BMW number one in comparison of companies yet again

BMW remains a industry leader worldwide in the automobile industry in
terms of sustained economic viability. Besides BMW the rating carried
out by the Swiss investment and ratings agency, the "SAM
Sustainability Group", examined and evaluated about 2000 of the
largest companies - measured by market capitalisation - in the Dow Jones
Global Index, taken from 64 industries in 36 different countries. The
following company criteria were examined: corporate management and
strategy, productivity, long-term growth, technological leadership,
socio-political engagement, environmental management, welfare and
benefits, corporate culture and handling social and cultural trends. In
the automobile industry, the development and production of alternative
drives was also examined. As is already known, BMW has been operating a
fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles since the beginning of this year.
BMW was able to demonstrate achievements in all areas that are
exemplary for the automobile sector. Professor Dr.-Ing. Joachim
Milberg, Chairman of the Board of the BMW Group, commented: "For
us, the outstanding results achieved by BMW confirm our corporate
strategy, which is long-term and value-oriented. We see our number one
position as a strong commitment to further increase the value of our
company in commercial, ecological and social terms. In this way, we can
integrate the goals of commercial efficiency with those of social and
ecological quality and thus create new additional value for shareholders
and stakeholders in society and in politics." The
"Sustainability Index" is made up of the best 236 companies -
in terms of sustainable commercial activity - out of all the companies
assessed. The index covers a market capitalisation of around 5,500
billion US dollars. This corresponds to 20 percent of the "Dow
Jones Global Index". If the "Dow Jones Sustainability Group
Index" is taken as being base 100 in 1993, the index has risen by
around 164 since then. The "Dow Jones Global Index", on the
other hand, only shows an increase of 110 points. This proves that
companies with sustained earnings like BMW are more successful. The
Sustainability-Rating is set to gain in importance as an investment
criterion. This instrument allows not only the financial figures but
also the risks and opportunities of a company to be evaluated in terms
of sustainability.