Mercedes 2012 Annual Report Download - page 163

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The Donations and Sponsorship Committee coordinates
and assumes responsibility for the strategic focus of the various
activities. The committee cooperates very closely with the
Board of Management and our various sales and production
locations throughout the world to define the areas in which
action needs to be taken and to approve all of the major projects
and funding activities. All of the Group’s donations and spon-
sorships are registered in a database so that the activities
can be systematically monitored with the help of regular analyses
and reports. In-house campaigns and projects help raise our
employees’ awareness of social responsibility issues. Our com-
pliance training program also teaches managers how they
should deal with donations and sponsorships.
Donations to political parties must be expressly authorized
by the Board of Management. In 2012, we supported political
parties only in Germany, donating a total of €435,000
(2011: €435,000) to the CDU, the SPD, the FDP, the CSU
and the Greens.
Funding through foundations. Because international
knowledge sharing and the promotion of innovation are key
conditions of sustainable development, we support univer-
sities, research institutes and interdisciplinary science projects
throughout the world in the following areas: mankind, tech-
nology and the environment. We have consolidated these
measures in foundations. A further focus of our work through
foundations is the promotion of sports activities.
The Daimler and Benz Foundation w daimler-benz-stiftung.de
supports research projects in the areas of mobility, envi-
ronmental protection and safe technology. Within the frame-
work of the Founders’ Association for German Science
w stifterverband.org, the Daimler Foundation is involved,
among other things, in selecting the winners of the German
Future Prize for Technology and Innovation.
Mercedes-Benz is a global partner of the Laureus Sport for
Good Foundation w laureus.com, which uses sports to promote
social change. The foundation has collected more than €40
million since its inception and currently supports around 90
socially beneficial sports projects for helping disadvantaged
children and teenagers around the world.
The arts and culture. As a promoter of creative change,
we place high priority on the sponsorship of the arts and culture.
Through a long-term partnership with the Staatsgalerie
Stuttgart art museum, we are promoting the city’s cultural
Social Responsibility
In 2012, we spent a total of €58 million supporting nonprofit institutions and socially beneficial
projects. As a good corporate citizen, we want to go beyond our business operations and
create socially beneficial added value in the communities near our company locations, while
also helping to overcome social challenges and promoting intercultural dialog.
Areas in which we promote socially beneficial causes.
We support projects that promote the common good. By helping
people help themselves, these projects have a long-term
impact and contribute to sustainable development. We provide
support in the form of donations, sponsorships, corporate
volunteering, funding through foundations and projects that
we have initiated ourselves. Our support focuses on areas
connected to our role as a good corporate citizen. These activities
enable us to put our special skills and key expertise as an
automaker to good use in the communities in which we do busi-
ness worldwide. Among other things, we promote science,
technology, environmental protection, the arts and culture,
education, charitable projects, community programs and
political dialog.

5.02 In addition, we are involved in a variety
of different initiatives for enhancing traffic safety.
w mobilekids.net; w mbdrivingacademy.com
Requirements for receiving our support. Due to the world-
wide scope of our activities, the selection and organization
of social responsibility initiatives require a high level of trans-
parency and in-depth knowledge of local conditions. In 2012,
we therefore consolidated our donation and sponsorship
guidelines and instituted more stringent selection criteria.
The guidelines create a mandatory system for regulating
the Group’s entire support and funding process. They ensure
that our support is provided according to verifiable criteria
and that it meets legal requirements and ethical standards.
To ensure transparent structures and clear areas of respon-
sibility, we have also developed Group-wide guidelines for dona-
tions and sponsorships.
Donations and sponsoring in 2012
5.02
Charity/Community 34%
Arts & Culture 34%
Education 18%
Science/Technology/Environment 8%
Political Dialog 6%