The revised UK Corporate Governance Code places several obligations on Company Directors. This includes the requirement for Directors to consider long-term effects of decision made on a wide stakeholder group and the environment in which the company operates. On top of this, there is a clear requirement to consider the fair treatment of everyone associated with the Company.
Naturally, the Directors take a long-term view in all their decision making, and decisions are done with the future goals of the Company in mind. As seen in the Daimler Sustainability Report, the industry landscape is changing, and Directors decisions have to take into account the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. These include ever-improving working and living conditions across the World, as well as prioritising the electrification of our vehicles with a UK target to have a carbon-neutral truck fleet by 2039.
The Directors recognise that they have an important role in ensuring that the desired culture is reflected in the values, attitudes, and behaviours demonstrated throughout the Company. The Directors have established respect, passion, discipline and integrity as the four core values. Within the Company there are three culture theme groups, namely Feedback Culture, Career Rotation and Development, and Purpose.
Sustainability is a crucial factor that the Directors recognise as influential in the worldwide corporate domain, particularly in the motor industry. This is driven by six key themes; Climate Protection & Air Quality, Resource Conservation, Liveable Cities, Traffic Safety, Data Responsibility, and Human Rights. The Company recognises three enablers for these themes, which focus on key stakeholder groups. The firstly, Integrity, which is achieved by strengthening trust and relationships by remaining compliant with laws and regulations. Secondly People, the Company promotes diversity and equality as well as successfully allowing employees to address the challenges of a digital world. The final enabler is Partnerships, enabling a clear and reliable platform of communication, using what we call a 360⁰ process, which takes internal and external expectations into account.
On the local side, the electricity contract for the local head offices is sourced from 100% UK renewable energy, and in addition will be supplied by carbon neutral gas from August 2020. For more detail on the Company’s position on sustainability, please visit the corporate website at: www.daimler.com/sustainability
The main stakeholders identified by the Company, and the measures we take to ensure they are treated fairly, can be seen below.
| Stakeholder | Why are they important | How we engage and consider their interests |
Customers | - Customers are at the core of what we do, customer satisfaction creates brand loyalty | We engage by; |
People | - Our colleagues are the primary reason for the ongoing success of our business. | We engage by; |
Community | - Our engagement with, and impact on, the communities we operate in can build or break brand reputation | We engage by; |
Government and regulators | - We are proactive with our engagement with regulators and government bodies to ensure we are abiding to guidelines. | We engage by; |
Investors / Shareholders | - We rely on shareholder support in the wider group to allow the Company to achieve its long term goals. | We engage by; |