The revised UK Corporate Governance Code places several obligations on Company Directors. This includes the requirement for Directors to consider long-term effects of decision made on a wide stakeholder group and the environment in which the company operates. On top of this, there is a clear requirement to consider the fair treatment of everyone associated with the Company.

Long term decision

Naturally, the Directors take a long-term view in all their decision making, and decisions are done with the future goals of the Company in mind. As seen in the Daimler Sustainability Report, the industry landscape is changing, and Directors decisions have to take into account the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. These include ever-improving working and living conditions across the World, as well as prioritising the electrification of our vehicles with a UK target to have a carbon-neutral truck fleet by 2039.

Culture

The Directors recognise that they have an important role in ensuring that the desired culture is reflected in the values, attitudes, and behaviours demonstrated throughout the Company. The Directors have established respect, passion, discipline and integrity as the four core values. Within the Company there are three culture theme groups, namely Feedback Culture, Career Rotation and Development, and Purpose.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a crucial factor that the Directors recognise as influential in the worldwide corporate domain, particularly in the motor industry. This is driven by six key themes; Climate Protection & Air Quality, Resource Conservation, Liveable Cities, Traffic Safety, Data Responsibility, and Human Rights. The Company recognises three enablers for these themes, which focus on key stakeholder groups. The firstly, Integrity, which is achieved by strengthening trust and relationships by remaining compliant with laws and regulations. Secondly People, the Company promotes diversity and equality as well as successfully allowing employees to address the challenges of a digital world. The final enabler is Partnerships, enabling a clear and reliable platform of communication, using what we call a 360⁰ process, which takes internal and external expectations into account.
On the local side, the electricity contract for the local head offices is sourced from 100% UK renewable energy, and in addition will be supplied by carbon neutral gas from August 2020. For more detail on the Company’s position on sustainability, please visit the corporate website at: www.daimler.com/sustainability 

Stakeholders

The main stakeholders identified by the Company, and the measures we take to ensure they are treated fairly, can be seen below.

Customers– Customers are at the core of what we do, customer satisfaction creates brand loyalty
– Staying informed on customer needs allows us to adapt our strategies to ensure we keep up to date in constantly changing industry.		We engage by;
– Hosting Dealership events and awards
– CEO and sales director dealership visits
– Request and respond to feedback from the entire customer journey
People– Our colleagues are the primary reason for the ongoing success of our business.We engage by;
– Hosting Town Halls, which always have a Q&A at the end for employees to express opinions or ask questions
– Enable regular Company and team events
– Weekly communications sharing news across the Company
– Regular employee engagement surveys
– Offering employee assistance programs, including financial and mental wellbeing support
Community– Our engagement with, and impact on, the communities we operate in can build or break brand reputationWe engage by;
– Support several schemes to allow employees the time and resources to help in their local communities
Government and regulators– We are proactive with our engagement with regulators and government bodies to ensure we are abiding to guidelines.We engage by;
– Ensuring regulators and government bodies get adequate communication from relevant Company representatives
– Undergo relevant voluntary reviews and audits by industry bodies in order to keep certifications up to date
Investors / Shareholders– We rely on shareholder support in the wider group to allow the Company to achieve its long term goals.We engage by;
– Reporting local results, and factors affecting those results, through the wider group
– Ensuring value is achieved in projects and in ongoing operations