“Tremendous drive”: Winners of the BMW Group Award for Social Responsibility 2022

Munich. Courage, determination and empathy: The four associates recognised with the BMW Group Award for Social Responsibility 2022 all demonstrate these attributes. The 11th award ceremony, held on 17 November in Munich, honoured projects in Germany and Lebanon. The award-winners advocate for disadvantaged families, provide support for children with disabilities and families with seriously ill children and help young people discover their potential. They all assume a unique degree of social responsibility – a value the BMW Group is committed to.

Award held in high regard

Every year, the BMW Group Award for Social Responsibility recognises associates around the world who volunteer with sustainable social and environmental projects. For the first time this year, the award ceremony was held during international Social Week, which the BMW Group has dedicated to employee social commitment.

Ilka Horstmeier, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Human Resources, Real Estate and Labour Relations, underlined that: “Our award-winners and all our finalists have one thing in common: They see a need and, instead of hiding behind phrases like “we ought to” or “someone should”, they set to work and take action; they assume social responsibility and make change happen. This tremendous drive makes all the difference and is what we value so much at the BMW Group. Being motivated, emphatic and wanting to change things for the better – that is a mindset we need as a company and that binds us together as a society.”

Prize money for service projects

Every year, associates from around the world apply for the award, which is held in high regard within the company and among the workforce. In addition to recognition for their exemplary commitment, the award-winners each receive prize money of 10,000 euros for their service project. Those who made it through to the final round of the multi-stage selection process each receive 2,500 euros for their initiative.

Inspiring award-winning projects

“Wanting to give something back” is cited most often when the many award applicants are asked about their inner motivation. This year’s award-winners were no different.

Here are the 2022 award-winners:

Jean Abed works in Quality Management High-Voltage Battery in Munich and co-founded the non-profit “Power for People” in Lebanon in 2021. His home country does not have adequate electrical infrastructure for lighting and refrigerating food. Abed’s initiative therefore provides socially disadvantaged families with solar modules, so they can generate electricity themselves: 1000 solar modules have already been distributed in Tripoli.

Petra Jenal, who previously worked at BMW Branch Saarlouis and is now in part-time pre-retirement, has invested considerable time and passion in helping children and teenagers with disabilities over the past few years. She enables them to take part in therapeutic horseback riding at a special therapy centre in Saarland, which she founded under the umbrella of “Ehrensache”, the association also established on her initiative. With eight trained horses available, children and young people receive riding lessons designed to alleviate their physical ailments from specially trained therapists. Around 100 children are currently able to experience healing on horseback; the waiting list is long.

Maik Roenisch, winner of the employee vote, works in Quality Management for BMW Motorrad at Plant Berlin and supports the families of children with cancer in Leipzig. As a board member of “Elternhilfe für krebskranke Kinder Leipzig” and someone who knows what it means to lose a child to cancer, he brings his own personal experience to the association. Roenisch’s initiative helps families dealing with the fate of a seriously ill child and also provides a team of experts to offer parents psychological support – which is often neglected in everyday life.

Tobias Schuh, winner of the special award presented by the Vera and Volker Doppelfeld Foundation, works in Quality Management Body Electronics in Munich and co-founded the association “Schulinitiative Elektrotechnik”, which aims to get schoolchildren excited about electrical engineering. Students go into seventh-grade classrooms to hold an interactive double lesson that introduces the children to the exciting world of electrical engineering and helps overcome preconceptions. The teams visiting the classrooms are always mixed – to ensure girls, in particular, get to experience female role models in technical subjects. 

Award ceremony held during Social Week for the first time

For the first time this year, the award ceremony was held as the culmination of international Social Week, which the BMW Group dedicated to social commitment in the workforce, with workshops and speaker sessions under the motto SOCIAL DRIVE. The aim is to motivate associates even more to get involved. The award ceremony highlighted the award participants’ impact and inspired others to join the cause. To give social commitment even more impetus, employees can present their non-profit initiatives on the new SOCIAL DRIVE IT platform, which also enables committed individuals to connect. Anyone who wants to get actively involved can find a wide range of ideas on how to become socially engaged.

If you have any questions, please contact:

BMW Group Corporate Communications

Jana Fenn, BMW Group, spokesperson Working Environment
Telephone: +49-89-382-23019
Email: jana.fenn@bmw.de

Bernd Eckstein, head of Communications Human Resources, Working Environment, Real Estate, Corporate Citizenship
Telephone: +49-89-382-5949
Email: bernd.eckstein@bmw.de

Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com
Email: presse@bmw.de

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15 countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2021, the BMW Group sold over 2.5 million passenger vehicles and more than 194,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2021 was € 16.1 billion on revenues amounting to € 111.2 billion. As of 31 December 2021, the BMW Group had a workforce of 118,909 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set its course for the future early on and is making sustainability and resource efficiency the focus of the company’s strategic direction – from the supply chain, through production, to the end of the use phase, for all its products. 

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