Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development: "Sustainability Genes" for all cars of the BMW Group

München/Johannesburg. Along the total life cycle of all its cars the BMW Group
applies sustainability principles. "We implement so called sustainability genes
into all our premium cars. By doing this we ensure that our cars have the least
possible impact on people and the environment - in production, distribution,
utilization and service as well as in recycling and disposal," said Dr. Carlo
Kremer, head of the BMW Group office in Brussels at the presentation of
efficient systems for sustainable product life cycles during the World Summit
on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

The focus: life cycles of automobiles

Sustainable design for the BMW Group means that it looks at the total life
cycle of a product. Design for Recycling for example takes into account
recycling requirements for the car at an early design stage. "For automobiles
we need an intelligent mix of disposal and recycling in order to achieve
ecological and economic efficiency," said Professor Dr.-Ing. Rolf Steinhilper
from the University of Bayreuth, Germany. According to him a reasonable re-use
of single car components and material will reduce the impact on the environment
significantly.

In order to achieve this, recycling possibilities need to be compatible with
other ecological aspects. The environmental management tool Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) is more comprehensive. It evaluates the ecological impact of
new component concepts and bodywork variants over their product life cycle.
"Today, manufacturers have to take on ecological and social responsibility for
their products. And this requires thinking in life cycle categories - from
design to disposal", said Dr. Konrad Saur, Program Officer of the Life Cycle
Initiative as part of the Environmental program of the UN. By using tools like
LCA companies can further optimize product design and improve their processes.

Avoiding climate relevant emissions

The main objective during the use phase of the BMW car is to reduce fuel
consumption and therefore to reduce climate relevant emissions. Since 1990
fleet fuel consumption of the BMW Group was reduced by 20 per cent. The overall
target of the German car manufacturers - to reduce fleet fuel consumption by 25
per cent in 2005, compared to 1990 - has been almost achieved.. "We will
continue to focus on further reducing climate relevant emissions while we
continue to implement our sustainability strategies", said Dr. Christian
Cozzarini, BMW Group Traffic and Environment Division. VALVETRONIC, a new
technology that is about to be introduced in all internal combustion engines,
and that controls intake valves electronically will further reduce fuel
consumption. Gerhard Woerle, LCA-specialist from the BMW Group pointed out that
the worldwide training programs for service personell ensures that
environmental standards are maintained along the full life cycle. In addition,
intelligent lightweight design leads to a furt
her reduction of fuel consumption.

In the long run, the CleanEnergy strategy of the BMW Group reaches far beyond
traditional technical solutions: it is based on liquid hydrogen as fuel for the
future - with no harmful emissions to the environment. This concept is
technically advanced and passed all practical testing.

The BMW Group EarthLounge: Meeting point for stakeholder dialogue
"Innovative Products" is only one event in a whole series of receptions and
gatherings organized by the BMW Group during the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg.

BMW Group Earth Lounge: The Earth as the Summit's Center

During the world summit, the BMW Group Earth Lounge will serve not only as a
forum for exhibitions and events, but also as a large surface used for a light
projection: during the day, the BMW Group Earth Lounge has a cover made of
balloon silk imprinted with a view of Earth from outer space. Every night after
sunset, the visitors can see a fascinating 15-minute laser projection. For the
first time, Laser Display Technology is used for a projection onto a dome. In
the viewer's eye, six seamlessly joined individual representations make one
fascinating total picture of the world.

www.worldsummit.de: the World Summit on the Internet

Visit www.worldsummit.de or www.bmwgroup.com/worldsummit for the latest news
from the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. You can download
the entire press kit, "Sustainability. It can be done." at
www.press.bmwgroup.com. More press pictures are available there.