BMW Moves To Using Organic Waste-Based Paints in Europe

BMW says that it has become the first manufacturer to use paints manufactured using bio-waste materials. The carmaker says that it is now using biomass-based matt paints for its cars at its factories in Europe. Additional its factories in Europe and South Africa are also using corrosion protection paints manufactured using bio-wastes.

“The BMW Group is the first automotive manufacturer worldwide to use matt paints made from biomass instead of crude oil at its European plants. In addition to this, BMW Group Plants Leipzig and Rosslyn (South Africa) are also using sustainably-produced corrosion protection,” the company said in a statement.

The company says the use of bio-wastes in the process reduces the need for crude oil in the manufacturing process and estimates that it will save about 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2030.

BMW says the paints retain all the characteristics of its regular counterparts but save on CO2 in the manufacturing process.

“By reducing our use of fossil raw materials, we can conserve natural resources and lower CO2 emissions at the same time. To achieve this, we are increasingly relying on sustainability innovations in our supplier network,” says Joachim Post, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network.

BMW sources it supply of matt paints and corrosion protection from BASF with the latter having developed organic waste-based substitutes for crude oil-based elements such as naphtha traditionally used in paint production. BMW says the final product is chemically identical to previous paints and shares the same properties as its conventional counterparts but will end up reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 40 percent in the manufacturing process.