BMW AG, located in Munich, Germany. It’s subsidiary in Canada is: BMW Canada Inc. It was formed in January 1986 to support BMW customers better, bringing services closer to many local enthusiasts through a stronger presence and structured organization.
Their current head office is in LEED certified building in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
How BMW getting ahead by putting the environment at the top of their agendas? For example their head office is established as a green and Eco-friendly structure.
As part of BMW plans eco friendly production BMW is testing various forms of alternate energy throughout its manufacturing network.
The company US hydrogen storage and distribution facility fuels hydrogen powered equipment at its Spartanburg facilities. They streams methane gas from the nearby landfill to produce on-site renewable hydrogen for the plant electrical requirements. This location alone saved 92,000 tons CO2 every year.
Than BMW ads solar energy to their alternative energy portfolio. The company stated: “Adding a new alternative energy platform to our energy portfolio is another step in our commitment to sustainable methods of generating power at our factory,” said Duncan Seaman, Department Manager, Market Operations USA & Canada. “It is the perfect complement to our existing landfill gas-to-energy and hydrogen fuel cell program and offsets the fossil fuel requirements otherwise needed to run our facility.”
They use solar energy in many different location. The latest installation of 400 solar modules (in US) , each capable of producing 240 watts of energy, now provides power to BMW’s Zentrum Museum, as well as the new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
To manufacturing the BMW i3 zero emission electric vehicles, to make them more environmentally friendly, the company use electricity, produced by local wind turbines. So far they build the i3 only in Leipzig, Germany.
BMW is manufacturing carbon strands that form the basis of the i3’s carbon-fiber reinforced plastic bodywork at a new US $100 million plant built in Moses Lake, Washington, using raw material shipped from Japan. This location was selected, beside a hydro electric dam to reduce CO2 output due to the high power demand of the carbon fiber components manufacturing.
There are numerous other initiatives at BMW, all aimed at leading the way on on the environment. Some of them are really simple: The company changed the setting of their employees PC’s. With this simple move they save 27,000 megawatt hour a year, the equivalent of 12,200 tons of CO2.
In their vehicle, the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid they use laser light technology, an improved head light system, that contributes better nighttime vision and use 30% less energy, compeered to the alredy highly efficient LED headlights.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=m3JAtvsqfF8
BMW i8 Hybrid
Related:
BMW i3 Electric car