DaimlerChrysler Invests $1.3 billion in the Environment

• Environmental protection is a corporate goal
• Integration is proceeding rapidly
• Advanced technology reduces environmental impact

DaimlerChrysler AG spent $1.3 billion on environmental protection in 1998, according to the company's Annual Environmental Report. Most of that expenditure, about $813 million, funded research and development of activities to further reduce emissions.

Expenditures on environmental efforts have produced major improvements in reducing the impact of the company's products on the environment.

Production of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars increased nearly 80 percent between 1992 and 1998. Production of vehicles at the former Chrysler Corporation rose more than 40 percent over the same period. At the same time, emissions from DaimlerChrysler production facilities decreased substantially. For example, emissions of sulfur dioxide company-wide and of substances listed in the U.S. Toxic Release Inventory were both down more than 50 percent.

The Annual Environmental Report was released August 19 at the company headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, by Chief Environmental Officer Professor Werner Pollmann.

Research and development has focused on environmentally friendly drive systems such as the fuel cell and hybrid powertrains. For example, DaimlerChrysler introduced its latest fuel cell vehicle, NECAR 4, in Washington in March. Research on methods of improving conventional spark ignition and diesel engines is also continuing.

At its production facilities, DaimlerChrysler has had major successes with a decontamination and remediation project at a site in Detroit that is now home to a state-of-the-art engine plant. At the Mercedes-Benz plant in Dusseldorf, Germany, the introduction of a new paint recycling process has reduced waste and disposal costs and lowered the company's expenditures on paint products.

The integration of the two companies in the area of environmental protection has been proceeding well, Pollmann said. The Environmental Post Merger Integration (PMI) team -one of 98 managing the integration of the two companies - has completed its work.

One result of the PMI team's work is a set of environmental guidelines that are to be followed by all employees at all of the company's locations. These guidelines were adopted by the Board of Management in July. They establish environmental protection as a goal of the company, describing it as an "integral part of a corporate strategy aimed at increasing value over the long term."

Pollmann called for continued cooperation between industry and government, as illustrated by recent voluntary programs such as the National Low Emission Vehicle program, the California Fuel Cell Partnership, and the company's work with the government of Iceland to develop a hydrogen and fuel cell based economy.

Pollmann said the DaimlerChrysler will make its greatest contribution to environmental protection through continued leadership in research and development of advanced technology, the production of affordable, fuel efficient, low emission vehicles, and the design and operation of clean manufacturing facilities.

The 120-page environmental report is divided into a magazine section with 18 reports on current environmental topics and a section containing facts and figures. Some of the figures are difficult to compare due to the different reporting requirements in the United States and Germany.