Mercedes 2008 Annual Report Download - page 113

Daimler is working on tailored drive technologies for automobiles with its Road to the Future strategy for drive systems.
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by a total of 4.1% to 1.1 million tons between 2001 and 2007. In
order to avoid noise pollution, sound sources and levels at Group
production sites are continuously monitored and reduced. The
figures quoted are based on an extrapolation of environmental
data for the year 2008; the final data and additional details will
be published in our Sustainability Report in April 2009.
Every employee is an environmental officer. We can success-
fully protect the environment only if all of our employees share the
responsibility for doing so. For this reason, we train our employ-
ees and managers in the practical aspects of environmental pro-
tection on the job as well as in responsible behavior concerning
environmental issues. In order to motivate as many employees as
possible to actively participate in environmental protection,
Daimler presents the Group-wide Environmental Leadership
Award (ELA). The ELA is awarded every two years.
Product-related environmental protection. Our company’s
ability to meet the challenges of the future will depend on how it
structures sustainable mobility. We therefore aim to continually
improve the environmental friendliness of our products. The fuel
consumption of our car fleet in Germany decreased by 32%
between 1990 and 2008. Almost one third of Mercedes-Benz
passenger cars are so-called five-liter vehicles. The smart cdi
is the CO2reduction champion, as it emits only 88 grams of CO2
per kilometer. It is also the world’s best-selling “three-liter car.”
In 2008, we began the market launch of our BlueEFFICIENCY
cars, which achieve fuel savings of up to 12%. Mercedes-Benz has
also continued its diesel offensive in the United States with the
presentation of three BlueTEC SUVs: the R 320 BlueTEC, ML 320
BlueTEC, and GL 320 BlueTEC are the first diesel-powered pas-
senger cars that have been approved in all 50 states.
Our activities in the area of commercial vehicles are combined in
the Shaping Future Transportation initiative. A key role is played
by hybrid technology, which can yield diesel fuel savings of up to
30%. By the end of 2008, Daimler had delivered more than
1,700 Orion hybrid buses to customers and received orders for
a further 1,100. That makes Daimler the global market leader
for hybrid buses. Furthermore, since the introduction of BLUETEC
technology in series-produced commercial vehicles four years
ago, well over 200,000 Mercedes-Benz BLUETEC trucks have been
sold all over the world. The Mercedes-Benz Actros, which con-
sumes only 19.44 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, is the most
fuel-efficient truck in its class.
Our environmental pledge applies to the entire vehicle life-
cycle. Environmentally friendly product development begins with
the selection of the right raw materials and aims, among other
things, to develop recycling-friendly designs. Serving as a cross-
divisional team, the Group’s DfE (Design for Environment) experts
are involved in all stages of the vehicle development process.
As a result, at Daimler the number of end-of-life parts that need
to be disposed of has continually decreased. In addition, our
MeRSy recycling management system reduces the volume of
waste in various European countries through increased recycling.
For example, in Germany alone, approximately 1,800 service
centers collected more than 30,000 tons of end-of-life parts and
materials for recycling in 2008. In 2005, Daimler was the first
company worldwide to receive the environmental certificate of the
German Technical Inspectorate (TÜV) in Munich, which was
awarded for the S-Class development process. And after the new
C-Class, in 2008 the updated A- and B-Class also received the
environmental certificate of the ISO 14062 international norm in
recognition of their environmentally compatible development.
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