Product responsibility
The social responsibility of an automotive producer
DaimlerChrysler provides a wide range of services to promote the responsible use of its products with a view to sustainability. Through its stakeholder contacts, for example, the Group shows commitment to sustainable mobility solutions.
Safe and environment-friendly driving. In training courses, DaimlerChrysler demonstrates to its customers how they can make their own contribution toward safe, environment-friendly vehicle use:
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The Truck Group has provided training courses in economical driving and safety since the beginning of the 90s – attended by more than 65,000 professional drivers annually from 50 countries (including package courses for entire shipping companies). The company has also received certification as trainers for the advanced courses for professional commercial vehicle drivers that will be mandatory as of 2009. Since 2003, Sprinter customers have also received a total of 75,000 bonus coupons for training courses in safe, responsible driving.
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Passenger cars: Mercedes-Benz has been offering its customers driving safety courses for over three decades. During this time, Mercedes-Benz personnel have trained customers in more than 20 countries – around 4,000 in Germany alone in 2006. These driving programs are a significant element of the integrated PRO-SAFE TM safety philosophy primarily concerned with accident prevention. Moreover, eco-training courses in environment-friendly driving have already been offered since 1995.
Safe vehicles and road safety. Vehicle safety is one of DaimlerChrysler’s core competencies (see previous chapter). The positive effects of the application of new technologies can be seen in a long-term analysis of ESP®, for example, a system offered for the first time by Mercedes-Benz in 1999. ESP® helps either prevent an accident or to mitigate its consequences. Figure 40
DaimlerChrysler has also adopted an approach that by far transcends mere vehicle safety:
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DaimlerChrysler supports the European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP), which is setting out to make the entire road system safer, for example by pointing out and eliminating accident hot-spots. EuroRAP has proved so successful that the number of participants has now risen from the four original member countries to 20 (including the U.S. and Australia).
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Safety initiatives for children: In numerous scientifically founded programs and initiatives (e.g. the Global Road Safety Partnership, MobileKids, Road Ready Teens, Seat Check, Mothers against Drunk Driving), DaimlerChrysler prepares children for safe conduct in traffic, enhances parents’ awareness and stages road safety campaigns for the general public.
Mobility with a view to the future. Mobility of people and goods is crucial to economic development. This applies both to industrialized countries and to threshold and developing nations. At the same time, goods transport volumes are increasing, as are individual mobility requirements. DaimlerChrysler contributes toward making the overall traffic system sustainable and environment-friendly. Specific examples are worthy of mention:
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Conurbations: In a research pilot project, DaimlerChrysler delivered fuel cell buses to the City of Beijing as a contribution to improving air quality in this densely populated metropolis.
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Cities for Mobility: DaimlerChrysler is the leading partner in a global network of 260 cities and enterprises in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America that is promoting the sustainable development of conurbations – toward environment-friendly and economical mobility accessible to all. www 19
More on all safety topics at: www 20.
Please note
The information in the "Sustainability" section mainly refers to the 2006 reporting year. It thus may not always reflect the com- pany's current situation.
