Daimler
What do our scores mean?
The organizational score represents the degree to which the organization influencing climate policy and legislation. Corporations also have relationship scores reflecting their links with influencers like trade associations. Both are combined to place the corporation in a performance band. Full details can be found here.
Engagement Intensity
The engagement intensity (EI) is a metric of the extent to which the company is engaging on climate change policy matters, whether positively or negatively. It is a number from 0 (no engagement at all) to 100 (full engagement on all queries/data points). Clearly energy companies are more affected by climate regulations and will have a higher EI than, for example retailers. So an organization’s score should be looked at in conjunction with this metric to gauge the amount of evidence we are using in each case as a basis for scoring. On our scale, an EI of more than 35 indicates a relatively large amount of climate policy engagement.
Relationship Score, December 2020
A new batch of industry associations has been uploaded onto the InfluenceMap system and the relationship scores recalculated accordingly.
- Details of Organization Score
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What do the 0,1,2 and NSs, NAs mean?
Each cell in the organization's matrix presents a chance for us to assess each data source against our column of climate change policy queries. We score from -2 to 2, with negative scores representing evidence of obstructive influence. "NA" means "not applicable" and "NS" means "not scored" - that is we did not find any evidence either way. In both cases, the cell's weighting is re-distributed over others. Red and blue cells represent highly interesting negative or positive influence respectively. Full details can be found here.
- Details of Relationship Score
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What is the Relationship Score
A corporation, as well as its organizational score will have a relationship score. It is computed by aggregating the organizational scores of the Influencers (trade bodies etc.) it has relationships with, weighted by both the strength of these relationships and the relative importance of the Influencers towards climate change policy. Full details can be found here.
QUERIES
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DATA SOURCES | |||||||
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Main Web Site
The main organizational Web site of the company and its direct links to major affiliates and attached documents. |
Social Media
We search other media and sites funded or controlled by the organization, such as social media (Twitter, Facebook) and direct advertising campaigns of the organization. |
CDP Responses
We assess and score responses to two questions from CDP's climate change information request (12.3 a & 12.3c) related to political influence questions (currently these are not numerically scored by the CDP process). |
Legislative Consultations
Comments from the entity being scored on governmental regulatory consultation processes, including those obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests. |
Media Reports
Here we search in a consistent manner (the organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
CEO Messaging
Here we search in a consistent manner (the CEO/Chairman, organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
Financial Disclosures
We search 10-K and 20-F SEC filings where available, and non US equivalents where not. . |
EU Register
Information provided by to the voluntary EU Transparency Register. |
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Climate Science Transparency
Is the organisation being transparent about climate change science? |
1
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1
|
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NA |
Climate Science Stance
Is the organization supporting the science of climate change and the response demanded (as per the IPCC) |
1
|
1
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NA | NS | NS |
0
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NS | NA |
Need for Climate Regulation
To what extent does the organization express the need for climate policy and regulations in general. |
NS |
0
|
NS |
-1
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NS |
0
|
NS | NA |
UN Treaty Support
Is the organization supporting a global treaty on climate change and the UN FCCC process? |
0
|
1
|
NS |
-1
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NS |
1
|
NS | NA |
Transparency on Legislation
Is the organisation being transparent about their positions on climate change legislation and policy, including CEO statements. |
-1
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NA |
-1
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NA | NA | NA | NS | NS |
Carbon Tax
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: carbon tax. |
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS |
1
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NS | NA |
Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
NS | NS | NS |
-2
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1
|
1
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NS | NA |
Energy Efficiency Standards
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Energy efficiency standards and targets |
0
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NS |
-1
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-1
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0
|
0
|
NS | NA |
Renewable Energy Legislation
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy targets, subsidies and legislation. |
NS | NS | NS |
-1
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NS | NS | NS | NA |
Energy Policy and Mix
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy policy and the energy mix. We refer to IPCC thinking on renewables, coal, oil and gas. |
0
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0
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NS |
1
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0
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0
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NS | NA |
GHG Emission Standards
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: GHG emission standards and targets. |
0
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-1
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1
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0
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0
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0
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0
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NA |
Disclosure on Relationships
The Caring for Climate “inventory” of climate change policy influences: Are companies being transparent about their business associations which may impact climate debate and policy |
0
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NS |
-1
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NA | NA | NA | NS | NA |

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO is on the board of ACEA
Ola Källenius

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO is on the board of ACEA (Formely also ACEA President, up until 2018)
Dieter Zetsche

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO is on the board of ACEA
Ola Källenius

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO is on the board of ACEA (Formely also ACEA President, up until 2018)
Dieter Zetsche

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of Daimler is a Vice-President of VDA
Ola Källenius

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of Daimler is a Vice-President of VDA
Dieter Zetsche

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of Daimler is a Vice-President of VDA
Ola Källenius

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of Daimler is a Vice-President of VDA
Dieter Zetsche

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group
not specified

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group
not specified

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group
not specified

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group
not specified

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a member of the BDI

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a member of the BDI

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a member of the BDI

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Daimler is a member of the BDI

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
A subsidiary of Daimler is a member of SIAM

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
A subsidiary of Daimler is a member of SIAM
not specified

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
A subsidiary of Daimler is a member of SIAM

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
A subsidiary of Daimler is a member of SIAM
not specified
How to Read our Relationship Score Map
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Climate Lobbying Overview: Daimler has actively engaged on climate policy in the EU and United States, and appears to have become more positive in its lobbying since 2018, particularly around its engagement with the EU CO2 standards for new vehicles and measures to support the uptake of zero-emissions vehicles. However, Daimler appears to have maintained regressive positions on US CAFE standards and also holds memberships of a number of highly negative industry associations in the EU and the United States.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: The company is supportive of efforts to limit emissions in line with the targets set out by the IPCC, stating on its website in July 2020 that “If we want to limit the rise in the global average temperature to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius, or better still, 1.5 degrees Celsius, we have to accelerate decarbonization.” Daimler also appears to support the Paris Agreement, with Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius stating in a May 2019 LinkedIn post that “To us the Paris Agreement is more than an obligation – it’s our conviction.” Daimler has indicated broad support for government regulation to support the decarbonization of transportation, but has urged governments to “fix the target, but not the means to achieve it”, suggesting that the company does not support more stringent forms of regulation to implement government decarbonization ambition in the transport sector.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Daimler has opposed stringent CO2 standards for vehicles in the EU, although with some improvement in this position over time. Throughout 2018 Daimler opposed the EU’s CO2 standards for trucks, calling proposed reductions of 20 per cent by 2025 and 35 per cent by 2030 in relation to base year 2019 “beyond what is technically and economically feasible” and arguing for less stringent targets. Daimler maintained this position into 2019, with Manfred Schuckert, head of commercial vehicle emissions and safety at Daimler, calling the targets “over-ambitious” at the presentation of Daimler’s annual results in March 2019. Evidence also suggests that Daimler remained unsupportive of EU CO2 standards for light vehicles as late as 2018, with then CEO Dieter Zesche emphasizing the difficulty in meeting the rules due to lack of demand for electric vehicles in a January 2018 Financial Times interview. However, there is some evidence that Daimler has positioned more positively on EU CO2 standards for vehicles more recently, with the company stating that it is ‘committed’ to the standards on its website, and indicating that it would not argue for the targets to be delayed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
In the US, Daimler supported the weakening of federal CAFE standards in a October 2018 comment to the EPA and NHTSA, arguing that Obama era standards were set too high. In it’s 2020 CDP response Daimler indicated its preference for an agreement between California and Federal Regulators on CAFE standards, although does not appear to have supported the August 2019 compromise deal on emissions between California and other automakers, suggesting a further reduction in the stringency of California's CAFE regulations was supported by the company.
Daimler signalled in a 2019 press release that it is “open to a discussion on effective CO2 pricing.” Specifically, Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius has spoken in favour of a carbon tax, stating in an interview in January of 2020 that “Ideally, that tax should be universal, tradable and universal across industries. That would be the most economically and resource-efficient way of solving problems of CO2.”
Positioning on Energy Transition: Since 2018 Daimler has expressed broad support for the decarbonization of transport. In November 2020 Daimler welcomed the launch of Germany’s policy package to shift to low emissions vehicles, with Daimler CEO Ola Kellenius describing the package as "exactly right." The company has also argued for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to play a part in the decarbonization of transport, and has advocated for measures to support this including expanded hydrogen infrastructure. However, it should also be noted that, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Daimler supported a broad based scrappage premium to boost demand for new vehicles in Germany, effectively subsidizing ICE vehicles. Furthermore, according to the Financial Times, Kallenius supported the ending of the COVID-19 related stimulus for electric vehicles in November 2020.
Industry Association Governance: Daimler publicly discloses its memberships of a number of trade associations in a dedicated disclosure in it’s annual sustainability report, but it does not provide any further details of the company's role within each organization's governing bodies nor influence over their climate change policy positions. Daimler has not conducted an audit of it’s trade association memberships. Daimler is a member of a number of groups which have maintained regressive policies on climate policy including the US Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and Federation of German Industries (BDI). Daimler’s CEO Ola Kallenius also maintains board positions with the German Automotive Association (VDA) and European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).