BMW 2008 Annual Report Download - page 32

33 Group Management Report
Process wastewater per vehicle produced
in m / vehicle
1.00
0.90
0.80
0.70
0.60
0.50
04 05 06 07
* 08
0.83 0.76 0.67 0.64 0.64
* B
asis for data expanded in  from ten to  locations. Until : Munich,
Dingolfing, Landshut, Regensburg, Leipzig, Steyr, Rosslyn, Spartanburg, Hams Hall,
Oxford. Since :
Berlin (brake disc production), Eisenach, Swindon, Goodwood,
Rayong (assembly), Chennai
(assembly) and BMW Brilliance in Shenyang.
Fewer resources, lower emissions
Energy savings totalling more than , MWh achieved
throughout the BMW Group reduced energy costs by
approximately euro  million in . The reduction of other
key indicators such as water consumption, process water
and waste for disposal resulted in savings of approximately
euro . million in the year under report.
The groupwide activities undertaken to reduce energy con-
sumption have been managed since the beginning of 
as part of an international energy project. Energy con-
sumption per vehicle produced, at .
MWh , came very
close to the previous year’s level of . MWh. Considering
the .  reduction in vehicle production compared to the
previous year, it was only possible to maintain this figure
at roughly the previous year’s level by reducing energy
consumption volumes in absolute terms. Some of the fac-
tors
that contributed to the savings were the combined
heat and power plants used in the Landshut and Steyr
plants as well as the conversion of the heating system to
natural gas at the Swindon plant in the United Kingdom. A
wide range of analyses and measures to save even more
energy were carried out in a pilot project at the BMW plant
in Munich in . The know-how gained will now be intro-
duced in stages at further locations throughout the pro-
duction network. At a series of energy awareness seminars,
BMW Group employees in the Berlin, Dingolfing, Leipzig,
Munich and Steyr plants were shown how they can make
an important contribution towards reducing energy con-
sumption at their workplaces.
The various energy-saving measures emerging from the
international energy project have resulted in total energy
savings of approximately . million MWh groupwide since
the beginning of . This is roughly equivalent to the
annual energy consumption of a German city of , in-
habitants.
In financial terms, the resulting savings amounted
to approximately euro  million.
Most noticeably, the BMW Group was able to reduce its
electricity consumption in . Due to the higher CO
emission factor for electricity compared to that for gas,
CO emissions per vehicle produced decreased from
. tons of CO in  to . tons in .
Water consumption continued to be exceedingly low. In
, water consumption per vehicle produced was ap-
proximately . m³ (: . m³). In absolute terms, the
BMW Group used , m³ less water than in the pre-
vious year. Process wastewater per vehicle produced in
 remained steady at the previous year’s level of . m³.
Here too, the absolute amount was reduced by approxi-
mately , m³.
Waste for disposal (i.e. waste that could not be recycled)
decreased by more than   compared to the previous
year. The figure currently stands at . kg per vehicle
produced. In addition, improved separation and sorting
methods increased the proportion of recycled waste, there-
by reducing the volume of waste for disposal.
Solvent emissions per vehicle produced fell sharply (by
almost   ) to a new low of . kg in . Improvements
in painting processes at all manufacturing plants were a
major contributing factor for this performance.
Solvent emissions were also lowered by further reducing
the protective coating used on new cars. Overall, approxi-
mately   of new vehicles were transported in 
without the use of surface protection such as wax, adhesive
Water consumption* per vehicle produced
in m / vehicle
3.00
2.90
2.80
2.70
2.60
2.50
04 05 06 07 08
3.03 2.60 2.56 2.61 2.56
*
The indicators for water consumption refer to the production sites of the BMW Group.
The water consumption includes the process water input for the production as well
as the general water consumption e. g. for sanitation facilities.