With a wide range of corporate citizenship initiatives and the promotion of projects in the non-profit sector, Mercedes-Benz has a positive impact on society worldwide beyond its own business activities. The Stuttgart region has always been of particular importance as the company's main location.
Building on this long-standing commitment, the company will further strengthen its engagement in the region. Over and above existing projects, Mercedes-Benz will support initiatives in the areas of social welfare, the environment and culture with an additional 24 million euros until 2028.
Mercedes-Benz and Stuttgart: They go together. Daimler invented the car in Stuttgart, and today more than 60,000 colleagues work for Mercedes-Benz in the metropolitan area – and this is where we have been committed for decades, even beyond the factory gates. We will further strengthen our commitment to social cohesion, environmental protection and cultural diversity in the coming years and work together with strong partners from the region. Which just shows that, even though our business is becoming increasingly global, we stand by our home region.
Participation process "Mittendrin – Chancen für morgen gestalten" (“Right in the middle – shaping opportunities for tomorrow”)
With the promotion, Mercedes-Benz is supporting a new participation process of the “Bürgerstiftung Stuttgart” (Stuttgart Civic Foundation) with the aim of strengthening social cohesion in the region: To begin with, under the headings "Participation of children and young people", "Integration" and "Ways out of poverty", concrete fields of action for existing challenges were developed in interaction with other strong partners from civil society and from the City of Stuttgart. The call for proposals derived from the participation process currently allows organisations and associations to apply with concrete projects or project ideas. A total of 23 specific projects have now been selected for the area of "social cohesion" as part of the Stuttgart Community Foundation's funding initiative "In the thick of it - Shaping the opportunities of tomorrow". The "House of Commitment" is also to receive support. These first specific funding commitments total around 8.7 million euros. Mercedes-Benz will support the projects to strengthen social cohesion with a total of around 12.5 million euros until 2028.
Promoting environmental protection in the region
Mercedes-Benz will also expand its commitment to environmental protection and make a relevant contribution to CO2 storage, resource protection and biodiversity in the region. In concrete terms, Mercedes-Benz will support the conservation and renaturation of moors in Baden-Württemberg with 5 million euros by 2028, working closely with the Ministry of the Environment of the State of Baden-Württemberg, among others. With the Wilhelmsdorf Nature Conservation Centre, a sponsor for the project has been found who has the necessary expertise and infrastructure for rewetting and renaturation of moorlands. It is part of the Pfrunger-Burgweiler Ried Nature Conservation Foundation.
The specific funding plans in connection with the "Climate Chance Moors" project are also being formulated in consultation with the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment. Most of the financial support goes to work on the rewetting and renaturation of moorlands.
To ensure successful implementation of the project goals, a moor expertise networking position will be set up at the foundation to coordinate activities and achieve environmental goals in this area more effectively and quickly across the region. Mercedes-Benz will fund this position for the agreed duration of the project. The company is also donating two vehicles to support the project, one for the mobility of the Moor Competence Networking Center and one for transporting the "MoorMobil", a mobile knowledge workshop for environmental education.
Expansion of cultural promotion
Mercedes-Benz already supports various large and small cultural institutions and projects and contributes to cultural diversity in the region with its own initiatives. In addition to this broad commitment in the cultural field, Mercedes-Benz would like to develop a holistic concept together with the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft in order to further expand this commitment. This is where the initiative "Gemeinsam. Kultur. Unternehmen" starts: Funded by Mercedes-Benz with a total donation volume of €6.5 million, cultural projects in Stuttgart will be supported over a period of five years, providing joint artistic impetus and contributing to a vibrant culture in the state capital. The aim of the funding initiative is to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration between artists from the independent scene and established institutions in Stuttgart in order to have an impact on urban society with new formats and innovative artistic approaches. The focus of the funding program is to inspire young generations between the ages of 15 and 29 with a lasting interest in culture.
Regional corporate citizenship engagement
Mercedes-Benz is involved in its home region in a broad and diverse way beyond its own business activities. Numerous large and small projects make up the overall location commitment in the greater Stuttgart area. Mercedes-Benz supports prominent institutions and events in the fields of education and culture, such as the University of Stuttgart with the Entrepreneurship Foundation Professorship, the International Bach Academy or the Jazzopen Stuttgart festival. In addition, the Mercedes-Benz Museum hosts its own series of events called “Stadtkultur” (City Culture), where creative artists from Stuttgart and the region present their programmes on the open-air stage. In addition to these well-known institutions and facilities, Mercedes-Benz also supports a large number of smaller projects and initiatives with donations and sponsorships every year. The spectrum here ranges from schools and music schools to municipal institutions and various foundations and associations in the social and cultural spheres as well as in environmental protection.
