Management of political dialogue
The External Affairs and Public Policy department in Stuttgart is the central coordinating office for dialogue with political decision-makers. The department has field offices in Berlin, Brussels, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, and Washington, and is also present at more than 30 other Daimler corporate representation offices in key markets.
We set great store by standardized communication with political decision-makers. Our communication activities must comply with current legal stipulations and with our standards for responsible lobbying procedures. The top priority is to pursue the interests of our company in an ethically sound manner, while also taking into account the interests of our stakeholders.
This includes remaining neutral with regard to political parties and interest groups, which is why we maintain equal contact with all democratic parties. However, in the three months prior to all elections we also avoid any meetings with politicians that might have a public impact. Our campaign contributions are in strict accordance with the relevant laws and are also subject to internal regulations established in 2006 which stipulate that contributions to political parties must first be examined by External Affairs and Public Policy and then approved by the Board of Management.
Our dialogue-related activities focus on areas including environmental, transportation, and economic policies (competition, issues related to international trade and investment, protection of intellectual property). Also addressed are issues related to the implementation of technical innovations, vehicle safety, and the promotion of business development.
In the political dialogue we focus particularly on addressing processes of social transformation from the perspective of sustainability. That’s because the policy groundwork laid here also impacts our company’s long-term strategic alignment — for example, in the areas of emission regulations and safety standards. To help safeguard the accuracy of our planning activities and include our ideas in these processes of change, we strive to bring issues such as new mobility concepts, electromobility, and lightweight engineering to the attention of the decision-makers who are responsible for implementing industrial policy and infrastructure measures. In this context, Daimler is participating in the Federation of German Industries’ (BDI) climate initiative. As part of this involvement, it conducted a “Climate Academy” at the ESMT in Berlin in October 2010 (in the run-up to the COP16 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun).
The political dialogue is now also focusing more strongly on issues related to ethical business dealings. This process is generally preceded by discussions of these issues in regional and international associations (such as the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), the Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers (AAM) in the U.S., and the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)), initiatives (such as the Business for Climate Protection initiative of the Federation of German Industries (BDI)), think tanks, and chambers of commerce and industry. In this way, we can ensure that the results do not reflect the interests of individual companies, but instead benefit all of society and fit into the overarching regulatory policy framework.
In addition to vehicle-specific themes, Daimler intentionally includes sustainability issues with a broad social impact in the agendas of committees in which we are active. To name a few examples,
- As a result of the Stakeholder Dialogue 2009 and at the prompting of Daimler, a committee of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) is discussing its member companies’ joint approach to human rights.
- Human rights are also being addressed in an initiative of Econsense, in which we are actively involved.
- As part of the Federation of German Industries’ (BDI) climate initiative, Daimler helped fund a “Climate Academy” at the ESMT in Berlin in October 2010. The event was held in the run-up to the related COP16 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun.
- At the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), we are a member of the Commission on Business Responsibility and Anti-Corruption, where we are focusing on, among other things, an initiative for comparable and pragmatic sustainability standards in B2B transactions.
In addition to participating in a political dialogue at the national level, Daimler also endeavors to promote international cooperation, especially at the transatlantic level. For example, since 2006 we have been a partner of the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum — a series of events for leading figures from the worlds of politics, business, and society in general. We also support many renowned think tanks, such as the Brookings Institution and the Center for Transatlantic Relations (both of which are based in Washington, D.C.) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.
