Automotive production uses a large number of mineral and organic raw materials. Upstream from the BMW Group, people working for suppliers can be affected by negative impacts – be they direct suppliers who manufacture components for the BMW Group or, more especially, suppliers who extract and process raw materials. That’s why, at the BMW Group, responsible raw material sourcing is very much a priority. 

The BMW Group supports responsible procurement of raw materials for battery production – such as lithium or nickel – but also of other materials, like aluminium, copper or natural rubber, and we have established preventive measures to mitigate potential risks. We are also involved in various cross-commodity and commodity-specific initiatives aimed at consistently promoting responsible raw material management.

At the BMW Group, responsible sourcing of raw materials stems from our holistic approach, which takes into account business, environmental and social factors. Raw material supply chains are multi-layered, dynamic and globally networked – and highly complex as a result. That’s why we proactively pursue a preventive approach based on the four strands shown below. 

To ensure environmental and social compliance, the BMW Group has established a multi-stage due diligence process for raw materials. This forms part of our company-wide sustainability and due diligence management system and complies with the OECD requirements for the fulfilment of due diligence. 

Our involvement in multi-stakeholder initiatives means we actively contribute to shaping standards for the certification of raw material supply chains. Implementing standards in these supply chains, we pursue a raw material and country-specific approach. On the overarching level, we are committed to the international scaling and harmonisation of certification standards with the aim of creating an internationally uniform and accepted basis for the certification of raw material supply chains. We are active in various initiatives including:

• Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)
• Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI)
• Towards Sustainable Mining Initiative (TSM)
• Drive Sustainability
• Consolidated Mining Standards Initiative
  
  

What’s the value-add of multi-stakeholder initiatives? 

Regular exchange with stakeholders – such as civil society and other relevant actors in the supply chain – is an important part of dealing with critical raw materials. That’s why the BMW Group prefers to work with initiatives, associations and other federations of various stakeholders that base their work on established multi-stakeholder governance. Multi-stakeholder governance is a practice of formal and essential governance that brings together multiple stakeholders (including civil society as a minimum) for decision-making around project implementation and to confirm project outcomes. 

In addition, for selected raw materials the BMW Group also works in field projects with project partners and local stakeholders, following the principle of empowerment before withdrawal. At the moment, those materials are: cobalt, lithium, mica and natural rubber. The field projects each follow predefined project goals whose achievement is gauged by a set of key indicators.