The company focuses on the following aspects of its SpurWechsel:

• _CO2-neutral mobility by 2039
• Decoupling resource consumption and growth in business volume
• Innovative mobility and transportation solutions for liveable cities
• More safety in road traffic
• Responsible handling of data
• Responsibility for respecting human rights along the value chain

The lane change also includes entering into green financing, for example through green bonds. Such instruments create new opportunities to finance future investments in_CO2-neutral technologies. At the same time, they offer environmentally-oriented investors the opportunity to participate directly in Daimler's ambitious sustainability projects. Daimler is thus supporting the EU's Green Deal, which aims, among other things, to motivate institutional investors to channel more capital into low-carbon and climate-neutral projects.

Ambition 2039:_CO2-neutral by 2039

Reducing_{CO2 emissions} is of central importance to Daimler. The Group is therefore aiming for a_CO2-neutral fleet of new passenger cars worldwide by 2039. As an important step, Daimler wants to increase the sales figures of passenger cars with plug-in hybrid drive and purely electric drive, to over 50 percent by 2030. All new commercial vehicles in Europe, Japan and North America are also to be_CO2-neutral in operation by 2039. The plans at Mercedes-Benz Vans are similar.

Consistent path towards environmental protection

Last year, the Group was able to achieve a number of important sustainability targets in line with the change of direction: In production, for example, the company already achieved its long-term_{CO2 reduction targets} for 2020 in 2019. "Our consistent path towards climate protection was scientifically confirmed to us in 2019 by the Science Based Targets Initiative: Our_{CO2 targets} are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. We are also motivating our partners and suppliers to set similarly ambitious targets," says Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, Purchasing and Supplier Quality and Co-Chairman of the Group Sustainability Board, the highest sustainability management body at Daimler AG.

Daimler has also been able to reduce energy and water consumption as well as the amount of waste to be disposed of in production per vehicle across all divisions in recent years. Mercedes-Benz Cars now produces 25 percent less waste for disposal per vehicle produced than in 2013/2014. Energy consumption fell by ten percent. Sustainability awards from 2019 for the two Mercedes-Benz eCitaro and Citaro hybrid city buses and the TopClass S 531 DT double-decker touring coach from the Group's own Setra bus brand further confirm this course. In December 2019, the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro was also the first all-electric city bus to be awarded the renowned "Blue Angel" eco-label by the German government.

Focus on human rights

Daimler attaches great importance to respecting human rights along the entire supply chain. Among other things, the Group is committed to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the German government's National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights. In order to live up to its responsibility, the company carries out risk-based due diligence - and subjects supply chains for raw materials such as cobalt to extensive checks right through to the mines.

Renata Jungo Brüngger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, responsible for Integrity and Legal Affairs and Co-Chair of the Group Sustainability Board: "Sustainability is a constant challenge for us. That is why we have firmly anchored sustainable action in our Code of Conduct. In addition, we are already addressing the strategic issues of tomorrow today. These include, for example, our four principles for artificial intelligence: responsible use, explainability, protection of privacy and the security and reliability of applications."