Sustainability Newsletter – June 2023

BMW has got a cracking three-year partnership going with all 15 of the UK’s National Parks, called Recharge in Nature. Enhancing the public charging networks inside the parks for visitors, locals and park rangers is a key goal of the project. Over 100m visits are made to our National Parks every year, and 91 per cent of them are by car. BMW has kicked off its Recharge in Nature project by installing Pod Point chargers in the Lake District at three key locations in Ambleside, Hawkshead and Coniston. For lovers of the Lakes there's also a new 74-mile route called the EV Trail, which has a variety of chargers on route, including rapid 50kW ones. It takes in Windermere, Keswick and Ullswater – see here (external link) for more.
A nature restoration and biodiversity fund has also been set up by BMW and is in action this year on the South Downs restoring dew ponds, tackling algae blooms in Llyn Tegid in Wales, establishing a community engagement programme on Dartmoor, supporting a leaders’ programme for the Young Rangers in the Yorkshire Dales and offering a sustainable summer shuttle bus in the Trossachs. Closer to home, Auto Trader now has a tool on site to help EV buyers choose the right home charger. From the design of it, to how powerful it can be, to whether you should go tethered or untethered - it’s all there in just a couple of clicks. There’s also a helpful section on charging away from home, if a domestic charging point isn’t an option.

Picking up from a previous Sustainability Newsletter Kia has meanwhile committed to phasing out leather from its cars as part of its new Design Sustainability Strategy, although we’re not sure why. Until people drastically reduce the amount of beef they consume, cattle hides will continue to be a harmful by-product of beef farming. If the automotive industry doesn’t use leather in its cars, more will go to landfill, where it emits methane. It could well be Kia has the circular journey of hides in mind with its ban and there is a sound environmental reason behind it but, despite asking, we haven’t been given further clarity. For consumers, clarity over the supply chain of products is increasingly crucial. We love Kia, but we need more information, please. The brand is at least committing to bioplastics as the leather substitution, alongside post-consumer material (PCM) plastic, rather than any old synthetic fake leather. It has also pledged to be carbon neutral by 2045. While a public commitment to carbon neutrality is great, the date isn’t - Stellantis (Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, Fiat, Jeep etc) is aiming for carbon net zero by 2038, with a 50 per cent reduction by 2030. Come on Kia, we love the Niro, Sorento, Sportage and everything in between, but we feel you could up both the transparency and detail of your communication with consumers, and the ambition around the target. Also, should we really still be talking about carbon neutrality without some comment on zero carbon? The time for balancing the books is over - we need an end to carbon emissions and a roadmap for it.
Later this month, we’ll announce the winners of the Auto Trader New Car Awards including two new categories: Home Charger of the Year and Sustainability Initiative of the Year. We will have full explanations of our winners on site from June 16, and the criteria, which should help consumers even more with their decisions.