Annual Report 2019

The goals associated with our social commitment

As one of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers, Daimler and its numerous brands are well known around the globe. Our company stands for business success, advanced solutions and social responsibility. This combination is important for us because we can only remain successful in the future if the climate that we operate in is also prospering. A high level of education among the population, as well as a high degree of economic and social stability, are crucial for ensuring a society worth living in — and ultimately the success of our work as well. This is why we work to achieve sustainable social development in our markets and in the communities in which we operate. We also encourage our employees to support our efforts here. This is important because social commitment expands one’s horizons and also strengthens our own corporate culture.

All of our activities in this area, as well as initiatives such as “Mobile Kids” and “Genius,” form a part of our sustainable business strategy within the framework of the three pillars “With our employees,” “For our locations” and “Worldwide.” (See graphic B.43). In 2019, we spent around €60 million on donations to non-profit institutions and the sponsorship of socially beneficial projects. This does not include our foundations or self-initiated projects.

With our employees

One of our employees’ social commitment initiatives is the ProCent program, in which Daimler employees voluntarily donate the cent amounts of their net salaries and Daimler matches every cent donated. The total amount then goes into a support fund for socially beneficial projects, which can be nominated by the employees. As a result, a total of €8.45 million has been released since the launch of the initiative in December 2011. Donation recipients included the “Verein der Palliativ-Care-Teams im Kreis Böblingen e. V.” palliative care association, which received laptops equipped with special software.

Social Days, the “Day of Caring” and other hands-on campaigns such as “Give a Smile” give our employees the opportunity to participate in socially beneficial projects. During the year under review, around 2,600 employees participated in the Social Days alone. All of these activities are for a good cause, and they also aim to strengthen the motivation and cooperation of our employees within the company.

For our locations

We conduct a wide variety of projects that not only support social development at our locations but also address specific challenges that our neighboring communities face. Since 2016, for example, we have been working with the Stuttgart Civic Foundation and other companies in the Stuttgart Campus education and training project to support the integration of immigrants and refugees. In November 2019, Stuttgart Campus was presented with an integration award after it had been selected as one of the ten best integration projects in Germany.

Worldwide

We initiate aid projects worldwide to help people determine the course of their lives independently, on their own responsibility, and without material deprivation, and in this manner create a better future for the generations to come. The “Bon Pasteur” project, for example, conducts targeted education programs in order to improve the future prospects of more than 19,000 people from eight villages in cobalt-mining and other mining regions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project has also established safe spaces especially for children, girls and women in order to protect them against the worst forms of child labor and gender-based violence.

Funding through foundations

Our foundations support projects around the world related to science, research, technology, education and sports. The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation uses sports to bring people together. It primarily enables socially disadvantaged children and teenagers to discover their potential through sports, and thus creates opportunities for a better future. There are now around 200 Laureus projects under way in more than 40 countries. One example is the “Moving the Goalposts” project in Kenya, in which girls in one of the country’s poorest regions are taught how to become confident young women. The project offers training and education courses that teach the girls how to speak effectively in public and better organize their daily lives.

The Daimler and Benz Foundation supports interdisciplinary scientific dialog and research projects. The purpose of the foundation is to examine and clarify the interrelationships between human beings, the environment and technology. The foundation offers scholarships to outstanding young scientists, and it also designs and implements innovative research formats and organizes lecture series.

The Daimler Fund in the Donors’ Association focuses on structural problems related to research and teaching, as well as on the engineering sciences and international and scientific cooperation. Since 1993, it has helped establish 27 endowed professorships/assistant professorships in Germany and abroad.

More information on the projects promoted by the Group and the activities related to our social commitment can be found in the Daimler Sustainability Report and on our website under »Sustainability«.

Further information on social matters can be found in the section »Social Issues« of this Annual Report.