Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2003
  • Article
  • Corporate Environmental Strategy

BMW Group's Sustainability Management System: Preliminary Results, Ongoing Challenges, and the UN Global Compact

By: Michael W. Toffel, Natalie Hill and Kellie McElhaney
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

This article describes preliminary results and ongoing challenges faced by Designworks/USA, an industrial design subsidiary of BMW Group, in its sustainability management efforts since it implemented the world's first certified Sustainability Management System (SMS). In addition, the extent to which the SMS promotes BMW Group's commitment to implement the United Nations Global Compact's human rights, labor, and environmental principles is analyzed. A detailed description of the development of a SMS standard and its deployment throughout the business operations of Designworks/USA was provided in the previous issue of CES Journal.

Keywords

Environmental Sustainability; Management Systems; Standards; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Auto Industry

Citation

Toffel, Michael W., Natalie Hill, and Kellie McElhaney. "BMW Group's Sustainability Management System: Preliminary Results, Ongoing Challenges, and the UN Global Compact." Corporate Environmental Strategy 10, no. 3 (2003).
  • Read Now

About The Author

Michael W. Toffel

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Do Management System Standards Indicate Superior Performance? Evidence from the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard

    By: Kala Viswanathan, Matthew S. Johnson and Michael W. Toffel
    • December 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI

    By: Michael W. Toffel and Youssef Abdel Aal
    • December 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI – PowerPoint Supplement

    By: Michael W. Toffel and Youssef Abdel Aal
More from the Authors
  • Do Management System Standards Indicate Superior Performance? Evidence from the OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Standard By: Kala Viswanathan, Matthew S. Johnson and Michael W. Toffel
  • Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI By: Michael W. Toffel and Youssef Abdel Aal
  • Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI – PowerPoint Supplement By: Michael W. Toffel and Youssef Abdel Aal
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College