Support for the Value Balancing Alliance continues to grow: the BMW Group, Kering Group and Schaeffler Group bring the number of major international companies involved to twelve. Christian Heller, CEO of the Value Balancing Alliance: “With our new partners, we’re expanding our radius and further increasing our clout in the development and implementation of new accounting methods across industries.”
The BMW Group sees the fight against climate change and the efficient use of resources having a crucial impact on the future. The company has set ambitious targets for CO2 reduction by 2030 – for the first time throughout the entire life cycle, from supply chain to production to the end of a product’s useful life. “The work of the VBA along the full value chain will significantly foster transparent reporting in our new integrated report”, says Dr. Nicolas Peter, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Finance.
Schaeffler, a leading global automotive and industrial supplier, is seizing the opportunity to help pioneer the development of a generally accepted Green Accounting Standard. “Together with the Value Balancing Alliance, our aim is to develop a uniform standard for measuring and monetarily assessing companies’ environmental and social impacts,” explains Thomas Fußhöller, Head of Sustainability at Schaeffler. The international fashion group Kering has also taken its place among the leaders in establishing new standards of sustainability and social responsibility.
The Value Balancing Alliance pursues ambitious goals: New accounting standards will allow even more effective and transparent measurement and control of sustainability measures implemented by companies. “We are rethinking the way value is generated by businesses. To accomplish this, we’re developing the framework for a new accounting system, which we can test and improve together with our member companies,” explains Christian Heller. “The foundational work will be completed within the next two years, while we concurrently develop a Green Accounting Standard for the European Commission.”
The framework consists of an Impact Statement designed to measure and report on the sustainability value generated by companies along their value chains. The Integrated Account approach of the Value Balancing Alliance expands accounting from its current scope to integrate the aspects of natural, human and social capital into corporate earnings statements and balance sheets.
The first version of the methodology for the Impact Statement has been finalised and is currently being piloted by member companies. The Value Balancing Alliance intends to present initial findings by the end of the year.
About BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is one of the world’s leading premium manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles and 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. The BMW Group has established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. In 2019, the BMW Group sold over 2.5 million passenger vehicles and more than 175,000 motorcycles worldwide. Revenue in 2019 totalled €104.2 billion. The BMW Group has a workforce of 126,016 employees.
About Kering
As a global luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned houses in fashion, leather goods, jewelry and watches: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin and Girard-Perregaux, as well as Kering Eyewear. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its houses to set new limits in terms of creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. In 2019, Kering had over 38,000 employees and revenue of €15.9 billion.
About Schaeffler Group
Schaeffler Group is a leading global automotive and industrial supplier with a portfolio including high-precision components and systems for engine, transmission and chassis applications as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications. In 2019, the company generated revenue of around €14.4 billion. With around 84,200 employees, Schaeffler is one of the world’s largest family-owned companies and has a network of production sites, R&D facilities and distributors at around 170 locations in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Value Balancing Alliance:
The Value Balancing Alliance e.V. was founded in June 2019. In addition to the new members, BMW, Schaeffler and Kering, the Alliance includes: BASF, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, LafargeHolcim, Mitsubishi Chemicals Holdings, Novartis, SAP, SK and VW/Porsche AG. The Value Balancing Alliance e.V. is a non-profit organisation supported by Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC, the OECD, leading universities such as Oxford University and Harvard Business School, as well as stakeholders from government, civil society, business, financial markets and standard-setting bodies.