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vier Personen sitzen sich gegenüber und unterhalten sich

Our responsibility at other business partners.

vier Personen sitzen sich gegenüber und unterhalten sich

Our responsibility at other business partners.

Other BMW Group business partners.

In addition to its suppliers on the purchasing side, the BMW Group also works with more than 3,800 direct business partners worldwide in the downstream value chain. These companies, referred to here as "other business partners," notably include dealers and importers, production partners and joint ventures, as well as treasury banks and insurance companies.

The international nature and different business models of our business partners inherently may entail various human rights and environmental risks. We mitigate these risks through robust and simultaneously dynamic risk management. This enables us to meet our legal requirements and ensure effective implementation of our due diligence obligations at also our other business partners.

Our due diligence at other business partners.

The BMW Group is committed to responsible and lawful conduct. We expect the same from our business partners and require them to comply with social and environmental standards. To ensure this, we have established corresponding due diligence processes for collaboration with other business partners, which are implemented by the specialist division responsible for managing the contract.

We incorporate social and environmental due diligence obligations for our business partners into our contractually agreed sustainability standards. Social and environmental standards are binding elements of new contracts with dealers, importers and production partners, with existing contracts gradually being transitioned to the updated version. We offer our business partners ongoing support, through appropriate training and communication activities, as well as by supplying background information. 

Understanding and mitigating risks for other business partners.

The main risks for the manufacture of vehicles arise in the upstream value chain. Regardless of this, to meet our due diligence obligations in full, we assess the potential and actual impact of our other business partners’ activities on human beings and the environment.

The foundation for this is a systematic risk assessment that combines abstract country and industry risks, based on secondary data, with specific information at business partner level. These risks are substantiated through various means, including evaluation of potential complaints and, going forward, a risk-based questionnaire.

We update this assessment at regular intervals and report as required on the key findings here.

The 2023 risk assessment did not identify areas of high risk in any of the risk categories for our other business partners. Accordingly, there was no prioritisation of risk.

Further information on our risk assessment procedure can be found here.

Menschenrechtsbeauftragter

Preventive and remedial measures.

Our catalogue of preventive and remedial measures for our business partners includes the following measures:

We specify the social and environmental due diligence obligations to our business partners as part of our contractually agreed sustainability standards. Compliance with defined social and environmental standards is a mandatory part of new contracts with dealers, importers and production partners. We are gradually converting existing contracts to the updated version.

In addition, we offer business partners a web-based training program on human rights and environmental protection in several languages and continuously support this with suitable communication measures. At events (e.g. dealer and importer conferences) we inform our business partners about current topics and, if necessary, process changes that result from new regulatory requirements in the area of environmental and social standards.

We conduct risk-based workshops with our business partners in a dialogue format in order to address specific risks in direct exchange and to jointly develop best practices for preventive and, if necessary, remedial measures.

Complaints mechanism.

The BMW Group's complaints mechanisms can also be used by all other business partners.

Hinweisgeber

Learn More.

Page Overview: Respect for people and the environment at other business partners