In recent years, the automotive industry is facing fierce competition and complex and changeable market forms, while many automobile companies are concentrating on price wars and oil and electricity disputes, one company is still increasing investment in corporate social responsibility and creating value for Chinese society. This is the 30th anniversary of entering China, adhering to the concept of "home in China" - BMW.
On April 8, BMW China announced its donation to support biodiversity conservation in the Liaohe River Estuary for the third consecutive year, and announced a series of measures to upgrade its CSR strategy: on April 2, BMW China launched the "BMW China Culture Journey - Grand Canal Cultural Conservation and Education Public Welfare Project" to help the protection, promotion and education of the Grand Canal culture for a long time, and continued to donate RMB 30 million to the BMW Warm Heart Fund of the China Education Development Foundation for social welfare in the next three years, creating more tangible value for Chinese society with more practical actions.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of BMW's presence in China, and BMW has made sustainability a core strategy in the past 30 years. As we all know, in the United Nations sustainable development framework and in the field of research and application, sustainable development has a universal 3P framework, which summarizes the essence and pursuit of sustainable development thought and practice: economic prosperity (Prosperity), people (People) and planet (Planet). The idea of sustainable development is to abandon the previous single thinking of only pursuing development or profit, without paying attention to the coordinated development of protection and society, people and ecological environment, and pursue the multi-dimensional pursuit of "economic prosperity, environmental protection, and people". In the framework of sustainable development, profitability and concern for people and the environment are not opposites, but are in harmony and balance. BMW's performance in these three "Ps" can be described as a "three good students" in the industry with a truly all-round development of "morality, intelligence and physique".
What made this "three good students"?
On the eve of the 2023 Munich Motor Show, Mr. Zipzer, Chairman of the BMW Group and Chairman of the BMW Group, gave BMW's view: "BMW's long-term vision is to achieve a harmonious development between commercial success, social responsibility and ecological protection. ”
Caption: Liaohekou National Nature Reserve, Liaoning Province, courtesy of Panjin Forestry and Wetland Conservation Administration.
Profit and profitability are the most essential mission of a company, but BMW expresses a corporate value of "not only making profits, but also paying attention to social responsibility". According to the BMW Group's 2023 financial report, despite fierce competition and a complex and volatile market environment, the BMW Group achieved its business targets for fiscal 2023 as expected and maintained continuous business growth.
Dr. Dai Hexuan, President and CEO of BMW Brilliance, said, "A great company is more than just sales and profits. BMW's sustainability strategy gives a multi-dimensional meaning to 'business success': our goal is to achieve economic prosperity and balanced development of people and the environment. BMW has long been concerned about cultural preservation and biodiversity conservation in China, and has become part of the solution to social problems. 'Humanistic' means that BMW cherishes the culture and ecology of its homeland. ”
It is these values that have shaped BMW's focus in this period of transformation in a highly competitive industry.
Responsibility first, humanity-oriented, and build a beautiful home together
BMW's corporate social responsibility in China has long focused on two areas: "cultural protection" and "biodiversity conservation".
Culture is to transform people, the core of culture is people, culture connects people, and only by cherishing cultural diversity can we achieve "beauty and beauty". For half a century, BMW has been committed to cultural activities around the world, and as a corporate citizen, it has promoted cultural preservation and dialogue, helping people from different cultural backgrounds understand each other from different perspectives.
Globally, the "BMW Art Car" project has a history of 50 years. In 2017, Ms. Cao Fei, an outstanding artist from China, created a multimedia installation of BMW Art Car, showing the thinking of a traditional cultural country in the era of cutting-edge digital technology.
In China, BMW China Culture Journey, which focuses on safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, has been around for 18 years. BMW has funded and empowered the training of nearly 1,000 intangible cultural heritage inheritors, driving nearly 10 million BMW users and fans, and influencing nearly 160 million people to join the ranks of intangible cultural heritage inheritance and protection. BMW has become part of all sectors of society to promote the protection of intangible cultural heritage, and has also become a "part of solving problems".
At the Shenyang plant, BMW's "Art Factory" project has a history of 13 years. BMW invited young artists from the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts and the Munich Academy of Fine Arts to create art factories that dialogue between Chinese and Western cultures at the Tiexi Factory and Lida Factory.
BMW Beautiful Homes Initiative donated funds to the construction of the Yellow River Estuary Delta Nature Reserve in Shandong Province
Since 2021, BMW China launched the "BMW Beautiful Homeland Initiative", and has continued to sponsor wetland parks in the Liaohe Estuary in Liaoning Province and the Yellow River Estuary in Shandong Province, with the aim of protecting biodiversity, protecting beautiful homes, and awakening public awareness of biodiversity conservation through popular science education.
Speaking at the launch ceremony of the Grand Canal Cultural Preservation Project, Dr. Dai Hexuan, President and CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., said, "BMW's long-term vision for sustainability strategy is to achieve a harmonious development between business success, social responsibility and ecological protection. 'Water' is the source of life, prosperity and mobility. The 2,500-year-old Grand Canal represents 'connection' and 'mobility', connecting culturally diverse people, giving birth to prosperity, and connecting history and the future. The Grand Canal is a masterpiece of human respect for nature, the use of nature, and the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Helping to protect the Grand Canal is not only to protect the ecology, but also to promote cultural exchanges, which is not only a practical action of the BMW Group to practice 'responsibility first' and 'people-oriented', but also a commitment to building a beautiful home of harmony and symbiosis." ”
BMW will contribute to the protection of the tangible and intangible heritage of the Grand Canal, as well as the promotion and education of the Grand Canal culture
At present, humanity is facing the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. Biodiversity is the foundation, goal and means of sustainable development. In 2021, BMW China launched the "BMW Beautiful Homeland Initiative" to focus on the construction of national parks and the promotion of biodiversity education. This year, for the third consecutive year, BMW China has partnered with the China Green Foundation to fund the protection of the Liaohe Estuary Damei Wetland. The project will continue to focus on water protection in wetland national parks, fund research on the rewilding habitat of red-crowned cranes, and fund public exhibitions and popular science education on biodiversity to raise public awareness of biodiversity conservation.
BMW's corporate social responsibility in China focuses on the two major areas of "cultural protection" and "ecological protection", and adheres to the guiding principle of "harmony and progress, business responsibility and co-creation, and beautiful homeland", which is a strong proof of the practice of the 3P framework and an out-and-out "three good life" in the automotive industry.