Sustainability drives growth at Daimler

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In order to secure its success also over the long term, Daimler has made the topic of sustainability into a key element of its growth strategy. “Sustainable growth is only possible on the basis of sustainable action,” stated Dr. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, Member of the Daimler Board of Management for Integrity and Legal Affairs, at the presentation of the company’s latest sustainability report. “That’s why growth, sustainability and responsibility constitute the triad of our entrepreneurial activity. And because we take this matter seriously, integrity will be firmly anchored in the individual target agreements for Board of Management remuneration as of this year.”

Since 2011, there has been a Group-wide integrity dialogue between executives and workforce across corporate hierarchies and sites. This is intended to secure a sustainably changed awareness among executives and members of the workforce. At the same time, Daimler continues to further develop its compliance program. For example, the company has further refined its analysis for the assessment of risks in business units and its procedure for reviewing business partners. The BPO whistleblower system has been revised and supplemented in Germany with an external contact person in the role of a neutral mediator, Prof. Winfried Hassemer.

In addition, all employees receive continual further training in compliance courses. And since May 2011, Daimler has regularly provided its employees with information on topics related to integrity and compliance in 19 languages in the context of the Group-wide “fairplay” campaign. As another expression of its sustainable action, Daimler was one of the first signatories of the UN Global Compact and it has also been a member of the Global Compact’s LEAD group since January 2011.

Market success due to sustained innovation

The Daimler Group’s strong commitment to sustainability is also clearly visible from its entire product range – from the smart to emotional sedans and sports cars to heavy trucks – with the addition of innovative mobility concepts such as car2go. Last year, Daimler invested €5.6 billion in research and development. One result of that investment was the number of 2,175 new patent applications in 2011 and numerous product innovations that help to secure the Group’s long-term market success.

Prof. Thomas Weber, Member of the Daimler Board of Management for Group Research & Development Mercedes-Benz Cars and Chairman of the Daimler Sustainability Board, explained, “For us as the inventor of the automobile, the priority is on responsible mobility. Examples of that include the smart electric drive and the world’s most economical full-size automobile, the E 300 BlueTEC HYBRID. Both models will be launched in the middle of this year. And our new Actros also sets standards for efficiency: It is the first long-haulage truck to meet the strict Euro VI emission standards already today, although they don’t come into force until 2014.”

Top rating for Daimler’s Sustainability Report

Once again this year, Daimler’s Sustainability Report focuses on the principles of materiality and stakeholder inclusiveness. With its reporting, Daimler fulfills the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This year’s report has been given an A+ ranking once again.

Credits: Daimler AG

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