Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 111

118 B | COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT | SUSTAINABILITY
Education
Providing more people with access to education is one of the
most lasting investments to the benefit of society and also
our company. The numerous education projects we fund around
the world promote interest in and passion for science and
technology, as well as the ability to look beyond the working
world and remain open to new ideas. The projects we support
also promote equal opportunities.
“Genius – Daimler’s young knowledge community” celebrated its
fifth anniversary in 2015. The goal of this education initiative
is to get children and teenagers interested in technology and
the natural sciences, thus counteracting the trend of waning
interest in these subjects on the part of young people. Efforts
here focus especially on girls, as women remain underrepre-
sented in technical professions. The initiative also includes an
expert team that develops technical and practical teaching
materials on the subject of automotive technologies.
w genius-community.com
Traffic safety
As we move along the “road to accident-free driving,” we are
utilizing assistance systems to ease the burden on drivers and
to protect and support them in dangerous situations. More
importantly, we also seek to ensure that everyone on streets
and roads remains safe. We pursue this goal with traffic-edu-
cation projects for schoolchildren and safety training programs
for adults, for example.
Back in 2001, Daimler launched its MobileKids initiative. Since
then, a standardized concept that can be adjusted in line
with the situation in different countries has playfully taught more
than 1.2 million children worldwide how to recognize and
avoid danger in road traffic. The initiative also makes parents
and teachers aware of the importance of accident prevention
and supports them through the provision of information and
relevant materials. w mobilekids.net
Nature conservation
We share responsibility for preserving the diversity of natural
habitats for future generations. That is why we have been
supporting the projects and initiatives of environmental organi-
zations around the world for many years now, as we help to
make sure the earth remains a place worth living in.
For example, Daimler supports the wetland restoration project
of the NABU nature conservation organization in Baden-
Württemberg. The goal of the project is the renaturation of
damaged moors and bogs. Such wetlands currently occupy
only 3% of the earth’s surface but store nearly one third of all
the carbon that remains trapped in the earth. Moors transform
CO2 from the atmosphere into long-lasting peat and are thus
the best natural carbon sinks.
In 2015, we once again supported political parties in Germany,
donating a total of €320,000. As in the prior year, the CDU and
SPD parties each received €100,000 while the FDP, the CSU
and BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN each received €40,000.
Science funding
Sustainable development cannot be achieved without the tar-
geted funding of science, research and technology worldwide.
The international sharing of knowledge and the funding of inno-
vations are key drivers of developments here. We therefore
support universities, research institutes and interdisciplinary
scientific projects around the globe. We have consolidated
these activities in foundations.
The Daimler and Benz Foundation, for example, is endowed
with €125 million. This foundation promotes the in-depth
scientific examination and study of research ideas in the areas
of environmental protection and technical safety. It also
supports a think tank that will address mobility issues and
examine the impact and socially relevant aspects of auto-
nomous driving. w daimler-benz-stiftung.de
“Electrified commercial vehicle drive concepts” is the working
title of a professorship that is being established at the Depart-
ment of Automotive Engineering at Esslingen University of Applied
Sciences. The endowed professorship is being funded by the
Daimler Fund in the Donors’ Association, with a view to the pro-
motion of forward-looking research into electric drive systems
for commercial vehicles in the future. w stifterverband.org
Dona
tions and sponsoring in 2015
B.44
Charit
y/Community 71%
Ar
ts & Culture 5%
Education
14%
Science
/Technology/Environment 10%