BMW Group Award for Social Commitment 2018

“We love what you do” – even outside of work

Munich. “We love what you do!” At the BMW Group, this applies not only throughout the year to the work its almost 135,000 employees worldwide do every day. Once a year, this motto takes on a very special significance for the Munich automobile manufacturer. Since 2011, the company has presented the “BMW Group Award for Social Commitment” every year to associates who have made an exceptional contribution through their outstanding volunteer work.

“What our associates do every day at all our locations worldwide is in itself a tremendous achievement,” explained Milagros Caiña-Andree, member of the Board of Management, responsible for Human Resources, at the award ceremony. “But what they do for others in their free time is truly amazing. Every one of their social projects is living proof of their commitment and sense of responsibility,” said Caiña-Andree. Under her patronage, every year, the BMW Group recognises employees who show exceptional social commitment and make an important contribution to society. A further special award is presented to especially committed young associates by the Doppelfeld Foundation, set up by former BMW Board of Management and Supervisory Board Chairman Volker Doppelfeld. In recognition of their service, the award winners each receive an endowment of 5,000 euros earmarked for a specific purpose.

145 applications were submitted in 2018 from 12 countries and from all divisions of the company – more than in any previous year. 13 of the employees nominated for the award travelled to Munich for the award ceremony at BMW Welt. Four of them took awards home to their projects:

As well as working for BMW Group Italia, Élisabetta Salvati volunteers as a streetworker helping homeless people cover their basics needs, receive long-term medical care and reintegrate into society. She earned the BMW Group Award for Social Commitment for her involvement with the project “Unità di Strada” organised by the Italian Red Cross, which is dedicated to promoting social inclusion among the homeless.

Since completing a year of voluntary social work in El Salvador, 14 years ago, Eva-Maria Lottner, a development engineer with the BMW Group in Munich, has been involved in promoting the “Asociación Jean Donovan”, an association that aims to help disadvantaged children and youth in El Salvador through education. The many projects run by the association include a nursery for up to 30 children and a school attended by around 100 children.

Karim Zidane works at the BMW Group in engine development. He is also chairman of the “Deutsch-Marokkanischen Kompetenznetzwerk (DMK) e.V.” (German-Moroccan Competence Network), an association that aims to improve quality of life for the poor in Zidane’s home country of Morocco, by focusing on education, social welfare, the economy and the environment. A good example of the association’s work is a project launched in 2016 that uses solar power to produce drinking water. This relieves young girls of the arduous task of having to fetch water, so they can attend school. 

The Doppelfeld Foundation presented its special award for young volunteers to Martin Katzensteiner. The mechatronics technician keeps engine production running smoothly at the BMW Group engine plant in Steyr, Austria. After finishing his training at the BMW Group, Katzensteiner took the bold step of completing his alternative national service at Tani Children’s Village in Cambodia, which provides a loving home, safe from violence and exploitation, to 35 orphans and children between the ages of six and 20. Katzensteiner stayed in close contact with the village after finishing his service and remains committed to helping children in Cambodia, both from Austria and locally.

“Responsibility is one of the BMW Group’s core values, so the way in which our associates get involved and ensure that their commitment bears fruit deserves our utmost respect,” said patron Milagros Caiña-Andree. “Everyone who contributes one way or another follows the same principle: ‘I do what I can.’ With this simple, but very important mindset, they promote social cohesion between people,” added the HR head at the award ceremony.