CSR lights the way for Bosch
Bosch Group, a leading international technology and services company, is deepening its ties with China.
By 2005, the global company had poured 620 million euros ($838.35 million) into investments in China, with another 620 million euros ($838.35 million) expected to be added between 2006 and 2008, according to the website of Bosch (China) Investment Ltd, Bosch's holding company in Shanghai.
In 2006 alone, the company invested 138 million euros ($186.2 million) in its interest in the automotive, industrial and consumer goods sectors in China.
Bosch's close ties with China can be traced back for nearly a century. In as early as 1909, Bosch founded its first sales office in China - just 23 years after Robert Bosch opened his first workshop in Germany - and in 1926 established its first car service workshop in Shanghai.
Today, all of Bosch's business sectors, covering automotive technologies, industrial technologies, consumer goods and building technologies, have operations in China.
Through Bosch (China) Investment Ltd, Bosch has 14 subsidiaries, seven joint ventures, and six trading companies in China.
With a total staff of 13,800 around China, Bosch notched up 1.3 billion euros ($1.76 billion) in sales revenues in 2006, an increase of 30 percent compared to 2005.
As a market leader, Bosch not only pursues sustained economic success, but also shoulders social and environmental responsibilities wherever the firm operates.
"I would rather lose money than trust," Robert Bosch, the founder of the Bosch Group, had said. He strove continuously to find "a happy medium between the entrepreneur who needs to assert himself, and the socially-minded businessman."
Bosch's corporate responsibility lies at the intersection of business and society, and environmental protection and resource conservation concerns. This gives added value to its business operations.
Bosch's "3S Principle" - sicher (safe), sauber (clean) and sparsam (economical) - emphasizing road safety, energy-conservation and environment-friendliness, is reflected in the products and services the company offers.
"We look far beyond our own immediate interests - and our business also benefits as a result," said Peter Pang, president of Bosch China.
Bosch Group received the "Eco-Manager 2006" award presented by the German WWF and Capital magazine in Germany.
It is the first time that an automotive company has received this award, for the "outstanding and innovative commitment to environmental protection within the Bosch Group". The award recognizes Bosch's global efforts in ensuring Corporate Social Responsibility in 2006.
The edge commanded by the company in environmentally friendly and resource-saving technologies satisfies the needs of China, as it looks for environmentally sound and more balanced growth.
Bosch values its localization. In 2006 alone, 3,300 new associates joined Bosch at various locations in China.
(China Daily 08/25/2007 page3)
