BMW 2006 Annual Report Download - page 29

28 Group Management Report
10 Group Management Report
10 A Review of the Financial Year
12 GeneralEconomicEnvironment
15 Review of operations
38 BMW Stock and Bonds
41 Disclosures pursuant to §289 (4)
and §315 (4) HGB
43 Financial Analysis
43 – Internal Management System
44 – Earnings performance
46 – Financial position
48 – Net assets position
50 – Subsequent events report
50 – Value added statement
53 – Key performance figures
54 – Comments on BMW AG
58 Risk Management
62 Outlook
this can, for example, be achieved by using rotary
sling technology and creating height-adjustable
workstations.
– health-care management and prevention
The BMW Group promotes the good health of its
workforce by installing fitness centres and making
fitness courses available at almost all of its produc-
tion sites, by encouraging health-care measures
for specific target groups and by providing exten-
sive medical facilities. In 2006, Health-Care Days
were held at both the Munich and the Leipzig
plants. The new concept behind this project is
to help to identify health risks, to put targeted fol-
low-up measures in place and to promote a bet-
ter awareness of good health. Some 8,000 em-
ployees participated in these health-care days
and plans are now underway to do the same at
other locations in 2007.
– training and expertise management
Lifetime learning has always had a big role to play
at the BMW Group. The company’s future know-
how requirements are quantified at an early stage
with the aid of qualitative personnel planning.
Work-based methods of learning, which closely
link material learned to occupational activities, will
be encouraged even more in the future. This so-
called “Project Camp” method of learning encour-
ages the transfer of know-how between young
employees on the one hand and experienced em-
ployees on the other, and actively gets the best
out of inter-generational learning.
– individual employee working lifetime models
The aim is to be in a position in which the BMW
Group can offer its employees retirement pro-
grammes which meet the needs of both employee
and employer. Financial scope has already been
created in this area byreallocating parts of the profit
share scheme.
– communication
Information should be communicated in such a
way as to make both senior management and
employees more aware of changes affecting
society and business. As part of the process of
encouraging each individual to take responsibility
for future provisions for health and retirement
needs, the BMW Group launched the electronic
portal “My Future Provision” on its intranet.
High standards for environmental protection
High environmental and quality standards are main-
tained at all BMW Group sites. This was borne out
once again in December 2006 when the certifica-
tion audit of the production function, in accordance
with DIN EN ISO 9001 and DIN EN ISO 14001 re-
spectively, was successfully concluded. The audit
was again conducted using a matrix approach, in
which each manufacturing site is audited on a three-
year cycle. Central functions of the production area
and control functions within the management system
are both subject to annual scrutiny. Furthermore, at
the beginning of 2006, system operations in the
Research and Innovation Centre were successfully
validated in accordance with the European Eco-
Management and Audit Scheme, EMAS II. Specialist
external auditors (the German TÜV organisation)
confirmed a very high standard in terms of quality
and environmental performance, highlighting several
processes as exemplary.
The BMW Group follows a concept of preventa-
tive environmental protection and is committed to
the efficient management of resources. This is evi-
dent from a number of key figures. Over the last ten
years, for example, energy consumption has been
reduced by more than 26% and CO2emissions by
approximately 24 %. Apart from using natural gas,
district-wide heating and combined heat and power
generation technologies, a number of innovative
energy projects which have been implemented at the
various BMW Group sites are also making a signifi-
cant contribution to this reduction. The use of the
groundwater cooling system enables the BMW Group
to air-condition parts of the Research and Innovation
Centre using near-surface groundwater from drains
for the underground railway. This reduces CO
2
emissions by approximately 5,000 tons a year.This
groundwater cooling project was awarded the
Bavarian Energy Prize in May 2006.
The BMW Spartanburg plant in the USA meets
more than half of its energy requirements through
the use of methane gas obtained from a nearby waste
landfill site.This helped to reduce CO2emissions
by 53,593 tons in 2006. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) honoured the BMW Spar-
tanburg plant and system supplier Dürr with the
“Energy Partner of the Year” award.
A further contribution towards reducing energy
usage is an integrated painting process used at the
MINI plant in Oxford. This process, which was intro-
duced in May 2006, reduces the number of coats