Non-Financial Report 2019
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Non- Financial Report On the following pages, we publish the non-financial report in accordance with Sections 289b – 289e, 315b and c of the German Commercial Code (HGB). This report applies to Daimler AG and to the Daimler Group. It contains the main information on the aspects of environmental, employee and social matters, combating corruption and bribery, and respect for human rights. NON-FINANCIAL REPORT | CONTENTS 197 Non-Financial Report Sustainability at Daimler 198 Social Issues 208 Our sustainable business strategy 198 Incorporation of stakeholder 208 Sustainable corporate governance 198 Political dialog and representation of interests 209 Risk management 199 Supply chain 199 Integrity and Compliance 211 Environmental Issues 200 Integrity Management 211 Our Compliance Management System 212 Climate protection 200 Anti-corruption compliance 215 Air pollution control 201 Antitrust compliance 215 Resource conservation 201 Technical compliance 216 Data compliance 217 Anti-financial-crime compliance 218 Human-rights compliance 219 Employee Issues 203 Partnership with the employees 204 Employer attractiveness 204 Statement on the Review of the A competitive workforce 205 Non-Financial Report 220 Occupational health and safety 207 The information provided in this report is presented in conformity with the GRI Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative, insofar as this complies with appli- cable law. Some aspects are presented in accordance with internal guidelines and definitions. Information on our business model (E pages 60 ff of the Annual Report 2019) and on non-financial risks connected with the aspects presented in this report (Risk and Opportunity Report E page 149 of Annual Report 2019) is provided in the Combined Management Report in the Annual Report 2019. Further information on our sustainability activities can be found online at w daimler.com/sustainability and in our annual Sustainability Report, which can be downloaded there as a PDF data file. 198 NON-FINANCIAL REPORT | SUSTAINABILITY AT DAIMLER Sustainability at Daimler At Daimler, sustainability means creating lasting economic and social value for all stakeholders – i.e. our customers, employees, investors, business partners, and society as a whole. The foundation for our approach here is the Daimler sustainable business strategy adopted by the Board of Management in 2019. E page 52 ff With this strategy, the company assumes responsibility for the economic, ecological, and social impact of its business activities, not only at its manufacturing locations but also with regard to the entire upstream and downstream value chain. Our sustainable business strategy By adopting the six areas of action and the three enabler top- ics, we have firmly established the aforementioned SDGs Our sustainable business strategy demonstrates our commit- as a component of our business strategy. We want to make an ment to sustainable business operations at both the Group effective contribution to sustainable development by imple- level and in the individual business divisions. More specifically, menting this strategy. our strategic objectives involve the following six areas of action: Sustainable corporate governance – C limate protection and air pollution control: Plans call for our new vehicle fleet to be CO2-neutral by 2039, when it will The short-term and medium-term components of the remunera- no longer have any relevant impact on air quality in inner tion – the Daimler Company Bonus – have been further devel- cities. oped for the Board of Management and Level 1–3 managers, – Conservation of resources: We will decouple resource con- with effect as of January 1, 2019. These components are linked sumption from business volume growth. not only to financial targets but also to sustainability-related – Livable cities: We will offer our leading mobility and trans- transformation targets and non-financial targets that focus on port solutions in order to improve the quality of life in cities. employees, customers, integrity, and diversity. The transfor- – Traffic safety: We are working to make our vision of acci- mation targets in particular are closely examined within the dent-free driving a reality as we develop automated driving frame work of the annual review of the Daimler Company Bonus, systems while also taking social and ethical issues into whereby the targets for 2020 will be even more closely account. aligned with the company’s sustainable business strategy. – Data responsibility: We conduct sustainable data-based business operations, anticipate our customers’ needs, and In accordance with this strategy, we are pursuing our defined handle all data responsibly. targets in the six areas of action and establishing a continuous – Human rights: We have assumed responsibility for respect- improvement process. Our management and organizational ing and upholding human rights along our automotive value structures support this process by means of clear lines of chain. responsibility in all business divisions. The Group Sustainability Board (GSB) is our central management body for all sustain- We have set ourselves the goal of making sustainability an inte- ability issues and reports to the Board of Management. The gral component of our core business and our conduct in gen- GSB is headed by Renata Jungo Brüngger (the Board of Man- eral. Achieving this goal requires future-oriented cooperation agement member responsible for Integrity and Legal Affairs) with our partners in industry, government, and society at large, and Markus Schäfer (the Board of Management member as well as with our employees, who will help shape the coming responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Devel- transformation. The three enablers, or principles, of “Integrity,” opment). The operational work is done by the Sustainability “Employees” and “Partnerships” are crucial for achieving suc- Competence Office, which consists of representatives from the cess in the six areas of action. units managed by the two Co-chairs. While formulating our strategic goals in the six areas of action, Integrity, compliance, and legal responsibility are the corner- we focused extensively on the 17 Sustainable Development stones of our sustainable corporate governance and serve as Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations, and in particular the basis of all our actions as defined in our Integrity Code. on the following SDGs and the associated sustainability- The Integrity Code is supplemented by other in-house princi- related activities: ples and policies. – S DG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth – S DG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – S DG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities – S DG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production – S DG 13 – Climate Action NON-FINANCIAL REPORT | SUSTAINABILITY AT DAIMLER 199 The ten principles of the UN Global Compact provide a funda- direct suppliers commit themselves to observing our sustain- mental guide for our business operations. As a founding ability standards, communicating them to their employees and member and part of the LEAD group, we are strongly commit- to their upstream value chains, and then checking to ensure ted to the Global Compact. Our internal principles and policies that the standards are complied with. We support them in are founded on this international frame of reference and other these activities by providing them with information and training international principles, including the Core Labor Standards and qualification measures. Our service providers also explic- of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the OECD itly recognize these standards as a contractual component of Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the UN Guiding their supplier agreements. Principles on Business and Human Rights. Compliance with the standards is systematically reviewed. For example, the procurement units of Mercedes-Benz Cars Risk management and Daimler Trucks & Buses examines the sustainability poli- cies of new production material suppliers in on-site inspec- The Daimler Group is exposed to a large number of risks that tions. Such examinations are even more thorough in high-risk are directly linked with the business activities of its divisions countries, and in particularly critical cases we discuss the or which result from external influences. A risk is understood results of the analyses in management committees and take as the danger that events, developments or actions will pre- them into account in decisions on whether to award a contract. vent the Group or one of its divisions from achieving its targets. Along with the assessment of new suppliers, we also examine Risks can be of either a financial or non-financial nature. At sustainability risks at our existing direct suppliers within the the same time, it is important for the Daimler Group to identify framework of risk analyses conducted on a regular basis. opportunities for the Group so that they can be utilized in Among other things, we conduct annual database research to the course of its business activities, thus safeguarding and identify any violations of our sustainability and compliance enhancing the Group’s competitiveness. An opportunity is rules by our current suppliers. This is part of our supplier understood as the possibility to safeguard or to surpass the screening process. Mercedes-Benz Cars also conducts corpo- planned targets of the Group or a division as a result of events, rate social responsibility (CSR) audits and potential analyses developments or actions. In particular,