SpurWechsel – Daimler Sustainability Report 2019

The Daimler AG Sustainability Report 2019, with the title “SpurWechsel”,was  published  today .As well as the main report section itself, one of the main features this time around is a chapter about strategic sustainability objectives and fields of action. The name SpurWechsel sums it up neatly: the focus is on the sustainable transformation of Daimler.

Daimler’s vision: self-determined mobility with fewer emissions, lower consumption of resources and fewer accidents. It is about creating economic, environmental and social responsibility for all stakeholders: for customers and employees as well as investors, business partners and for society as a whole.

In undertaking its SpurWechsel, the company is keen to focus on the following areas:

• Carbon-neutral mobility by 2039
• Decoupling the consumption of resources from growth in business volume
• Innovative mobility and traffic solutions for liveable cities
• More safety in road traffic
• Data responsibility
• Responsibility for the observance of human rights along the entire value chain

The basis for the achievement of these objectives is established by Daimler through forward-looking collaboration with its partners in business, politics and civil society, as well as with its employees around the world.

This SpurWechsel also involves venturing into the field of green financing, for example through green bonds. Such instruments create new opportunities to underpin the high future investment required for carbon-neutral technologies. At the same time they offer environmentally-conscious investors a chance to play a direct part in Daimler’s ambitious sustainability projects. In this way, Daimler is supporting the EU’s Green Deal, one of the objectives of which is to motivate institutional investors to direct more capital into low-carbon and climate-neutral projects.

Ambition 2039: carbon-neutral by 2039

One of the key fields of action at Daimler is to reduce CO₂ emissions. The Group has therefore set itself the aim of offering a fully carbon-neutral passenger car new-vehicle fleet by 2039. As an important step in this process, Daimler plans to increase significantly the sales of passenger cars with plug-in hybrid drive systems and all-electric drive systems, to more than 50 percent by 2030. The aim is also that all new commercial vehicles in Europe, Japan and North America should be carbon-neutral in driving operation, likewise by 2039. Similar plans are in place at Mercedes-Benz Vans.

Systematic progress towards environmental protection

Over the past year the Group has been able to implement a whole series of important sustainability goals in line with this SpurWechsel: as far as production is concerned, the company already managed to meet its long-term CO₂ reduction targets for the year 2020 during 2019. “The success of our systematic approach to climate protection was scientifically confirmed in 2019 by the Science Based Targets Initiative: our CO₂ targets are in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement. We are also continuing to motivate our partners and suppliers to set themselves similarly ambitious objectives,” according to Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, Procurement and Supplier Quality, and co-chair of the Group Sustainability Board, the highest sustainability management committee at Daimler AG.

Over recent years, Daimler has also been able to reduce its energy and water consumption, as well as the level of waste for disposal in production per vehicle, across all business units. At Mercedes-Benz Cars, the level of waste for disposal has fallen by 25 percent per vehicle produced compared with 2013/2014. Energy consumption has dropped by ten percent. Sustainability prizes awarded in 2019 for the two Mercedes-Benz city bus models eCitaro and Citaro hybrid and for the TopClass S 531 DT double-decker touring coach under the company’s Setra bus brand further confirm this course. In December 2019 the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro also became the first all-electric city bus to be awarded the highly coveted environmental label, the “Blauer Engel”, by the German government.

Focus on human rights

Daimler is particularly concerned about the upholding of human rights throughout the supply chain. The Group is committed, among other things, to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and to the German Government’s National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights. In order to meet its responsibilities in this respect, the company undertakes risk-based due diligence – and subjects supply chains for raw materials such as cobalt to rigorous controls all the way back to the mines.

Renata Jungo Brüngger, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG responsible for Integrity and Legal Affairs, and co-chair of the Group Sustainability Board: “Sustainability continues to challenge us, time and time again. Which is why sustainable action has been firmly anchored in our Integrity Code. We are also already working now on the strategic issues that we will be facing in tomorrow’s world. These include, for instance, our four principles for artificial intelligence: responsible use, explainability, protection of privacy, and safety and reliability.”

The internationally applicable Daimler Integrity Code, updated in 2019, forms a legally and ethically binding frame of reference for all Group activities. In September 2019, Daimler became the first automotive manufacturer to publish its own set of principles for work involving artificial intelligence (AI). In order to meet its data management responsibilities, the company pursues a holistic approach that goes above and beyond the protection of data. Alongside the legal framework, this includes cultural and organisational aspects that are brought together under the umbrella term of “data governance”.

Ongoing monitoring of sustainability activities

Daimler carries out a multi-stage materiality analysis on a regular basis in order to identify and prioritise those sustainability aspects of relevance to the strategy. This also involves dialogue with external and internal stakeholders. These include shareholders and investors, employees, customers and suppliers, as well as the political sphere, environmental and human rights organisations and private interest groups. Since 2008, the “Daimler Sustainability Dialogue” has brought some 100 sustainability experts from many different sectors together with representatives from Daimler on an annual basis.