Our approach
At Daimler, operations-related environmental protection means analyzing and managing all of the company’s processes with regard to their environmental impact. We have formulated the requirements of our comprehensive approach to environmental protection in our Group’s Environmental Guidelines, which are an integral part of our sustainability strategy. We also require our suppliers to address environmental concerns.
Our Environmental Guidelines
Our sustainability guidelines for suppliers
Environmental protection measures at our company focus on the production processes at our plants because that is where not only our responsibility is greatest, but also our range of options. In our third environmental guideline, we have committed ourselves to making all stages of production as environmentally compatible as possible. Our environmentally friendly production and processing technologies set benchmarks in operations-related environmental protection. We are particularly committed to climate protection, air pollution prevention, and resource conservation. We thus strive to:
- reduce direct and indirect CO2 emissions,
- reduce solvent emissions,
- conserve resources and avoid waste.
Our environmental targets at a glance
Product-related environmental protection
Our environmental organization. On behalf of the Daimler Board of Management, the Board member responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development has also been given responsibility for the Group’s environmental protection activities in relation to the company’s processes, vehicle production operations, and products. The following four functions or organizational units are responsible for the central management of environmental issues, as well as cross-unit networking and the communication of activities:
- A Chief Environmental Officer has been appointed to coordinate environmental management activities throughout the Group on behalf of the Board of Management. This official also advises the company’s management on environmental issues.
- The Corporate Environmental Protection unit coordinates the operational requirements of Group-wide environmental management. Its tasks include analyzing legal requirements, defining and refining environmental protection standards, providing environmental reporting, and carrying out production-related risk management activities associated with environmental protection.
- The Corporate Environmental Council is made up of executives responsible for Design for Environment, the environmental management officers from the divisions, and representatives from the Corporate Strategy and Communications units. The council examines environmental protection issues to determine their relevance to the Group and also initiates and coordinates cross-divisional and cross-unit protection measures and projects.
- Various regional committees ensure that local and regional conditions are taken into account in production-related environmental protection measures and are appropriately managed in coordination with the Corporate Environmental Protection unit and the Group’s Chief Environmental Officer.
Certified management systems. Our sites around the world are certified in line with the international environmental standard ISO 14001; almost all the sites in Germany are also validated in line with the EU’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). All of the sites are regularly audited by internal and external experts. Today more than 98 percent of our employees worldwide work at facilities whose environmental management systems have been certified.
Certified environmental management systems at our facilities
In addition to obtaining ISO 14001 certification of their environmental management systems, all Daimler production locations in Germany, as well as the EvoBus GmbH plants in Neu-Ulm and Mannheim and the smart production facility in Hambach, France, voluntarily participate in the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
The environmental statements released by the production locations are validated by independent experts and contain all of the important environmental data, goals, and measures (and their state of implementation) for the facility in question.
These environmental statements are compiled and released to the public every three years. In the interim, the plants release updated environmental statements that include annual environmental statistics and reports on the implementation of the environmental program and any changes that may have been made to the environmental management system. The environmental statements are released at different times by the various locations.
You can find all of the plants’ environmental statements here. (only available in German)
In order to integrate environmental protection tasks into the processes even more closely, we are working to merge the management systems for quality, environmental protection, and occupational safety. We have also had the first locations certified in accordance with the new standard for energy management systems, DIN EN 16001 – in close connection with the existing environmental management system. The certified locations include our production facility for Formula 1 engines in Brixworth, UK, as well as the plants in Untertürkheim, Berlin, and Hamburg.
Detailed overview of data related to environmental protection in production
Our Quick Analyzer (Figures absolute or Figures specific) will enable you to compile data from the last six years in a targeted manner according to your needs. This data can be displayed as a graph or a table, or downloaded as an Excel file.
Details on the collection and presentation of environmental data
Resource consumption and emissions are largely dependent on the number of units produced. That is why specific values are calculated for the individual divisions. This involves matching the number of vehicles produced by each division with the appropriate data from the production facilities. Daimler’s current divisional structure (Mercedes-Benz Cars, Trucks, Vans, and Buses) is analyzed here as retroactively as possible.
Since 2010 we have collected and presented separate data on the relevant proportion of resource consumption and emissions accounted for by the centralized functions at production plants (administration, development, logistics, sales). In other words, this information is no longer included in the calculations for the individual divisions. The separate treatment of the Untertürkheim, Sindelfingen, and Wörth plants has been made retroactive to 2007, thereby facilitating the comparison of specific data.
The specific data gained in this way can only serve as general benchmarks, because they do not take into account the different ways in which the vertical integration of production has developed, the diversity of products, and the special features of the production network, which in some cases extends across divisions.
The collection of environmental and energy data covers all relevant production locations worldwide where the Daimler Group is the majority shareholder, as well as the central warehouse in Germersheim and the sales centers in Germany. It does not include purely administrative centers or the locations of Daimler Financial Services.
Corporate Directive on Environmental Management. Our Corporate Directive on Environmental Management contains binding stipulations for our environmental management systems, including the specific tasks of all environmental protection units and the requirements for overarching closed loops and internal reporting processes. The Corporate Directive on Environmental Management therefore serves as the basis for the proper use of our management system and its intended continuous improvement process.
Environmental risk analysis. We regularly analyze the environmental risks at our locations in accordance with globally uniform standards so that these risks can be prevented or reduced. Our efforts in this context include the systematic monitoring and assessment of a location’s environmental management system and relevant parameters – e.g. atmospheric emissions, wastewater treatment, waste management, the handling of hazardous materials, and contamination of soil and groundwater. The elimination of existing risks to the environment is governed by binding agreements between the Board of Management and the plant managers.
Multi-location structures. In order to better manage Group-wide environmental protection targets across all organizational levels, we have drawn up regular environmental protection processes that enable well-founded forecasts, reports to higher levels of the hierarchy, and the continued pursuit of annual local targets. The challenge during the current pilot phase is to develop a method that takes local conditions and the differences between the various production locations into account despite the need to standardize key indicators and parameters.
Environmental education. We want all of our employees to support the Group’s environmental protection efforts. This is why we regularly organize awareness and training programs for employees and managers that focus on the practical application of environmental protection at the company and address questions concerning environmental responsibility. We also train our auditors – who monitor the environmental management systems of our plants – and provide training to supplier auditors. In addition, we offer refresher courses that allow participants to share ideas and experiences.
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