BMW 2008 Annual Report Download - page 166

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07
We also remain the world’s most sustainable automotive company. For the fourth
consecutive year we headed the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for our industry.
At the BMW Group, sustainability is deeply anchored within the company. This can be
seen most clearly in our products. For instance, by the end of  we could already
boast claim to  models with emissions of less than  grams of CO per kilometre.
Many of our vehicles are already “best-in-class” when it comes to fuel economy.
Our Clean Production philosophy makes sustainability an integral part of vehicle
production. Our aim is for the BMW Group to use resources more efficiently than
any
other company in the industry. Because we know that companies who practice
corporate sustainability shape their own future. And we want our future to be a
successful one!
We have substantially increased productivity in manufacturing our vehicles. In the
process we also cooperated with the BMW Group Works Council in the reduction of
our workforce. We took important steps in this direction at an early stage, and – what
is particularly important to me – by mutual agreement with employee representatives.
Rest assured that the Board of Management and I do not take such decisions lightly,
and that we are well aware of what it means for the people concerned. But today,
more than ever, we can see that this was an important and necessary step towards
securing the future of our plants and of the company as a whole.
We were also able to make substantial cost reductions and leverage potential effi-
ciencies in other key areas. And so, we start  with a whole range of competitive
advantages, exciting products and sound liquidity. One thing is clear: This will be a
The challenge of the future Preface Norbert Reithofer Chairman of the Board of Management