MAN Truck & Bus

Sustainability

Electric MAN Lion’s City E on a road next to a solar field

Why sustainability at MAN?

As a commercial vehicle manufacturer, MAN sees itself as having a special responsibility to do all it can to contribute to climate protection. Urgent action is required at all political and social levels, and the economy is of central importance to this fundamental transformation.

Climate and environmental protection, social responsibility and good corporate leadership have become increasingly crucial. Last but not least, the EU is providing clear guidance for companies by introducing further regulation in the areas of environmental and sustainability monitoring and reporting.

MAN’s vision is ‘Simplifying customer business through leading sustainable solutions’. In line with this, our aim is to meet our social responsibility and we see sustainability as a key part of remaining competitive on a global scale. We also see this as an integral part of our corporate strategy. This aspiration is also reflected in our purpose, which is ‘Shape transportation to serve a prosperous and sustainable society’

Our stories on the topic of sustainability

Illustration of the MAN Sustainability Report

Development of the sustainability strategy

The MAN sustainability strategy serves as the basis for our short-, medium- and long-term ambitions. It was re-drafted by a multidisciplinary team including representatives from all business areas in 2021 before being revised again the following year. Our procedure now stipulates that the strategy be reviewed on an annual basis, and sets out our areas of activity and the strategic initiatives involved. This allows us to take a close look at issues relating to sustainability and ensure that our strategy not only reflects issues that are currently relevant, but also those that are strategically important in the long term. Constantly changing environmental conditions and increasing social expectations are also taken into account here.

Ultimately, we identified six strategic areas of activity, which we want to use to further promote ecological and social issues, as well as the fundamental principles of good corporate management. We have structured the areas of activity around the ESG criteria and collated them into our ‘sustainability compass’. This focuses on the areas of activity that are particularly relevant to us, i.e. decarbonisation, the circular economy, and people and culture.

The corporate strategy is used as a guide for achieving goals and implementing the MAN sustainability strategy. With this in mind, we have created a multi-level governance structure to embed the strategy and establish sustainability as a transformation process in all areas. An essential element of our sustainability governance is the interdisciplinary team, which meets once a month. This meeting is used to further develop the content of the strategy, address all the sustainability issues from all departments, discuss how they affect all the departments and harmonise them.

The results of the strategy process, the sustainability roadmap, progress updates and KPIs are reported as part of the MAN Sustainability Board (MSB), which meets three to four times per year. It is chaired by the CEO of MAN Truck & Bus acting as Sustainability Board Sponsor, who also reports on relevant issues to the Board of TRATON on behalf of MAN, in its capacity as a provider of forward-looking transport and mobility solutions.

Decarbonisation at MAN

OUR STRATEGIC ACTION AREAS

Environment

Overview

Decarbonisation plays a key role in our sustainability strategy. After all, the global transport industry is responsible for around 8.2 Gt of CO2 emissions per year (2019). MAN's product portfolio makes a significant contribution to these emissions, so we see it as our duty to take responsibility for climate protection. We therefore want to play our part in shaping the transition to powering commercial vehicles without greenhouse gases, to ensure that we remain competitive and remain successful as a business going forward. We aim to do so by focusing on potential savings along the entire value chain and the life cycle of our products. Our decarbonisation measures aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) which are primarily generated by our product portfolio (in 2020, 96 percent of our GHG emissions were produced in the usage phase of our products) and at our locations.

Our short-term goals were officially validated by the SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) in April 2022. In the long term, we want to achieve greenhouse gas total balance neutrality by 2050 at the latest and have thus signed up to the SBTi’s ‘Business Ambition for 1.5 °C’ target. We will submit our net-zero target to the SBTi as soon as they start accepting submissions from the automotive industry for validation again.

Focus on targets

By 2030

  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions per vehicle kilometre of trucks, buses and vans sold by MAN by 28 percent (base year 2019)
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the company locations worldwide by 70 percent (base year 2019)
  • Achieve balance neutrality for CO2 production by reducing emissions by min. 95 percent and a proportion of max. five percent CO2 compensation for unavoidable emissions (base year 2015)

By 2050

  • Achieve greenhouse gas total balance neutrality by 2050, i.e. net zero emissions along MAN’s entire value chain, including the life cycle of all newly sold products

Overview

The circular economy is also of great importance to MAN as a commercial vehicle manufacturer, as it has a significant impact on our business model. For example, MAN bought 480,000 tonnes of steel in 2022 and is therefore a major consumer of resources. However, in these times of raw material scarcity and unstable supply chains, it is clear that our linear economic model is exhausting our planet’s resources. The results can already be seen at an ecological, economic and social level.

MAN therefore sees the circular economy model as essential to its success as a company. This includes handling raw materials efficiently and responsibly, recycling parts and components, and preventing environmental pollution. MAN also sees optimising the life cycle of our products, improving product use and utilisation, and using integrated environmental and energy management as key to doing business in a way that conserves resources.

Focus on targets

  • Close the material loop, e.g. by reducing consumption of primary resources
  • Optimise the service life of products and components
  • Improve product use and utilisation
  • Promote innovative business models

Social aspects

Overview

MAN sees its HR strategy as an important step along the path towards a fundamental transformation. In order to attract young and talented professionals, retain employees and champion diversity within the company, we actively pursue our vision of building a strong team that will help to shape our future success. To achieve this, we offer a comprehensive induction program for new employees, provide specialist training and promote cross-department collaboration. At the same time, we believe that equal opportunities and diversity are essential prerequisites for the future success of the company. We have occupational health and safety management to prevent accidents at work and support the health of our employees.

Focus on targets

  • Create attractive, competitive and flexible structures in the company
  • Targeted support for junior staff and training opportunities for all employees and managers
  • Ongoing improvement of occupational health and safety
  • Promote diversity and equal opportunities in all company matters, including the target of having women in at least 30 percent of management positions by 2029

Overview

At MAN, it is both an opportunity and a challenge for us to come up with solutions to increase traffic safety on the roads, while making our customers’ day-to-day work easier. As ‘smart innovators’, we rely on intelligent driver assistance systems and aim to become a pioneer in this field with our pilot projects for autonomous driving. Our goal is to make MAN products even more safe, efficient and innovative.

Focus on targets

  • Ongoing safety checking and monitoring of our products
  • Increase the reliability and safety of our products with measures ranging from continual innovation to autonomous driving
  • Maximum reduction of traffic accidents through technological enhancements of assistance systems, among other things
  • Maximise customer satisfaction

Governance

Overview

For MAN, lasting business success means consistently pursuing and implementing compliance , ethics and integrity. That’s why we have introduced a compliance management system focusing on discrimination, financial crime, antitrust law and the economy and human rights, as well as a Code of Conduct setting out our corporate values and guidelines. By providing regular training for our employees and managers, we ensure that these values are also put into practice in our day-to-day work.

Focus on targets

  • Create a culture that only accepts ethical behaviour based on integrity
  • Ensure a robust corporate structure via supportive and effective management systems
  • Continually improve standards and guidelines that are introduced
  • Implement the requirements of the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) in order to further define and improve MAN’s activities to protect human rights

Overview

In the interplay between material extraction, transport and trade, supply chains are highly complex and involve a range of potential dangers, including child labour, systematic human rights violations and discrimination. Furthermore, issues such as resource conservation and GHG emissions also play a key role.

As an international commercial vehicle manufacturer, MAN therefore believes it has a responsibility to make a contribution towards shaping fair and climate-neutral supply chains that are compatible with the circular economy. We therefore undertake to exercise care in how we use resources right along the supply chain and to ensure that our suppliers and business partners comply with employee and human rights. We do this by continually reviewing and auditing our supply chains with regard to social and ecological standards. As part of the Volkswagen Group, MAN is represented in a sustainability-focused purchasing network, where we discuss current developments and long-term challenges in our supplier relationships across countries.

Focus on targets

  • Reinforce sustainability management in purchasing
  • Responsible use of resources along the supply chain
  • Ensure our suppliers and business partners comply with employee and human rights
Illustration of the MAN Sustainability Report

Sustainability Report 2022

For MAN, sustainability is a core element in order to successfully compete in the global marketplace. In accordance with the ESG criteria (Environment, Social, Governance), MAN’s sustainability strategy therefore includes not only ecological but also social aspects and the principles of good corporate governance. Find in the Sustainability Report 2022 what we have planned and how we are putting our ambitions into practice.

Participation in the Science Base Targets initiative (SBTi)

MAN has joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the fight against climate change.

Logo SBTi

The Science Based Targets initiative is an association of several environmental protection and non-profit organisations: Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC; MAN joined in 2010), World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It sets a kind of gold standard in terms of greenhouse gas reduction by companies and provides a clearly defined path with concrete requirements and targets to limit CO2 emissions and thus climate change.

We at MAN know that climate protection, environmental protection and responsible action in terms of sustainability are core elements for successful companies. In addition: Participation in the SBTi also promotes innovation and competitiveness – and demonstrates to increasingly environmentally conscious customers how serious MAN is by means of concrete voluntary commitments. It also strengthens MAN’s credibility and brand image. The topic of sustainability is therefore an important building block that MAN has anchored in its strategy.

Contact

Nicole Rienhardt
MAN Truck & Bus SE

Dachauer Str. 667
80995 Munich
Germany


nicole.rienhardt@man.eu