An international mobility forum this week in Melbourne discussed Australia’s attitude to sustainability and future mobility issues.
Experts from the international BMW Group attending the initiative included global head of sustainability and environmental protection Ursula Mathar, and government and external affairs head Andreas Klugescheid.
They facilitated the forums, which included separate sessions for business, industry and student stakeholder groups.
“BMW is a trailblazer in terms of innovation, technology and future mobility solutions and the Group Dialogues are another example of the company’s forward-thinking approach,” BMW Group Australia chief executive officer Marc Werner says.
“Here in Australia, we believe there are untapped opportunities to shape the direction of personal mobility, and we welcome the opportunity to explore these topics from the perspectives of our current and future leaders.”
The BMW Group Dialogues is a program initiated by the global BMW Group to ensure sustainability remains an integral part of its international corporate strategy.
Its latest report features electromobility, for instance, with the aim of selling 500,000 vehicles with electric and plug-in hybrid drive by the end of 2019.
BMW also utilises light construction, renewable resources and resource-efficient and environmentally friendly production to reduce CO2 and other pollutants over its whole cycle.
It even provides a green energy package for customers and recycles and reuses batteries.
Underpinning this approach to sustainability is regular stakeholder engagement as the company seeks the thoughts of future global leaders.
Forums have been held in Hangzhou, Chicago and Milan.
Melbourne was chosen as the venue for the 2018 BMW Group Dialogues due to its diverse and progressive culture, strong research and developmental focus, and robust academic community.
Topics included: What are the biggest challenges for urban mobility in Australia compared to other countries? What are the reasons for the current situation in Australia? How can automotive manufacturers contribute? What kind of mobility products and services are needed to help achieve the city’s goals?
The event was held at Swinburne University of Technology, where a co-operative student scholarship has been established.
This BMW Group Smart Melbourne Scholarship will see Swinburne students submitting their vision of the perfect future mobility scenario for Melbourne.
Winning entries and the authors of the top five submissions each receive 1000 euros and a hosted trip to the BMW Group head office and research and development facilities in Munich.
Visit: bmwgroup.com/svr2017en for its latest sustainability report.
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