Power to Progress: BMW India Foundation formed as a non-profit company

EE News Desk Oct 01, 2020

Registered as a non-profit company, BMW India Foundation has been formed to plan, implement and oversee all corporate citizenship projects of BMW India Private Limited, BMW India Financial Services Private Limited and BMW India Leasing Private Limited. The foundation will go beyond the current programs to generate greater awareness and promote the causes through various partnerships and associations.

Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India said, “Responsibility towards the society and sustainable development are important pillars of BMW Group’s corporate philosophy. This agenda is now being strengthened in India by the BMW India Foundation. Corporate citizenship forms an integral part of our vision as a responsible business enterprise and is regarded as an investment in the future. The BMW India Foundation will dedicatedly work on several priority areas which are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Programs successfully initiated by the Foundation have already benefited thousands of people from underprivileged communities. Committed towards creating a positive and measurable impact, BMW India Foundation will keep on increasing its outreach steadily.”

BMW India Foundation’s vision is to create a world where everyone believes they have the power to progress. Its mission is to act as a catalyst for enabling, empowering and enriching individuals to reimagine a better future. The foundation is working ardently towards its objective to support, inspire and lead engagements positively impacting individuals and society.

The Foundation’s broad focus areas include skill development, community development, road safety and health and hygiene. It will carry forward the ongoing engagements and constructively engage with diverse stakeholders to scale up impact and achieve the intended social objectives.

Kathrin Frauscher, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BMW India Financial Services added, “True change can be brought by people themselves. This is why, BMW India Foundation’s programs are based on the principle of ‘helping people help themselves’. The underlying spirit behind the Foundation’s actions is to promote the core principles of respect, knowledge and power of human determination. Particular attention is given to scalability and long-term impact of each program. BMW India Foundation is committed to enhancing the lives of people in India through innovative and sustainable solutions to pressing social issues, thus, creating a better future.”

The Foundation has formed a ‘Make a Difference’ team with employees of BMW Group India and BMW India Financial Services. This team facilitates employee engagement in CSR activities and manages local initiatives like tree plantation drives and blood donation camps.

Thomas Dose, Managing Director, BMW Group Plant Chennai added, “BMW India Foundation has made a big difference in community development around BMW Group Plant Chennai. The unique way in which the Foundation operates is to closely work with the communities in need analysis and robust implementation. The community engagement is instrumental for the initial project execution and ensures its long-term sustainability. Through BMW India Foundation, we remain committed to ‘Make India’ in addition to ‘Make in India’!”

Corporate Citizenship Projects

BMW India Foundation is responsible for all corporate citizenship projects and spends of BMW India Private Limited, BMW India Financial Services Private Limited and BMW India Leasing Private Limited. The current projects are rooted in skill development, community development, road safety and health & hygiene. The programs are active in major metropolitans and rural districts across the country in partnership with non-governmental organisations such as Magic Bus India Foundation, Habitat for Humanity India Trust, S M Sehgal Foundation, Social Empowerment and Economic Development Society (SEEDS) and Waves For Water.

BMW India Foundation has partnered with Magic Bus for a skill development program that provides livelihood opportunities to youth. The project focuses on training disadvantaged youngsters and supports them in achieving their personal and professional goals by moving into sustained employment or job-based training. Since its inception, the program has positively impacted the lives of over 7,000 youth, majority of whom are now successfully placed in sectors like banking, retail, FMCG, hospitality etc. The association is running centres in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ghaziabad.

BMW India Foundation’s Community Development Project, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, sets out to address one of the most basic human needs – decent living space. The Green Housing project’s endeavour is to break the cycle of poverty, of which living space is a major component. Till date, 58 houses have been constructed for marginalized people, mainly tribals, providing them an identity of their own. Apart from this, various initiatives like rainwater harvesting for groundwater recharge using injection wells, water filter distribution, renovation of government hospitals have also been undertaken in villages around BMW Group Plant Chennai. The engagement of local gram panchayats and volunteers has created strong community awareness on important issues.

BMW Group firmly believes that it’s not enough just to focus on passive and active safety in the vehicle, but also promote road safety in the society. The ‘Be Safe, Be Smart’ program reaches out to schools and spreads awareness about road safety in an engaging manner that excites the young audience. Till date, more than 33,000 students have attended sessions on traffic rules and safe road behaviour. Children apply the learnings in a simulated real-world traffic scenario in toy cars and bikes.

To address the key challenge of shortage of safe and potable drinking water, BMW India Foundation has joined hands with ‘CARE4WATER’ initiative. The program provides easy to use filters that ensure impurity free safe drinking water, giving way to good health and hygiene. In partnership with Waves for Water, over 8,000 filters have been distributed to underprivileged households in Delhi NCR and Chennai.

BMW India Foundation has implemented ‘Water For Future’ rainwater harvesting project which is focused on creating permanent and sustainable sources of fresh water suitable for human consumption. In 2020, the Foundation completed the project in five government schools in underprivileged rural areas of Haryana. This initiative will provide access to clean drinking water to over 2,000 students, positively impacting higher enrolment and retention.

BMW India Foundation has contributed INR 3 crore in the battle against COVID-19 pandemic. In Chengalpattu, near Plant Chennai, an isolation ward and PCR lab has been created for patients at the Government General Hospital. Critical care equipment and diagnostic services have been provided to Gurugram health department. Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) has been provided for frontline medical personnel and law enforcement agencies in Delhi-NCR and Chennai. Nutrition for the economically marginalised families around Plant Chennai and Delhi NCR has also been funded as part of the initiative.