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BMW and UK National Parks Celebrate Achievements to Date of Recharge in Nature Partnership
19.08.2024 Press Release
A year and a half in, BMW UK and UK National Parks are celebrating the progress their Recharge in Nature partnership is driving for people and planet.
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BMW Group
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Kimberley Ragousis
BMW Group
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- A year and a half in, BMW UK and UK National Parks are celebrating the progress their Recharge in Nature partnership is driving for people and planet
- 78 new electric vehicle (EV) charge points have now been installed across seven of the UK’s 15 National Parks
- Projects supported by the Recharge in Nature project have boosted wellbeing and nature restoration in Dartmoor, Eryri (Snowdonia), South Downs and North York Moors National Parks, with further projects planned for this year at other National Parks
BMW and UK National Parks are celebrating the progress achieved
to date by its Recharge in Nature partnership, revealing the project’s
impacts for the electric vehicle (EV) charging network, nature
restoration and wellbeing.
The Recharge in Nature Project will see BMW UK invest a total of
around £1 million in biodiversity and community projects, as well as
putting all 15 of the UK’s National Parks firmly on the EV map by
installing 135 new charging points, with a further investment of
around £1 million.
Already 18 months into the partnership, 78 new electric vehicle
charge points have been installed in the Lake District, Peak District,
Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, Dartmoor, and Bannau Brycheiniog
(Brecon Beacons) National Park. BMW is working closely with UK
National Parks to ensure that these charging points bring as much
benefit as possible to locals and visitors by being placed in high
traffic areas or areas where infrastructure is lacking. So far, the
newly installed charging points have saved over 42 tonnes[1] of CO2, according to
Pod Point data, comparing the electric driving they have enabled to
equivalent petrol or diesel miles1.
The nature restoration and community impact projects are
suggested and delivered by the National Parks, ensuring BMW’s support
is going exactly where it’s needed most. For example, in the
South Downs National Park, visitors could be more
likely to spot frogs, toads, dragonflies and hedgehogs this year,
thanks to the project’s work to restore 10 vital dew ponds. Due to
hotter, drier summers, 70 per cent of South Downs National Park’s
ponds were in a poor condition or had disappeared completely.
In Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), beautiful
Llyn Tegid – the largest natural freshwater lake in Wales – is now
better protected against pollution. Through engagement with local
farmers, Recharge in Nature has supported a range of natural flood
management initiatives including creating three new dew ponds and
eight leaky dams, and planting over 20,000 new trees. These measures
help reduce the speed of rainwater run-off and so lower the amount of
phosphates leaching into the lake, which would damage its delicate
ecosystem and encourage the growth of algae. This will help Llyn Tegid
stay healthy for recreation and tourism, and for precious wildlife
like the glutinous snail - a tiny creature that’s only found here.
Young people have been at the heart of a project funded in the
North York Moors National Park, where they have
improved their wellbeing, employability and potential to become
tomorrow’s conservationists through 3,000 hours of volunteering. In
addition, funding for a new Youth Engagement Ranger in Dartmoor
National Park has helped give 1,329 young people, many of whom might
otherwise not have opportunities to visit the Park, a chance to
experience and explore the great outdoors.
More creative initiatives lie ahead this year. The seeds of a
temperate rainforest will be sprouting in Exmoor National
Park to support nature recovery, carbon capture, water
systems, soil and wildlife. Building on successful work piloted by
local NHS Trusts, more people will have a chance to experience the
wellbeing benefits of nature in the Peak District National
Park through the ‘Peaks of Health’ project. It will work
alongside community-based health and wellbeing organisations to help
combat barriers to accessing the countryside including lack of
transport, social isolation, older age or physical and mental health
challenges. Meanwhile a project in the New Forest National
Park is engaging local young people in nature, encouraging
them to be future custodians of the Park.
Access and more sustainable travel are the focus of two further
Recharge in Nature projects. In Pembrokeshire Coast National
Park, volunteers and visitors will have a new wheelchair
accessible electric bus service. In Loch Lomond & The
Trossachs National Park, visitors and residents will find
it easier to access some of the area’s most scenic locations this
summer thanks to a new shuttle bus service stopping through busy
visitor locations seven days a week, up to eight times a day. The
service will support more people to travel by public transport and
mean less congestion at the Park.
Finally, in Northumberland National Park, local
communities and visitors will be able to take part in activities that
highlight the Park’s aims of conserving and enhancing nature and
taking climate action, as two new Nature Rangers are appointed thanks
to Recharge in Nature funding.
Guy Griffiths, one of the recently onboarded Nature Rangers at
Northumberland National Park, said: “The BMW Recharge in Nature
funding has opened up a fantastic opportunity for the other new ranger
and I, as we embark on a career in the environment sector with
National Parks. The Nature Ranger roles provide excellent experience
in connecting people with nature and a wealth of training and
development opportunities which give us real hands-on experience. Our
aim is to protect Northumberland National Park and create a welcoming
Park for everyone visiting this summer.”
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park volunteers and visitors will
have a new wheelchair accessible electric bus service, with another
bus service being planned for Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National
Park. Finally for this year, a project in the New Forest National Park
will support local young people to discover, understand and act in
ways that will make a positive difference to the future of the landscape.
Graham Biggs, Corporate Communications Director, BMW UK, said:
“It’s a pleasure to reflect on Recharge in Nature’s successes so far
and to celebrate the tangible impacts of this partnership. In the
months ahead we are looking forward to our continued investment in
driving more locally delivered biodiversity and community projects,
across more of the Parks. At the same time, it’s great to see the
continued growth of the recharging network in the Parks, which are
vital to help both local residents and visitors to travel by EV and so
cut driving emissions, noise and air pollution in these precious places.”
Naomi Conway, Director, National Parks Partnerships, said:
“We’re so pleased our National Parks are becoming increasingly
accessible by EV and vital projects to restore nature and biodiversity
are able to go further, faster with the investment from BMW UK. It’s
also incredibly inspiring how Recharge in Nature is giving more people
the chance to actively connect with nature through the National Parks,
including young people who will be our planet’s future custodians.”
For more information about the Recharge in Nature partnership
visit
bmw.co.uk/nationalparks
.
[1] Pod Point data – see
Notes to Editors for details*
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
*Emissions avoided thanks to charge points – Pod Point data
methodology:
To date 42,579.69kg of CO2 emissions
have been avoided thanks to the Recharge in Nature charge points
enabling electric driving miles, compared to the equivalent number of
miles in a petrol or diesel car (‘tailpipe’ emissions). The difference
between electric miles driven and petrol or diesel is how Pod Point
calculates the carbon ‘avoided’ or ‘saved’.
To extract this figure, Pod Point first calculates the number of
‘electric’ miles enabled through BMW UK-funded EV chargers. This is
worked out using the kWh transferred through the network divided by an
average electric car kWh per mile for the top 10 most sold cars over
the last two years - currently at 0.299 kWh per mile[2].
To determine the total carbon emitted from the electric driving,
Pod Point looks at National Grid’s conversion factor for electricity[3] , then multiplies it
by the miles driven to get to the total carbon emitted. (Please note:
The intensity figure used only considers electricity utilised by the
end-user and its corresponding CO2 emissions, and not any lost in its
generation or transmission.)
To calculate the equivalent petrol miles for comparison, Pod
Point takes the total number of electric driving miles enabled by the
Recharge in Nature charge points and multiplies this by the conversion
factor for ‘petrol fuel for the average car’[4] . All conversion factors are
provided by the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net
Zero (DESNZ).
[2] Calculated by Pod
Point based on the top 10 most sold cars over the last two years (https://www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/car-registrations)
using the total kWh per mile for these cars (https://www.ev-database.org)
divided by 10 to get the average.
[3]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conversion-factors-2023
See: Conversion Factors 2023: Full Set (for Advance Users) –
updated 28 June 2023 TAB UK Electricity
[4]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conversion-factors-2023
See: Conversion factors 2023: Full set (for Advanced Users) - updated
28 June 2023 TAB Passenger Vehicles
Additional spokesperson quotes:
Margaret
Anderson, Senior Ranger at Northumberland National Park, said: “The
BMW Nature Ranger roles in Northumberland have opened up entry-level
green pathways to employment with Northumberland National Park,
kick-starting what we hope will be life-long careers in the
environment sector for Guy and Lucy. Working closely with the National
Park Ranger team and our specialist officers, the Nature Rangers will
help people to learn more about wildlife and conservation and will
provide a first-class visitor welcome during the busy summer season.
They will also carry out practical conservation tasks such as tree
planting, peatland restoration, access improvements and species
surveys, contributing to important nature recovery projects on a
landscape scale.”
Heather McNiff, Head of Outdoor Learning and Engagement at the
North York Moors National Park, said: “Historically we have lots of
very young volunteers, as well as people aged over 40, but we’ve
struggled to engage individuals that fall between those age brackets.
Thanks to BMW UK’s funding, we’re able to support ‘Youth+’, which
provides more opportunities for those aged 16 and over to engage with
volunteering in the National Park. We’re passionate that everyone
should have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and so BMW’s funding
also supports young people who have experienced deprivation or live
with disabilities to access the National Park and its volunteering programmes.”
About Recharge in Nature
The Recharge in Nature
partnership aligns with BMW Group’s decarbonisation objectives. BMW is
part of the Business Ambition for 1.5 degrees, working towards climate
neutrality over its entire supply chain by 2050, and part of UN Race
to Zero.
By 2030, BMW will cut CO2 emissions by 40% for the lifecycle of
each vehicle it produces. Through Recharge in Nature the company is
supporting more sustainable transport solutions, and reduced driving
emissions, noise and air pollution for the Parks.
The partnership also aligns with National Park’s Net Zero With
Nature, which is the collective approach of the Parks to fight climate
change and the biodiversity crisis.
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI,
Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading
premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides
premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production
network comprises over 30 production sites worldwide; the company has
a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2023, the BMW Group sold over 2.55 million passenger vehicles
and more than 209,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in
the financial year 2023 was € 17.1 billion on revenues amounting to €
155.5 billion. As of 31 December 2023, the BMW Group had a workforce
of 154,950 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the
future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and
efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from
the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all
products.
www.bmwgroup.com
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About National Parks UK
- There are 15 National Parks in the UK, spanning the length and breadth of the country: 10 in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland.
- National Parks cover almost 10 percent of England, 20 percent of Wales and 8 percent of Scotland.
- Each National Park is administered by its own authority, but that
authority does not own all of the land within the Park. They are
independent bodies funded by the UK’s central and devolved
governments to:
- Conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage.
- Promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of National Parks by the public.
- In carrying out these aims, National Park Authorities are also required to seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the National Park.
- National Parks are free to enter and explore and have over 100 million visits each year.
- For more information visit www.nationalparks.uk
National Parks Partnerships (NPP)
Working
across all 15 National Parks in the UK (Peak District, Lake District,
Eryri, Dartmoor, Pembrokeshire Coast, North York Moors, Yorkshire
Dales, Exmoor, Northumberland, Bannau Brycheiniog, The Broads, Loch
Lomond & The Trossachs, Cairngorms, New Forest, South Downs),
National Parks Partnerships (NPP) creates purpose-driven partnerships
with the private sector and funders to help protect and improve
National Parks for people, nature and climate. Since its inception in
2016, NPP has developed partnerships with some of the world’s biggest
brands to support the UK’s National Parks including BMW UK, Santander
UK and Estée Lauder Companies UK & Ireland. Working with global
impact firm Palladium, NPP launched Revere: Investing in Nature to
deploy green finance at an unprecedented scale in National Parks and
has an in-house Nature-Based Solutions team that supports National
Parks to do more for nature. Find out more at:
nationalparks.uk/national-parks-partnerships or follow "National
Parks Partnerships" on LinkedIn.
****
For further information please contact:
Kimberley Ragousis
Corporate Communications
Manager
Tel: 07815 374418
Email: Kimberley.Ragousis@bmwgroup.co.uk
Forster Communications: Olivia Martins, Nicole
Sigrist and Joel Del Gesso via bmw@forster.co.uk or by calling
Nicole at 07849 462 998.