Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 99

106 B | COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT | SUSTAINABILITY
Comprehensive reporting on sustainability
The new sustainability report on financial year 2015 will be
presented at Daimler’s Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in early
April 2016. The report will be published exclusively in digital
form for the first time, which means it will be available for
viewing at any time on the Daimler corporate website. The
report provides a detailed and comprehensive sustainability
balance sheet for the previous financial year. All of the key
facts and figures will also be published in a brochure.
w daimler.com/sustainability
The new sustainability report was drawn up in line with the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines “4.0 – Comprehensive.”
In this context, Daimler specifically highlights all of the com-
pany’s key sustainability-related issues. This applies in particular
to current focal topics such as further reductions in the emis-
sions of our vehicles, our position on the introduction of new
test cycles in Europe and our extensive activities to assist
refugees. We also focus on those issues that our periodic materi-
ality analyses have determined to be of great importance to
our stakeholders and ourselves. These include our activities to
protect human rights, measures to further reduce the CO2
emissions of our vehicles and the development of innovative
vehicle and drive-system technologies.
Research and development
Research and development as key success factors
Research and development have always played a key role
at Daimler. Our researchers anticipate trends, customer wishes
and the requirements of the mobility of the future, and our
development engineers systematically implement these ideas
in products that are ready for series production. Our goal is
to offer our customers fascinating products and customized
solutions for needs-oriented, safe and sustainable mobility.
Our technology portfolio and our key areas of expertise are
focused on this objective.
The expertise, creativity and drive of our employees in research
and development are key factors behind our vehicles’ market
success. At the end of 2015, Daimler employed 23,300 men
and women at its research and development units (2014:
21,700). A total of 15,500 of those employees (2014: 14,000)
worked at Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Develop-
ment, 5,500 (2014: 5,500) at Daimler Trucks, 1,100 (2014:
1,000) at Mercedes-Benz Vans and 1,200 (2014: 1,100) at
Daimler Buses. Around 5,100 researchers and development
engineers (2014: 4,600) worked outside Germany.
Our international research and development network
Our global research and development network comprises 23
locations in eleven countries. Our biggest facilities are in
Sindelfingen and Stuttgart-Untertürkheim in Germany. A new
facility for an ultramodern testing and technology center is
now under construction in Immendingen. We started test oper-
ations there in October 2015. We are investing approximately
€200 million in Immendingen, where 300 new jobs will be cre-
ated. Approximately 200 people are currently employed in
Sunnyvale, California, the headquarters of our research facili-
ties in North America. Other important research locations in
North America are Long Beach and Carlsbad, California;
Portland, Oregon; and Redford, Michigan. Our most important
locations in Asia are our facilities in Bangalore and Pune, India;
the Global Hybrid Center in Kawasaki, Japan; and our research
and development center in Beijing. With its nearly 2,900 employ-
ees, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI,
with headquarters in Bangalore) is Daimler’s largest research
and development center outside Germany. In November 2014,
Daimler Greater China Ltd. opened a new research and devel-
opment center in China, thereby expanding the existing R&D
network in Beijing. The Advanced Design Studio is the most
important component of the new center and also serves as
the Group’s design hub in Asia. At the end of 2015, approximately
500 highly qualified engineers and designers were employed
at the Mercedes-Benz research and development center in
Beijing. Back in 2013, our van joint venture in China, Fujian
Benz Automotive Corporation, opened a new product develop-
ment center in Fuzhou. This facility, which is the first Mercedes-
Benz Vans product development center outside Germany, has
a design and calculation department, proving grounds, test
labs and component and complete-vehicle test rigs.
Along with our internal activities, we also maintain close con-
tacts with external research institutions. For example, we
work together with various renowned research institutes around
the world and participate in international exchange programs
for up-and-coming scientists.
Targeted involvement of the supplier industry
In order to achieve our ambitious goals, we also cooperate very
closely with research and development units from the supplier
industry. Daimler must be closely intermeshed with supplier
companies in order to deal with the rapid pace of technological
change in the automotive industry and the need to quickly bring
new technologies to market maturity. Such cooperation is all
the more important in light of the increasing digitization of pro-
cesses throughout all stages of the value chain. Strong part-
ners from the supplier industry are also indispensable for our
efforts to develop and offer new concepts for future mobility.
As part of our joint research and development work, we ensure
that the Group maintains the key technological expertise it
needs in order to keep our brands distinct and to safeguard the
future of the automobile in general.