Kupfer

Copper.

Areas of application in the automotive industry.

  • Main areas of application: Wiring harness, high-voltage battery, electric motor

Raw-material-specific risks.

  • Negative environmental impacts, such as high water consumption in arid regions, potential damage due to tailings and release of toxic additives (sulphuric acid) into nature
  • Violation of labour rights
  • Endangering the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples

Measures taken by the BMW Group.

  • Comprehensive risk assessment and identification of critical ESG criteria and main mining areas
  • Greater transparency and traceability in the copper supplier network for the main areas of application, in cooperation with our tier 1 suppliers
  • Supply chain mapping in cooperation with suppliers, e.g. visiting locations for cable production, copper processing or extraction as part of the "wiring harness pilot project"
  • Discussion of ESG risks with NGOs and critical stakeholders
  • Investment through the BMW i Ventures venture capital fund in innovative technologies developed by American startup Jetti Resources to extract copper from previously unusable resources

Initiatives.

  • Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA): Member of the IRMA Board; participated in further development of the IRMA standard
  • Automotive Industry Dialogue: Participation in the working group on respect for human rights in raw material value chains and supplier networks; development of detailed quality and action recommendations