Sustainable Value Report 2001/2002 - BMW Group

“A car manufacturer’s responsibility does not end when the vehicle is delivered to the customer.
The relationship between mobility and environmental responsibility is more important today
than ever before. In the interests of environmental compatibility, this includes the material
recovery cycle that begins when a new product is developed and continues until final
disposal at the end of its lifecycle. As a pioneer in the field, the BMW Group began conducting
recycling studies in the mid-eighties.Today, BMW is an automobile industry leader in recyclingoptimized
design.”
Dr. Michael Ganal,Vice President of Marketing and Sales, BMW AG
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In order to increase customer satisfaction,
management performance, and market
penetration, the BMW Group created the BMW
QualityTrophy, a program designed to improve
BMW dealership quality.To date, 190 BMW
dealers have received this award based on
individual performance assessments. In 2001,
six BMW dealers were commended as “BMW
Success Partners.”
Quality – Safety – Environmental Protection
Along with work safety, employee health, and
commercial success, environmental protection
has become a primary responsibility for BMW
dealers worldwide.This is based on the
realization that active environmental protection
not only improves the corporate image, it is an
indispensable aspect of quality management.
It also significantly reduces costs in sales and
service operations. BMW customers reap the
benefits through extended service intervals and
low maintenance automobiles. In 1982, BMW
became the first manufacturer to introduce an
electronic service interval indicator that
automatically determines the level of service
required based on actual vehicle mileage and
driving conditions.This innovation has extended
the average interval between oil changes for
“Our focus is on the human aspect: Employees and customers.”
Guiding principle from the Quality and Environment Management Manual published
by the BMW manufacturer’s showroom in Frankfurt
Sustainability in BMW dealerships
Humans
Work safety protects
employee health
Ecology
Environmental management
reduces environmental impact
gasoline engines to over 25,000 kilometers.
For diesel engines, this figure was more than
doubled to 22,500 kilometers.
Lifetime oil in transmissions and differentials
and the extended life of spark plugs and air
filters to over 100,000 kilometers have also
drastically reduced the amount of potentially
hazardous waste materials.This is one more
way the BMW Group and BMW dealers have
decreased disposal and recycling costs.
Material recycling and recovery
BMW successfully developed a system for
waste disposal in BMW service centers. By
offering BMW dealers targeted incentives for
separating recyclable materials, this system
has resulted in significant reductions in the
costs of industrial waste disposal. Combining
disposal methods and recycling a higher volume
of waste materials not only lowers costs, it
supports uniform environmental requirements.
Working together with 800 BMW dealerships,
the BMW Group developed the BMW community
disposal system in 2000 for eliminating used
commercial packing materials. Within this system,
all packing materials can be returned for
recycling – an important contribution to environmental
protection. In 2000 alone, 72 percent of
Economy
Quality management secures
customer satisfaction
and economic prosperity