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PLANET.
CONSISTENTLY SUSTAINABLE.
High Standards at Every Step.
Can you live climate friendly and also own a car? We at MINI are making this a reality, thanks to our four key principles of sustainability. Watch our video to find out just how we do this based on our holistic concept. We are working every day to realize innovative and smart solutions that let us significantly contribute to a greener planet, through our environmentally conscious vehicles, made using sustainable manufacturing practices.
When it comes to sustainability, we accept no compromises and set challenging goals for ourselves. For example, from 2030 we want all of our new cars to be fully electric. At the BMW Group, which MINI is a part of, we have been working on developing sustainable electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids for quite some time now. With approximately 193,000 electric vehicles delivered worldwide in 2020, there are now almost 700,000 EVs on the road.
The engineer Sir Alec Issigonis would surely have been proud of this sustainable approach. In 1959, during the Suez Crisis, when fuel was scarce, he developed a visionary space-saving, fuel-efficient car – the world’s first Mini.
60 years have gone by since then, but we have never tired of making MINI cars ever greener. We focus daily on strictly adhering to the principles of our sustainability strategy:
- Reducing CO2 emissions
- A secure and transparent supply chain
- A resource-conserving circular economy
- Rethinking urban mobility
But what exactly do these four points mean in terms of sustainable cars? The easiest way to find out is to read on or to watch our video.
1. Reducing CO2 emissions.
The electricity used to produce the MINI Cooper SE at our MINI Plant Oxford comes from 100% green electricity and is carbon-free. The roof of the car factory is fitted out with 11,500 solar panels covering an area equivalent to an incredible five football fields. And all 30 of the BMW Group’s plants, including MINI’s plants, get 100% of their electricity from renewable resources.
If you compare a MINI Cooper S with the electric MINI Cooper SE, the first noticeable difference is that the MINI Cooper S uses fewer raw materials that impact the ecological footprint. However, driving a conventional car has a bigger impact on global warming than driving an electric vehicle does. This means that, after 30,000 kilometres (19,000 miles), the MINI Cooper SE is more eco-friendly than the MINI Cooper S. If the MINI Cooper SE is charged using a renewable mix of electricity, then it becomes more environmentally friendly at around 19,000 kilometres (12,000 miles).
MINI Cooper S 3-Door Hatch: Official fuel consumption combined: 6,5 - 5,3 l/100 km, Official co2 Emission combined: 149 - 121 g/km (NEFZ / NEFD).
MINI Cooper SE: Energy consumption in kWh/100 km combined: 16,9 – 14,9; Fuel consumption in l/100 km combined: 0, CO2 emissions in g/km combined: 0. (WLTP) in km: 203 - 234.
2. A secure and transparent supply chain.
From a sustainability point of view, we also focus on the following criteria for our MINIs: the sourcing of the materials used for the vehicles and the standards of our suppliers. In order to ensure that raw materials are mined in a sustainable fashion, a transparent supply chain is obviously crucial, from the manufactured vehicle all the way back to the mines the materials come from. That is why we continually work to improve the efficiency and transparency of our supply chains so our resources are sourced in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible way. Since 2020 the BMW Group has been sourcing its cobalt and lithium for batteries from Australia and Morocco, where lithium mining meets the highest standards for sustainability.
3. A resource-conserving circular economy.
The use of secondary materials has a positive impact on sustainable production. Not only do they reduce waste, they also lower CO2 emissions – particularly in connection with raw materials that consume a lot of energy during production, such as steel, aluminium and copper.
Key secondary materials that are used in the MINI Cooper SE include, for example, plastic, aluminium, steel and copper. This goes for the entire BMW Group. Currently up to 50 percent of secondary aluminium, 25 percent of secondary steel and 20 percent of secondary thermoplastics are processed. Of course, we at MINI are constantly working on raising these numbers to improve sustainability in the automotive industry.
4. Rethinking urban mobility.
Since March 2021 MINI owners have been able to easily share their MINIs with their family and friends through the MINI Sharing app that lets guest drivers reserve, open, lock and drive the MINI. This means that a group of friends who live close together can use a single MINI at different times and split the costs in this new type of private car sharing. MINI electric cars can also be easily shared between work colleagues at the same company. The MINI Sharing app is a breeze to use, with its simple reservation and calendar function.
The BMW Group, which MINI is a part of, aims to be the most successful and sustainable premium manufacturer in the field of individual mobility. We give it our all and work tirelessly every day to promote car sustainability so that this planet becomes a more liveable place for future generations. We are happy to share this journey with so many like-minded individuals.