"A responsible and sustainable company must take into account the impact of its operations on people and the planet, starting from the upstream supply chain until the end of its product life."
- BMW Sustainability Report 2020
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, when Wu and Yue built ponds, tuntian, and persuaded nongsang to build ponds, tun tian, and persuade farmers to do so in the Guling Lake group on the south shore of Taihu Lake, they only wanted to avoid flooding disasters during the rainy season. At that time, the concept of "circular economy" had not yet taken shape, but it had already benefited hundreds of people in the South Taihu Lake area, laying the reputation of Jiangnan as the "land of fish and rice".
More than 2500 years later, when countless consumers carry degradable plastic bags from supermarkets, hold milk tea drunk with PLA polylactic acid straws, and take a brand-new mobile phone to send messages to their families, the "circular economy" is still not famous, but it has penetrated into the social economy and become an important part of alleviating environmental pressure and supporting the sustainable development of big countries.
It is understood that for every 10 million mobile phones dismantled, more than 120 kilograms of gold can be recovered, which is equivalent to the gold content of 21,000 Olympic medals, and 87 tons of copper can be recovered, which is equivalent to the copper content of 190,000 Olympic medals. There are about 290 million used mobile phones in China alone in 2019.
Circular Economy was talked about by the American economist Poulting when he proposed the ecological economy in the 1960s. Inspired by the spaceships launched at the time, he analyzed the development of the Earth's economy, believing that the spacecraft was an isolated, isolated and independent system that existed by constantly consuming its own resources, and eventually it would be destroyed by the exhaustion of resources. The only way to extend its life is to recycle the resources inside the ship and drain as little waste as possible. In the same way, the Earth's economic system is like a spaceship. Although the Earth's resource system is much larger and the Earth's lifespan is much longer, only by realizing a circular economy that recycles resources can the Earth survive forever. Nowadays, for the giants of the durable industry such as mobile phones and automobiles, which sell millions of dollars, the "circular economy" is no longer an optional topic, but a real trend of the times.
01, under the tide, dare to be the first
Under the wave, many enterprises have chosen to react passively, only in the new energy and powertrain end of energy conservation and emission reduction. There are also enterprises that are aware of the urgency of sustainable development and give priority to the layout of circular economy. BMW is one of the pioneers in acting decisively and innovating.
First of all, the BMW Group starts from the starting point of production and achieves renewable energy utilization by changing the type of energy used in the production process. Since the end of 2019, BMW Brilliance's Shenyang production base has achieved 100% renewable electricity power supply production, which shows the speed of advancement. Secondly, BMW has expanded the traditional concept of "carbon emissions during the use of bicycles" to the concept of "carbon emissions of bicycles in the supply chain link", and strictly controls carbon emissions from the perspective of the whole life cycle of vehicles.
The so-called whole life cycle not only includes the development and use of vehicles, BMW also creatively integrates recycling and disposal into the key to the "circular economy". It is understood that in 2020, BMW Brilliance recovered a total of 108,070 spare parts with a total weight of more than 669 tons, 203.3 tons of metal (of which 80% were steel and iron, 20% were aluminum), 56.7 tons of plastic and 35.9 tons of paper, and realized the recovery and closed-loop production of a total of 45,000 tons of steel. Meanwhile, in 2020 alone, BMW recycled a total of 4,347 used power batteries in China, weighing a total of 98,261 kilograms, of which nickel, cobalt and manganese recovery rates reached a staggering 98.5%.
After rigorous screening, these high-quality raw materials will re-enter the production and manufacturing process for the manufacture of new products. Qualified spare parts will also be further "rebuilt", "transformed and reborn" in the standardized production process, just like refurbished mobile phones, providing consumers with cheap and good choices.
Compared with the energy conservation and emission reduction of traditional enterprises at the end of product use, the energy recycling model promoted by BMW around the "whole life cycle" of the product involves a wider range and the environmental protection efforts are more in-depth, which can effectively alleviate the environmental pressure while obtaining considerable economic benefits, which is clearly a modern and evolved version of the "Sankey Fish Pond" model.
02, the standard is consistent to be consistent
Not all "Sankey Fish Ponds" can achieve the desired effect of both fish and silkworms. The larger the system of "circular economy", the more stringent the standard requirements for each link product. Without first-class production standards, without intensive cultivation of every link of production, recycling and remanufacturing, the circular economy is just a piece of paper. When BMW promotes the "circular economy" of the whole value chain, it not only has "fish and silkworms" in its eyes, but also considers the issue of product consistency. The high-quality gatekeeping links fully guarantee the excellent quality of the output of each link.
BMW's "zero defect" control measures in the manufacturing process are also worth learning. At the Shenyang plant, Industry 4.0 technology was used in the stamping, welding, painting and assembly processes, and artificial intelligence and 5G technology were also used innovatively to further improve the manufacturing process and quality of the products. The artificial intelligence quality inspection system being used at BMW Brilliance's plant is able to identify and locate casting machining defects in engine cylinder heads with 99.7% accuracy.
Adhere to consistent product quality standards, BMW also represents the industry's top level in parts recycling and reuse, each step has strict standards, all materials, production processes and tests are in accordance with the standards of the original mass production, each part and component is taken seriously: in the old parts recycling and testing link, BMW strictly judges the source of old parts recovery, excludes accidents, fire, flooding, secondary remanufacturing, non-original (reject the 5 principles) of old parts, any old parts with potential risks will not be recycled, To ensure that the quality characteristics and safety and environmental performance of the remanufactured products are not lower than those of the prototype new products. Taking BMW's original remanufactured transmission as an example, 7 processes, 111 kinds of equipment, 17 tests, to ensure that the quality and performance of the new parts. The staff opened the factory mode through special software, detected the high use of kilometers and did not meet the requirements of remanufacturing technology requirements of the old parts, and directly scrapped. In addition, in the remanufacturing process, there are assembly, EOL functional testing, system assembly and other steps, completely in accordance with the new factory standards to control the production process parameters and product performance.
03. Welfare
More than 2,500 years ago, the circular economy of "Sankey Fish Pond" benefited the people by treating floods. After 2500 years, with the deepening of the "circular economy" of car companies, the development of this emerging economic model has gradually released some practical benefits that are beneficial to consumers in the process of alleviating environmental pressure.
Take, for example, the product of the "circular economy", the remanufactured parts. Remanufacturing covers recycling and remanufacturing processing, and is an indispensable part of low-carbon emission reduction throughout the life cycle of products. Recycling of used parts provides a rich source of materials for remanufactured parts. Even if the requirements for the screening of old parts are extremely stringent, it is still possible to "find" parts that meet the remanufacturing standards. Thanks to the improvement of the overall quality of the manufacturing chain, under the strict manufacturing process requirements of BMW Brilliance, each remanufactured part can meet the quality standards of no less than the prototype new product.
It is worth noting that, on the one hand, BMW Brilliance complies with the latest laws and regulations, and will clearly mark "remanufacturing" for all remanufactured parts, and the price is much more favorable than ordinary parts. BMW Brilliance, on the other hand, offers a two-year warranty on remanufactured parts that is consistent with new parts, and the quality is trustworthy.
BMW's official data shows that so far in 2021, more than 3,000 remanufactured parts have been applied to consumers' self-funded replacement scenarios, which not only effectively saves consumers' maintenance costs, but also verifies the overall improvement of product quality under the "circular economy" model.
It is understood that in addition to the existing remanufactured gearbox and valve body, air conditioning compressor, steering machine and vehicle host, in the future BMW will launch remanufactured parts including transfer cases, starters, generators and other remanufactured parts for the market, in the process of promoting low-carbon and sustainable development of the whole supply chain, to provide consumers with new maintenance options with higher quality and more favorable prices.
Through the recycling, manufacturing and use of BMW remanufactured parts, the development of a circular economy is a policy-oriented environmental trend and the only way for the sustainable development of high-quality enterprises. The more this new trend is in the ascendant, the more it can reflect the social responsibility of an enterprise, as well as the technical strength and confidence to practice this social responsibility. Whoever can give priority to the layout will be able to set an example and lead the way for future development.