Stakeholder engagement at Mercedes-Benz.

Stakeholders are people or organisations that have legal, financial, ethical or ecological demands or expectations of a company. Our primary stakeholders include our customers, employees, investors and suppliers. In addition, we maintain a regular dialogue with academia, civil society groups such as NGOs, industry associations, trade unions, the media and local authorities at our sites.

To strengthen our group-wide dialogue with stakeholders, the Mercedes-Benz Group has defined clear responsibilities and communication channels and established specific dialogue formats. These dialogue formats are organised in the areas of Integrity, Governance and Sustainability as well as in other areas such as External Affairs. The formats include:

• Advisory Board for Integrity and Sustainability: The members of this Advisory Board – independent external experts from academia, civil society and the world of business – have been critically and constructively supporting the Mercedes-Benz Group in integrity, sustainability and corporate responsibility matters since 2012. The Advisory Board meets several times a year under the leadership of the Board of Management Member responsible for Integrity, Governance & Sustainability.
• The Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Dialogue: For more than 15 years the annual Mercedes-Benz Sustainability Dialogue has been bringing together stakeholders to discuss sustainability issues. Representatives of NGOs, think tanks and politicians meet up with the Mercedes-Benz Group’s Board of Management members and top management to constructively challenge and criticise our company's strategy in open, in-depth discussions. This provides us with valuable impulses. Such dialogues now take place in various markets throughout the year.
• Sustainability initiatives: We are members of various sustainability initiatives and networks where we engage with stakeholders on developments in the sustainability field. We are a founding member of the UN Global Compact (UNGC)  and its national organisation in Germany, the UN Global Compact Network Germany . We are also particularly involved in econsense  – Forum for Sustainable Development of German Business e.V. and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) .

For us at Mercedes-Benz, dialogue with stakeholders is an essential part of defining and continuously reviewing our corporate strategy. Such dialogues aim to build up mutual trust, promote innovation and are also an expression of our aspiration to be a responsible player in the mobility industry. Our mission is clear: shaping a more sustainable future hand in hand with our partners.

This article was last updated in November 2024.