Official Release: The BMW Group has been named as the automotive industry’s Supersector leader for the sixth consecutive year, and is therefore the world’s most sustainable automobile manufacturer. This was the conclusion of the SAM Group, published in its latest evaluation for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). The BMW Group is the only company [...] More...
I particularly like...."The BMW Group also accepts responsibility for its roughly 96,000 employees and is involved in social projects outside of its plants."
I wonder what that means exactly - sustainability? Does that mean that the company has a good chance of staying in business despite economic changes? Does it mean it's products will last longer? Does it mean that people will continue to buy it's products despite economic or political or fashion changes in the automotive climate? Does it mean the company has the ability to change with the times and survive? All of the above? None of the above? Sure sounds like corp-babble to me....
Hmmmmm.........it looks like the answer to my questions is ...Yes! Leading sustainability companies display high levels of competence in addressing global and industry challenges in a variety of areas: Strategy: Integrating long-term economic, environmental and social aspects in their business strategies while maintaining global competitiveness and brand reputation. Financial: Meeting shareholders' demands for sound financial returns, long-term economic growth, open communication and transparent financial accounting. Customer & Product: Fostering loyalty by investing in customer relationship management and product and service innovation that focuses on technologies and systems, which use financial, natural and social resources in an efficient, effective and economic manner over the long-term. Governance and Stakeholder: Setting the highest standards of corporate governance and stakeholder engagement, including corporate codes of conduct and public reporting. Human: Managing human resources to maintain workforce capabilities and employee satisfaction through best-in-class organisational learning and knowledge management practices and remuneration and benefit programs Reads like a bunch of corporate double-speak to me. A person can interpret those "talking points" in any way they want to, if you put the right spin on it! But the bottom line to BMW and DJ is can we get people to buy into the share price/value of the company. IMHO, of course.....
I'd agree that it's a bit disengenuous... It does NOT mean that they are the greenest, or the company that has the lowest environmental impact per gross or net revenue, but if one runs a sweat shop, one isn't going to win the award either. That said, the reality is a far cry from what is implied. But if one invests based on awards that one doesn't understand, one's money is probably better placed in index funds... Matt