Sustainable bicycles? The impact of the cycling industry

The topic of sustainability has become increasingly important in recent years, especially with regard to mobility. In this context, the bicycle is emblematic of sustainable means of transportation, as it does not cause any direct CO2 emissions and at the same time promotes health. It can thus make an important contribution to creating a climate-friendly future. However, we want to take a closer look at one question: is the bicycle produced sustainably?

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We are convinced that bicycles and e-bikes are the most environmentally friendly and energy-efficient alternative to cars and also have a number of climate-friendly advantages over public transport. Nevertheless, it is important to take a deeper look at the issue and not fundamentally view bicycles as well as e-bikes as sustainable because of their climate-friendly locomotion. What about the production of the bikes? What is the environmental impact of the bike industry? And what social and ecological impacts are critical?

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In order to gain a full understanding of the environmental impact of bicycle manufacturing and use, we have attempted to provide answers to these questions. In particular, taking into account factors such as materials used in manufacturing, the supply chains that can be traced back to the manufacturers and the disposal of bicycles that are no longer used, we noticed a few things that we have summarized in this article.

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Is a bicycle environmentally friendly?

Whether on a bike or in business - we want to move forward quickly. Unfortunately, constant development and improvement leave traces: in the form of landfills, climate change, plant death and groundwater pollution.

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Especially in the case of the bicycle, which is generally regarded as a green, ecological and environmentally friendly means of transport, these terms are shocking. There's no question about it - compared to cars, getting around by bike is much more sustainable. But how does the bicycle industry perform in terms of environmental impact and social justice?

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An overview of the bicycle market

According to Globometer, around 4 bicycles are sold every second worldwide. That's over 130 million bikes per year. In Germany alone, around 4.7 million new bicycles were sold in 2021, of which around 2 million were e-bikes.

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The popularity of bicycles doesn't come from nowhere: compared to cars, cycling is a significantly healthier and more sustainable way for individuals to get around. Whether for fun in leisure time or to save car trips in everyday life: The bicycle is clean, ecological and environmentally friendly. At least that's the general image.

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Compared to cars, of course, this is true: No harmful exhaust gases are produced, no fossil fuels are used for propulsion, and significantly fewer resources are used in production. The e-bike also motivates many people to cycle to work or go shopping instead of driving. In terms of health and also financially, this is definitely worthwhile. But is it also worth it for the environment?

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How sustainable are e-bikes?

E-bikes have enjoyed steadily increasing popularity for years. In 2021, there were 2 Mio. e-bikes sold in Germany (1.36 million in 2021). This represents an increase of almost 50% and forecasts that see this trend growing. Particularly with regard to the promotion of sustainable mobility, e-bikes are taking on an enormously important role.

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They effectively reduce traffic-related emissions, they reduce the volume of traffic and, in addition to many health benefits, they also offer enormous cost efficiency compared to other means of transport in terms of acquisition, use and maintenance.

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With regard to the production of e-bikes, however, a crucial component has been added compared to the conventional bicycle: the electronics. The addition of a motor and battery has made the production of e-bikes significantly more costly and complex than that of a conventional bicycle, which has a negative impact on the carbon footprint of the bicycle industry.

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Social and environmental impacts of the bicycle industry

Production

In fact, both simple bicycles and e-bikes represent an environmental burden in new production. Starting with the frame: Whether steel, aluminum or carbon, the production of the frame is energy- und ressource intensive. For example, the production of a single carbon frame requires about 1600 liters of water. A person can live on this amount of water for about 1.5 years.

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In addition to 27 kg CO2e emitted, the cumulative energy input is around 400 MJ. That's about half a month's worth of energy in a normal 2-person household. With over 100 million bicycles produced each year, the environmental impact adds up quickly. Added to this is the production of tires, saddles, brakes, tubes and, above all, e-bike motors.

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E-bike motors and batteries

If e-mobility has an environmental weak point, it's the engine. While fuel and emissions are saved when riding an e-bike, the production of the lithium-ion batteries is still a major environmental burden. We mentioned earlier that around 2 million e-bikes were sold in Germany in 2021. 2 million e-bikes means about 7000 tons of lithium-ion batteries. The raw materials used for these batteries in 2021 alone were 120 tons of lithium, 1000 tons of electrolyte, 420 tons of cobalt, 360 tons of nickel and manganese, and also 4740 tons of other raw materials.

The infographic shows the proportion and extent of the various raw materials that had to be used to produce approximately 2 million e-bike batteries.

Unfortunately, the extraction of these raw materials is anything but environmentally friendly. The ores from cobalt mining, for example, form sulfuric acid in combination with water and oxygen, which poisons rivers, lakes and groundwater. Acid mine waters are one of the biggest environmental problems of the mining industry, according to a UNEP report.

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Lithium can be mined in various ways. In Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, the raw material is found in salt lakes, where it can be mined with enormous water consumption. About 2000 liters of water are used to mine one kilogram of lithium. The high water consumption lowers the groundwater level in already dry areas. This results in plant mortality as well as habitat destruction of the Andean flamingos, which are already threatened with extinction.

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The extraction of raw materials for lithium-ion batteries is therefore questionable. It is therefore all the more important to dispose of and recycle used batteries properly.

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And what about the emissions generated during battery production? According to the Federal Environment Agency, greenhouse gas emissions from battery production amount to 55 to 75 kg CO2e per kilowatt hour of storage capacity.

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The common e-bike battery has a capacity of 500 Wh - This means an environmental impact of 27.5 kg CO2e during production. In fact, it is already worthwhile if only 165 kilometers are covered with the e-bike instead of the car - Theoretically, the battery is then CO2-neutral due to the emissions saved while driving and every additional kilometer means a positive eco-balance. Provided that the bicycle is really used instead of the car and not in addition to it.

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Shipping routes

In Germany alone, 4.14 million bicycles were imported in 2021 - from Cambodia, Bulgaria, Poland, Bangladesh, China and more. The raw materials, on the other hand, come from South America, Australia, the Congo and other countries. Since the transport routes of the supply chain unfortunately cannot be covered by bicycle, high CO2 emissions are added to the eco-balance here.

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Social impact

Not only the ecological, but also the social impact of bicycle manufacturing must be considered. This begins with the mining of raw materials. For example, the mining of cobalt in the Congo is criticized because of the inhumane and life-threatening conditions. It is estimated that to date at least 22,000 children are working in cobalt mining in the southern Congolese region of Karanga alone.

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The production of bicycles also often takes place under socially unjust conditions. 23% of bicycle imports in Germany come from Cambodia. A report in a Zeit-report on the poor working conditions in the large companies that also supply well-known bicycle brands such as Cube, Woom and the German bicycle purchasing cooperative ZEG in Cologne.

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Can we make the bicycle industry more sustainable?

Fortunately, there are many ways we can make bicycling more sustainable.

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Battery recycling

One of the most important points here is the recycling of e-bike batteries. Of course, this also requires energy. However, according to Düsenfeld, batteries made from recycled raw materials consume about 40% less energy in production than batteries made from primary raw materials.

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As an e-bike rider, you can take the first step toward battery recycling by properly disposing of broken batteries. Unfortunately, a lot of electronic waste, including broken batteries, still ends up in household waste. Here, it is not properly recycled. Instead, you should take a defective battery to a bicycle dealer in your area. Bicycle dealers and manufacturers are legally obligated to take back e-bike batteries and pass them on to a suitable recycling center. Alternatively, there are also official collection points for defective and old batteries in some municipalities.

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Repair instead of throwing away

Overconsumption and waste are among the biggest problems for climate protection. We are in the fortunate position of being able to buy almost everything we need brand new at any time. This quickly tempts us to throw away old, broken things instead of repairing them. We understand well - it's faster, easier and safer. Besides, sometimes the old bikes just don't do it anymore after years.

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Still, it's helpful to ride your bike as long as possible and use its full potential. After all, with every kilometer you travel on your bike instead of by car, you offset the emissions and energy consumed in its manufacture. Unfortunately, every bike is no longer usable at some point - we ensure that the life cycle of old bikes, mountain bikes and e-bikes is extended through bike refurbishing.

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Cycling into a more sustainable future with refurbished bikes

Another way to make the bicycle industry more sustainable is refurbishing. We refurbish used bikes and reuse all functional parts. The result is like-new bikes that perform significantly better in terms of environmental friendliness than their equivalents fresh from the factory. So you can save resources, CO2, water and energy when you buy your new bike.

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Of course, even the refurbished bikes are not 100% sustainable. We also have transport routes, spare parts and a certain energy consumption. Compared to new construction, however, we perform better in all categories. In addition, all materials and raw materials of our bikes are reused instead of ending up in landfills.

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Buying a bike that is 1. as good as new, fully functional and state of the art, and 2. in the production of which neither man nor nature were exploited, is not so easy. If these points are as important to you as they are to us, then you should consider a refurbished bike for your next purchase.