A holistic understanding of sustainability, CO2-neutral products and production by 2039, responsibility to employees and society, as well as the creation of clear obligations with strong corporate governance: These keywords describe the realignment of Daimler Truck Holding AG’s sustainable business strategy. In its Sustainability Report 2021 published today, the company reports on the specifics of what it achieved in terms of sustainability in the past year. It is the first report Daimler Truck is presenting as an independent, publically listed company.
Martin Daum, CEO of Daimler Truck: “Our independence as Daimler Truck AG provides us with a unique entrepreneurial opportunity. At the same time, this comes with a great deal of responsibility to our employees, to the environment and to society as a whole. The greatest responsibility for us as a company is dealing with climate change. We are therefore clearly committed to the Paris climate protection agreement. It is our declared goal, as a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, to bring CO2-neutral solutions for the transport of goods and people to the market.”
Focus on environment, social issues and responsible corporate governance
Acting responsibly is and has always been deeply rooted at Daimler Truck and the company is clearly committed to sustainability. In implementing its sustainable business strategy, the company is guided by the ESG framework and thus focuses on three subject areas: “Environment,” “Social” and “Governance.” In recent years, the commercial vehicle manufacturer has launched many initiatives under the umbrella of the then Daimler AG, which contribute to these topics through their work and commitment.
“Not everything that the realignment of our sustainable business strategy entails is new to us. We have previously achieved much in terms of sustainability: Our vehicle portfolio already includes electrically powered trucks and buses in all geographic regions – and there will be significantly more in the near future. At the end of 2019 we communicated our goal of exclusively selling CO2-neutral vehicles in North America, Europe and Japan from 2039 on. We are also making our global production CO2-neutral,” continued Martin Daum.
Dealing responsibly with climate change: Emission-free vehicle fleet by 2039
In order to contribute to the decarbonization of the commercial vehicle industry, Daimler Truck is pursuing the goal of putting CO2-neutral transport on the road by 2050. The Group therefore aims to sell only CO2-neutral vehicles in its main sales regions in North America, Europe and Japan from 2039 forward. Our so-called „dual strategy“ focuses on two complementary technologies for the power supply of our drive-trains: batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
Daimler Trucks vehicle portfolio in the main sales regions of the EU 30 (European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway), U.S. and Japan already include series-production vehicles with battery-electric drive: The all-electric Mercedes-Benz eCitaro city bus has been in series production since 2018. The all-electric Mercedes-Benz eActros celebrated its world premiere in 2021; the FUSO eCanter has been on the market since 2017; and series production of the battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia and eM2 is about to launch in the U.S. Other vehicles such as the hydrogen-based Mercedes-Benz Gen H2 Truck are currently being tested as prototypes.
CO2-neutral production by 2039 at all sites
Daimler Truck AG is also pursuing the goal of CO2-neutrality in production by 2039 at all locations and in all business areas worldwide. By purchasing green electricity or increasing our own production of energy from renewable sources, greenhouse gas emissions caused by vehicle production and the energy supply to the plants are to be reduced or – wherever possible – avoided altogether.
Here, too, the first milestones have already been set. In the course of 2022 all European plants will have a CO2-neutral balance sheet with electricity provided by renewable energies. By 2025 all Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) production sites will follow in terms of CO2-neutrality. The truck plant in Portland achieved balance sheet CO2-neutral production as early as 2020 and uses green electricity.
In addition, Daimler Truck has also implemented the transformation towards CO2-neutrality along its entire value chain, e.g. by requiring suppliers to have a certified environmental management system.
Great responsibility for road safety, human rights and employees
Social and societal responsibility is also a high priority for Daimler Truck: In order to ensure human rights are respected along its entire supply chain, the Group is committed to, among others, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and participates in the UN Global Compact. Through the continuous further development of safety and assistance systems, as well as automated driving, Daimler Truck is pushing forward with its vision of accident-free driving with the goal of “Zero Accidents.” Daimler Truck fulfills its social responsibility as an employer through responsible training, the promotion of health, safety and well-being (“Vision ZERO”) and advocacy for diversity, equality and the inclusion of its employees.
Sustainability firmly anchored within Corporate Governance
In order to underscore its responsibility to the environment and society, Daimler Truck established a future-oriented corporate governance even before the spin-off from the former Daimler AG. The company is building on the strong foundations that were laid while in the former Daimler group. For example, a comprehensive compliance management system is used to control the Group’s opportunities and risks worldwide, also in regard to sustainability issues. The new central management and decision-making body for all sustainability issues (Corporate Sustainability Board) is based at the Board of Management levels of Daimler Truck Holding AG and Daimler Truck AG.
SOURCE: Daimler Truck
