Mercedes presents its focus areas of sustainability

Sustainability, according to a recent statement from Mercedes-Benz, is “a fundamental part of entrepreneurial activity“ of the car manufacturer. In the future, the company will focus on six strategic priorities in order to drive forward its sustainable transformation in a targeted manner. The focus areas were now presented at the 17th Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Dialogue in Stuttgart and discussed with representatives from civil society, politics, science and business.

“We want to have as big an impact as possible with what we do. We can make a real difference in our six focus areas of sustainability. They cover environmental, social and corporate governance issues that are highly relevant both today and in the future – for us as a company, for many of our stakeholders and ultimately for society as a whole. It’s about anchoring sustainability even more firmly in operational business. This is the only way we can achieve lasting improvements.”says Renata Jungo Brüngger, Board Member of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, responsible for Integrity, Governance & Sustainability.

Mercedes-Benz will stand for a holistic understanding of sustainability, including ecological, social and economic aspects as well as responsible corporate management. According to its own statement, the car manufacturer is pursuing its sustainable business strategy with the aim of creating lasting value for various stakeholder groups: for customers, employees and investors as well as for business partners and society as a whole.

As part of this, the six focus areas include environmental, social and governance topics under the headings of decarbonization, resource use & circular economy, employees, human rights, digital trust and road safety. The fields are the result of a multi-stage strategy and analysis process involving internal and external stakeholders. The strategy process is based on internal and external analyzes and strategy workshops as well as a materiality analysis in accordance with the strict requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

Mercedes-Benz has recorded specific goals and sustainability metrics for each focus area in a company-wide scorecard. The approach is intended to anchor sustainability aspects more firmly in operational business. The system is continually monitored and key metrics will – and by law must – be part of long-term sustainability reporting.

The six focus areas of sustainability at Mercedes-Benz

Decarbonization: A central strategic goal of Mercedes-Benz is the “Ambition 2039”, which was presented a good five years ago. By 2039, the entire new vehicle fleet should be CO₂-neutral across all stages of the value chain and the entire life cycle. The electrification of cars plays a key role here. Other important levers include: the extensive use of recycled materials, the use of renewable energies in production and the inclusion of renewable energy sources for charging vehicles.

Resource use & circular economy: Mercedes-Benz is pursuing the goal of increasingly decoupling resource consumption from production growth. The focus is on efficient use of resources and the goal of increasingly closing the recycling loop. At the same time, the amount of waste as well as energy and resource consumption at the locations should be significantly reduced. In the newly opened battery recycling factory in Kuppenheim, Mercedes-Benz recovers 96 percent of the materials. Valuable raw materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt can be recovered, making them suitable for use in new batteries for future electric cars.

People at Mercedes-Benz: The working world of employees and entire job profiles are fundamentally changing. The transformation of Mercedes-Benz is therefore also accompanied by a personnel change that includes work processes and structures, areas of responsibility and team collaboration. With its sustainable human resources strategy – the Sustainable People Plan – Mercedes-Benz wants to shape this personnel change in a future-oriented, socially acceptable and responsible manner. From 2022 to 2030, for example, the company will invest over two billion euros in training its employees.

Human rights: Respecting human rights is of central importance to Mercedes-Benz. The company’s goal is to protect human rights along the entire value chain together with its partners and to prevent, minimize or, where possible, end negative impacts on people and the environment. This should be achieved through a risk-based approach that identifies potential risks in this area and counteracts them with appropriate measures. In this context, Mercedes-Benz is also investing in projects such as the Corridor Initiative along the aluminum supply chain in the Brazilian Amazon. This multidimensional project together with the company Hydro is aimed at increasing local people’s involvement and strengthening local human rights and biodiversity.

Digital trust: In this focus area, Mercedes-Benz will meet the challenges of digital transformation. The company’s goal is to build and maintain trust in its digital products and services and to strengthen the responsible use of digital innovations. The company is convinced: Digital trust is increasingly becoming a key differentiator and is a foundation for a sustainable and competitive digital business. In this context, Mercedes-Benz, for example, has already defined principles for the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Road safety: Mercedes-Benz has been setting standards in the area of ​​road safety for decades. The company supports the European Union’s “Vision Zero”, which aims to halve the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030 compared to 2020 and to completely avoid them by 2050. Innovative driving assistance systems and technologies for automated driving such as Drive Pilot (SAE Level 3) can make a significant contribution to making road traffic safer and achieving “Vision Zero”. Mercedes-Benz has already presented the next version of Drive Pilot for Germany, which can follow a vehicle in front in the right lane of the motorway at speeds of up to 95 km/h. The system is expected to be certified by the Federal Motor Transport Authority by the end of 2024. The system should then be available from the beginning of 2025.

Open culture of discussion: the Mercedes-Benz sustainability dialogue

The six focus areas of sustainability were presented and discussed with a broader external audience for the first time at the planned Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Dialogue on November 20th in Stuttgart. The established dialogue format serves the company as a central platform for open exchange with representatives of NGOs, science, business and politics. The event took place for the 17th time. In the current year, comparable dialogue events have already been held in Dresden, New Delhi, New York and Beijing.

In 2023, as an intern, I was assigned a cross-departmental control and coordination function for sustainability management in the company in the board department of Integrity, Governance & Sustainability. This is intended to take into account the constantly growing complexity and increasing legal relevance of this multifaceted topic. Responsibility for the management of department-specific sustainability issues remains in the respective board areas.

Source: Mercedes-Benz – press release from November 20, 2024