Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 112

B | COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT | SUSTAINABILITY 119
Employee commitment
The efforts of our employees to help communities and promote
the common good around the globe manifest themselves
in countless initiatives that go beyond the refugee assistance
campaigns. These initiatives demonstrate just how seriously
our employees take their responsibility, and how willing they
are to offer opportunities to people at the very fringes of
society.
In the ProCent initiative, for example, Daimler employees vol-
untarily donate the cent amounts of their net salaries to
socially beneficial projects. The company matches every cent
donated. Approximately €1 million was collected in this
manner in 2015.
The largest single donation to date was €57,000 for a project
in South Africa known as “A fence for more freedom.” With the
help of ProCent, an orphanage being built in Cape Town was
secured against attacks with a fence in order to protect children
and youths. The orphanage will offer around 120 children a
place to grow up in a family-like group atmosphere, and will
also provide them with medical care and education.
Dialogue and understanding
As a company that operates around the world, we support
projects and institutions that promote intercultural dialogue
in the interest of mutual understanding and the peaceful
coexistence of cultures. We also support initiatives for the
strengthening of democracy.
The East Jerusalem Emergency Response Network, which is
being built by the Jerusalem Foundation with our assistance,
will provide effective assistance to the people of Jerusalem in
emergencies. The goals of the Jerusalem Foundation are to
improve the quality of life of residents of Jerusalem, break down
the barriers between the different religious and ethnic groups
and create a just society for everyone.
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.” w daimler.com/sustainability
The arts and culture
A rich cultural life and a vibrant art scene foster creativity
and innovation. It is therefore very important to us to support
culture and the arts.
As early as 1977, the company laid the cornerstone for its
Daimler Art Collection, which now includes some 2,600 works.
In 2015, the Daimler Art Collection presented newly acquired
Chinese works of art at two exhibitions in Berlin. The works of
the Chinese artists offer a unique insight into a fascinating
country with a culture that is thousands of years old.
However, we do not focus solely on the visual arts, as Daimler
also supports the German Music Council, the largest cultural
association in Germany, through the Group’s funding of Germa-
ny’s Federal Youth Orchestra. We also support art and culture
outside Germany, such as the “Moscow meets Friends” music
festival in Russia and the “Emerging Artist Award,” which is
jointly presented by Daimler Financial Services and the renowned
Cranbrook Academy in the United States.
Communities and charitable projects
Against the backdrop of the current refugee crisis in Germany,
Daimler has launched a variety of aid initiatives to provide
rapid assistance to refugees non-bureaucratically, thus send-
ing a message of respect and tolerance.
Daimler has actually been involved in refugee assistance pro-
grams for a long time now. For example, since 2013, Daimler
and the Wings of Help relief organization have sent three con-
voys with supplies for Syrian refugee camps in Turkey, and
the partners have also sent two aid shipments by plane to north-
ern Iraq. We have also contributed €100,000 annually for
three years to the city of Stuttgart’s “Welcome Fund.” We have
donated a further €100,000 to refugee assistance projects
sponsored by a community organization in Sindelfingen. In
addition, we donated €1 million to the “Bild hilft e. V. – Ein
Herz für Kinder” child refugee aid association. We finance German
courses for refugees, collect food donations from Daimler
cafeterias and provide aid organizations with an “assistance
fleet” of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
We also assist efforts to integrate refugees and support the
individual campaigns of our employees. For example, our staff
members donated more than €300,000 to refugee assistance
projects and we doubled that amount to €601,332, which was
then given to the refugee aid section of the German Red Cross.
The fundraising campaign was initiated by the company manage-
ment and the General Works Council in Germany.
In order to support the smooth integration of refugees into the
German labor market, Daimler also began offering “bridge
internships” for refugees in November 2015. For additional
information, E p a ge 117.