineers reviewed individual components and production stages through an environmental lens.
“The sustainability targets defined for BMW i automobiles have attained the same status as cost or weight criteria in the course of the development process,” explained Ulrich Kranz, Senior Vice President BMW i.
Furthermore, BMW examined each component and process to identify opportunities for improvement. That strategy pushed engineers toward new materials, manufacturing techniques, and vehicle technologies.
“This road route took us to a lot of innovative and pioneering solutions,” Kranz added.
More importantly, BMW intended to apply lessons from the i program to other vehicles. Therefore, the i3 served as more than a standalone electric car. It also became a platform for developing technologies and sustainability practices that BMW could eventually introduce across additional model lines.
BMW i3 LifeDrive Architecture Changes the Formula
The BMW i3 incorporated some of its biggest innovations directly into its structure. Most notably, BMW developed its distinctive LifeDrive architecture.
Instead of relying on a conventional steel vehicle body, BMW constructed the passenger cell from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, or CFRP. Consequently, the lightweight material helped offset some of the additional weight of the high-voltage battery.
Meanwhile, BMW used an aluminum chassis to support the vehicle’s major mechanical and electrical components. The structure carried the electric motor, suspension components, high-voltage battery, and crash structures.
Therefore, BMW combined lightweight materials with an electric drivetrain to improve efficiency without abandoning performance or safety.
Finally, the sustainability strategy continued inside the vehicle. BMW incorporated an unusual range of renewable, recycled, and resource-conscious materials throughout the i3’s interior. As a result, the company extended its environmental approach beyond the electric motor and battery.
The BMW i3 ultimately demonstrated a different way to design an automobile. Instead of simply replacing a gasoline engine with an electric motor, BMW reconsidered the vehicle from the materials up. Consequently, the i3 became an early example of how electric mobility, lightweight engineering, renewable energy, recycling, and life-cycle sustainability could work together in a single production vehicle.
Even Leather Tanning Goes BMW Verifying Sustainability
Leather tanned with olive-leaf extract, environmentally refined wood from certified cultivation in Europe and the tangible use of natural fibres in the instrument panel and the door panels mean that users are actually able to experience the premium character defined by sustainability. 25 percent by weight of each of the plastics used in the interior and the thermoplastics in the exterior have been derived from recycled material or renewable raw materials.
A maximally high proportion of raw materials capable of recycling and energy-efficient manufacturing procedures also plays a role in the application of aluminium and CFRP to optimise the environmental footprint. Most of the lightweight alloy components of the BMW i3 are made up of so-called secondary aluminium. This is not obtained from aluminium ore but from melted production scrap and can be produced using up to 95 percent less energy. Furthermore, primary aluminium also makes a contribution to the sustainability of the BMW i3 since it is produced using energy generated from renewable resources.
CFRP Production
The BMW Group makes use of its unique expertise in the area of industrial CFRP production to manufacture the Life Module. The aim is to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to creating maximally sustainable manufacturing processes. Around ten percent of the CFRP used in the passenger cell is made of recycled materials. For example, offcuts from the manufacture of CFRP components can be returned to the production stages in a process specially developed for BMW i automobiles. This reduces the need for raw materials from the carbon-fibre plant located at Moses Lake (USA). The facility produces the raw material for all the components manufactured from CFRP in the BMW i3. 100 percent of the energy required to manufacture the carbon fibres is produced from locally generated hydropower. The electricity for production of BMW i automobiles at the Leipzig plant also comes exclusively from renewable energy sources.
This is the first time that wind turbines have been used at the plant of an automobile manufacturer in Germany to supply electricity directly for production purposes on site.
