Environmental protection is firmly anchored in the BMW Group's corporate philosophy and has a long tradition. BMW named its first environmental manager over 30 years ago, in 1973 – long before broad sectors of society became sensitised to environmental issues and lawmakers began to strengthen regulations. A further milestone was the BMW Group's adoption of international environmental guidelines. These are explicitly based on the ICC Charta for sustainable development as well as on Agenda 21, developed after the 1992 environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro. Today, the BMW Group uses an unparalleled environmental management system based on ISO 14001 and the European EMAS eco-audit. Not only are all production locations throughout the world outfitted with a certified, validated, and custom-tailored environmental management system, but all central planning departments of the production network as well.
This worldwide environmental management system is regularly subject to verification by external appraisers as well as internal auditors. It undergoes constant improvement due to the efforts of authorized environmental protection representatives to advance sustainable procedures and processes at all locations.
