With almost every car manufacturer keen to be viewed as a pioneer in researching and developing green technologies, it should be interesting to hear what BMW, maker of some of the world’s finest cars, has to say on the subject. We chat up with Phil Horton, Managing Director, BMW Group Middle East, and this is what he has to say

For the BMW Group, mobility and sustainability are inseparably linked. The company takes responsibility to protect the climate and has been doing so long before the current debate on CO2 emissions started. The careful use of resources is a permanent element in the company’s corporate philosophy - it is a concept that is lived and implemented with both products and production. All these measures to improve the protection of the environment fall under our “Clean Production” motto.

Products
We are working on a three-phase strategy that includes short, medium and long term objectives. Short term, we have EfficientDynamics technology solutions that have been introduced on 2007 and 2008 models. Over one million BMW Group vehicles have already been fitted with these technologies, making many of them the most fuel efficient in their categories. For example, our new flagship 7 Series offers more power than its predecessor but has 12 per cent better fuel economy.

We have 500 all-electric MINI E vehicles on the roads in the US. It’s a pilot test that is far more extensive than any other comparable test series running at the moment. Users of the MINI E will drive the car on a one year lease basis. After that, all the vehicles will be returned to BMW Group’s development fleet for comparative testing and analysis.

In the medium term, we are entering the hybrid market in 2009 with our first hybrid vehicle, the BMW X6, and in 2010 with the 7 Series. These models will integrate the latest electric and petrol engine technologies that will use up to 20 per cent less fuel than a comparable model, helping to further reduce emissions. Our long term vision is to take things a few steps further and have zero-emissions with vehicles using alternative fuels such as hydrogen, emitting no CO2 emissions at all. We are pioneers in this field and currently have a BMW Hydrogen 7 fleet comprising 100 vehicles.

Production
Technology and processes have been fitted to production facilities that have helped to significantly decrease the amount of waste, energy and water. The Steyr plant that produces around 60 per cent of all BMW engines recycles all the water used in the production process, which saves around 30 million litres each year. In Spartanburg, where we produce our X models, the production plant obtains half its energy from methane gas from a nearby landfill. These are just two examples of many.

Recycling
Similarly, we have a very strict recycling programme called ‘Design for Recycling’ that has influenced the whole manufacturing process. All modern vehicles are built to very specific guidelines so that at the end of their life-cycle, the components can be recycled more easily. A combination of factors, starting with the selection of materials from which the vehicle will be made, continuing on to production, utilization and ultimate disposal all have a direct or indirect impact on the environment. 95 per cent of all BMW Group vehicles can be recycled and reused.