Stakeholder dialogue

Our business activities affect the interests of many people in various countries and regions. We can therefore only manage our company sustainably if we engage in a dialogue with all stakeholders, share experiences, address controversial topics without preconditions, and jointly search for solutions. The Stakeholder Dialogue is therefore a key element of the cross-unit management responsibilities in our sustainability strategy.

Our most important stakeholders, who we specifically select for each region, are customers, employees, trade unions, investors, suppliers, associations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the scientific community, national and local governments, local residents, and neighbors of our production facilities. The criterion for identifying and evaluating our stakeholders is the question of whether, and to what extent, a specific group is affected by our activities, or can influence such activities itself.

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Dialogue management. We employ a systematic management approach in our stakeholder relations. This approach encompasses clearly defined areas of responsibility, institutionalized communication channels and types of dialogue, as well as a systematic selection of stakeholders and the evaluation of topics and expectations.

• The primary contacts of the continuous, institutionalized dialogue with our stakeholders are the Investor Relations unit, Corporate Environmental Protection, the Human Resources department, the procurement organization, the External Affairs and Public Policy unit, and Corporate Communications.
• Our in-house sustainability bodies — the Sustainability Board (CSB) and the Sustainability Office (CSO) — organize and coordinate overarching dialogue platforms such as the annual Daimler Sustainability Dialogue.

We have incorporated various types of dialogue in our sustainability management approach in order to ensure the continuous and regular exchange of ideas with our stakeholders. The measures we use include:

• holding local dialogues with representatives of our neighbors as well as of the regions and communities in which we operate;
• engaging in event- and project-related talks with political decision-makers and non-government organizations;
• sharing ideas with customers, investors, employees, and trade unions by means of workshops, questionnaires, surveys, and other methods;
• working in associations, organizations, and sustainability initiatives (e.g. UN Global Compact, the German Business Ethics Network, econsense, and standardization bodies such as ISO 140xx and ISO 26000);
• maintaining direct and regular contact with external experts, for example in topic-specific working groups.

Our employee survey
Customer surveys, complaints management
Customer workshops for product development