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BMW

Known for BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce

BMW is a publicly listed auto manufacturer headquartered in Germany. In 2019 it had US$116.6 billion in revenue and sales of over 2.3 million vehicles. BMW’s largest area of sales and operations is Europe, but it also has a large sales and manufacturing presence in China and the US.

Summary

BMW has a performance score of 9.7 out of 20 against a well below 2-degree pathway. This is lower than BMW’s 2019 performance score of 13.0, when it was assessed against the less ambitious 2-degree pathway.

BMW was an early leader in the development and sale of low-carbon vehicles which comprised 3.7 percent of sales in 2017 against the 2.5 percent required by its decarbonisation pathway. By 2019 the share was 5.7 percent, but its decarbonisation pathway required 6.5 percent. As a luxury brand, BMW responds to demand from its customers and this is reflected in its development of vehicle production platforms that can incorporate either traditional or low-carbon powertrains. This appears to have limited its attempts to fully commit to the low-carbon transition and maintain its early progress.

Areas of strong low-carbon performance include one of the highest relative levels of low-carbon research and development (R&D) spend of the companies assessed. BMW also has strong supplier engagement which is delivering substantial emission reductions. The company successfully reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions (from direct operations) by 50 percent between 2014-19 (from 0.72 to 0.37 tonnes per vehicle).

Total score: 9.7/20
Assessment Note: BMW received a full ACT assessment in 2019.

Performance module name	Performance module score	Rank (0-30)
Targets	0.9 / 3	#12
Material Investment	0.4 / 0.4	#1
Intangible Investment	1.2 / 2.4	#10
Sold product performance	3.8 / 7	#13
Management	1.1 / 2.2	#10
Supplier	1.2 / 1.2	#1
Client	0.6 / 0.8	#3
Policy Engagement	0.1 / 1.2	#22
Business Model	0.3 / 1.8	#13

BMW has recently set Science-Based Targets Initiative-validated targets for its manufacturing emissions but is yet to do so for vehicle in-use emissions. Information found indicates that BMW’s next target will be a 40 percent reduction of vehicle in-use emissions by 2030 which is likely to be compliant with its well below 2-degree pathway.

BMW aims to have 50 percent of its total European vehicles (43 percent of global sales) “electric” by 2030. The nature of this electrification is key with full battery electric being far preferable to plug-in hybrids. BMW should seek to regain its early lead in electric vehicle sales and should publish details of its transition strategy to more fully demonstrate its commitment to low-carbon transition.

See results for

2019

More about the company

Headquarters: Germany
Ownership structure: Publicly listed
Revenue (2019): US$116.6 billion
Number of vehicles sold (2019): 2,300,102
Website: https://www.bmwgroup.com/