Sustainability Newsletter – July 2025

Fresh from talking about how racing cars have made road cars faster, safer and more efficient BMW now has a clear-cut example of motorsport helping sustainability, too.
Racing cars have long used carbon fibre for the combination of strength and lack of weight, and in more recent years it’s become a fashionable trim material for road cars wanting to show off a bit of performance cred. In its search for a more sustainable alternative BMW has been exploring natural rather than synthetic materials for the ‘fibre’ bit. It’s been testing its new flax-based natural fibre in racing cars, where innovation is the name of the game and new materials get tested in the toughest of conditions. Developed with Swiss company Bcomp, the natural fibre composite has proven its worth in racing cars like the M4 GT4 and has now been signed off for use in roadgoing equivalents where, like carbon fibre, it works both as a weight-saving material and cool-looking trim for use inside and outside the car.

To put some numbers against that swapping the carbon roof that has become a signature feature on all BMW cars for a natural fibre equivalent saves 40 per cent in manufacturing CO2 as well as being easier to recycle at the end of the car’s life, which can come sooner than some owners expect if they try drifting their new M car away from a car meet for the delight of cameraphone-wielding admirers. Back in the real world and, as discussed previously, fancy tech developed for racing cars inevitably trickles down to use in more mainstream models so we can expect to see more BMWs being constructed from naturally sourced and more sustainable materials.

In other new Kia has won a PR award for its support of The Ocean Cleanup, an organisation that – clue in the name – is dedicated to removing the millions of tons of waste plastics polluting the world’s seas.
While cynics might consider PR little more than greenwashing for corporate reputations Sir David Attenborough’s heartfelt interventions have helped raise the awareness of the issue, and Kia’s efforts can be considered working to the same ends. While supporting The Ocean Cleanup does indeed help Kia’s image it’s also delivered the message about removing plastics from the seas and re-using them for things like car interior trims to – it’s claimed – an audience of over three billion people through a combination of digital, social and traditional print media.

In another piece of recycling news Sustainability Newsletter regular Volvo again caught our attention for all the right reasons, having signed a deal with fellow Swedes SSAB. No, not Saab, our first thought on skim-reading the press release being Volvo had been able to recycle an entire car brand!
Sadly not, SSAB instead a Swedish steel company with whom Volvo has been working to create the dream ticket of ‘closed loop’ steel production where scrap material from cars that have reached the end of their lives can be remanufactured and repurposed for use in new ones, without compromising the strength and safety Volvo obviously insists on for all its vehicles. "One of the biggest sources of CO2 emissions in our production process is the steel we use to build our cars, averaging 25 per cent of all material­related emissions for a new Volvo car," explains chief supply chain and manufacturing officer Francesca Gamboni. “We work towards achieving net­ zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, and cutting steel­related emissions really has the potential to move the needle." Recycled SSAB steel start being used in new Volvo cars from this year onwards, with significant proportions of the new EX60 due to be constructed from it.

• Sustainability newsletter – June 2025 | Reusing old electric car batteries, the antithesis of the Tesla Cybertruck and applications open for Edie’s Net-Zero Awards
• Sustainability newsletter – May 2025 | Reducing emissions, creating a circular economy and the King’s Award for Enterprise, but are commercial vehicles being left behind? • Sustainability newsletter – April 2025 | Car brands fined for hiding data on recyclable material in their vehicles and a potential upside to American tariffs • Sustainability newsletter – March 2025 | Climate crisis, policy proposals and big changes at Bentley – is it too late for the car industry to become more sustainable? • Sustainability newsletter – February 2025 | Transatlantic divide on sustainability grows, UK charging and battery manufacturing gets a boost and Audi in a muddle • Sustainability newsletter – January 2025 | 2025 looks set to be the year of the affordable EV • Sustainability newsletter – December 2024 | Cornish Lithium’s UK sourced raw materials for electric car batteries and its wider role in carbon reduction • Sustainability newsletter – November 2024 | The Autumn Budget, sales of electric vehicles, sustainable materials and planning for the future • Sustainability newsletter – October 2024 | Industry asks government to make EVs more affordable in name of Net Zero and how sustainability works as a selling point • Sustainability newsletter – September 2024 | Road charging for electric cars, UK’s car manufacturers clean up their act and VW explores hemp-based bio interiors • Sustainability newsletter – August 2024 | Is stimulating electric car sales ‘green’ and how improved charging infrastructure is helping with the great summer getaway • Sustainability newsletter – July 2024 | Hidden carbon cost of tech, Volvo pushes for more recycled plastics and Renault secures greener supply chain for EV batteries • Sustainability newsletter – June 2024 | Farewell chrome plating, bravo for Renault’s recycled interiors and a cheer for the … circular economy for recycled tyres • Sustainability newsletter – May 2024 | Lithium is key in the production of electric car batteries, but where does it all come from and at what cost? • Sustainability newsletter – March 2024 | The importance of renewable energy in making sure electric cars really are the green choice, and one Dutch couple’s mission to prove it! • Sustainability newsletter – January 2024 | French act on heavy SUVs and embedded CO2 of imported electric cars, BYD plans European factory and Nio opens battery swapping centres • Sustainability newsletter – December 2024 | Vauxhall electrifies Britain’s streets, a second life for electric car batteries and recycled Alcantara seat fabric combines luxury and sustainability • Sustainability newsletter – November 2023 | Costs for EV batteries fall, funding for UK-sourced lithium project, GM goes renewable and Lynk & Co commits to life cycle CO2 audits • Sustainability newsletter – October 2023 | Costs for EV batteries fall, funding for UK-sourced lithium project, GM goes renewable and Lynk & Co commits to life cycle CO2 audits • Sustainability newsletter – September 2023 | Erin Baker shares her thoughts on the UK's changing net zero targets and delaying the 2030 ban for new petrol and diesel cars. • Sustainability newsletter – August 2023 | Zapmap reports increased charger installations, Lime's e-mobility revolution and Nissan's autonomous driving • Sustainability newsletter – July 2023 | Public charging network expands, hydrogen back on the agenda and choosing green tyres • Sustainability newsletter – June 2023 | BMW helps electrify the UK’s national parks and Kia ditches leather across its range of cars • Sustainability newsletter – May 2023 | What upholstery will you be choosing for your next car - leather or pleather? • Sustainability newsletter – April 2023 | Polestar’s ‘moonshot’ for a zero emissions car and a look into synthetic fuels as a possible lifeline for internal combustion classics • Sustainability newsletter – February 2023 | Our regular sustainability round-up continues with a look at some new recycled materials this month, all of which could be in your car soon • Sustainability newsletter – January 2023 | Eco awareness is driving more and more car buying decisions for a variety of reasons -here we celebrate those doing it right!