MAN Truck & Bus
Not a luxury but an essential
Corporate responsibility is being seen as a decisive factor for the group’s ability to survive in the future.
It is apparent why CR is so relevant: More and more customers – as well as increasingly the capital market – think very carefully before plumbing for a specific offer. Where and under what conditions was the product manufactured? What about its sustainability? These are just a few of the questions to which stakeholders expect satisfactory answers.
Corporate responsibility also plays a huge role in terms of a company’s attractiveness as an employer. Skilled workers, particularly the younger ones, often prefer companies that are able to demonstrate a proven track record for environmental or climate responsibility, that are socially involved and that are aware of diversity and gender equality issues in their teams and management circles.
Companies can quickly lose credibility – and damage their reputations – without clear guidelines for their own CR that take these and other requirements into account.
MAN positions itself
“CR has been an integral part of MAN’s corporate strategy since 2010. It’s being seen as a decisive factor for the group’s ability to survive in the future,” says Peter Attin, Senior Vice President Corporate Responsibility. The observation that the need for sustainable development as well as the opportunities presented by digitalisation are fundamentally changing the mobility and transport sectors has had a decisive impact in this regard.
MAN is certain that it will only be able to successfully adapt to these changes by assuming responsibility for the environment as well as to the benefit of society. The CR vision plays an important coordinating role in this regard. It sets out, for example, that MAN is striving to create a value-creation chain that functions without the emission of greenhouse gases or pollutants and that prevents accidents both on the road and in production.
The CR vision For example, MAN is striving for a value chain without greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions and without accidents on the road or in production.
Clean, safe, caring
This intention is reflected in the title of the CR vision that also commits MAN to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015. This reads: “Clean, Safe, Caring. Driving Responsible Transport.”
The vision focuses on the group’s responsibilities in five fields of activity:
People MAN demonstrates its appreciation of its employees through the creation of safe and attractive working environments that offer the best of support. Its efforts to this end are based on a corporate culture that is characterised by diversity, openness and transparency.
Products Modern technologies and management systems are being employed to help reduce the impact that production has on the environment and to counteract climate change, pollution and the scarcity of resources.
Production The development of safe and efficient transport and energy solutions is intended to reconcile the economic benefits for MAN’s customers with aspects of environmental and climate protection. The entire product life cycle from raw-materials production to disposal is being looked at to this end.
Supply chain Where procurement is concerned, material costs and security of supply are to be ensured and ecological and social risks in the supplier relationship are to be reduced.
Society MAN is of the opinion that its efforts to this end also require an open dialogue with stakeholders, compliance with applicable laws and targeted social commitment, e.g. helping refugees.
Initial targets achieved
That the CR vision is having an impact is demonstrated by one of last year’s key figures, specifically the one for MAN’s climate targets: The group significantly exceeded its target for 2020 by 10% by cutting its absolute CO2 emissions by 35% compared with emissions recorded in 2008.
Text Susanne Theisen
Photos Stocksy/VICTOR TORRES (Header), Stocksy/Yaroslav Danylchenko
