How economic growth and resource conservation go together
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How
economic
growth and
resource
conservation
go together
Ola Källenius is the chairman
of the board of management at
Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG.
Written byOla Källenius The Sweden native is a strong advocate for
Photography courtesy of energy-saving vehicles and has accelerated
Mercedes-Benz a $12 billion investment into the company’s
line of battery-powered automobiles.
He has pushed for a new electric model
initiative in which he has proposed a series
of electric cars to be launched by 2022. His
work to change the automotive sector has
been transformational for the
environment.
42 LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE PRE-SPRING 2021
GUEST EDITORIAL
Ola Källenius
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Ola Källenius
D uring the past year, much of the world
was brought to a standstill. At the
same time, our views and perspec-
tives on economic and environmental policies
were challenged: Lockdowns due to the COVID-19
new standards with a range of more
than 700 kilometers on one battery
charge. Our aim is to increase the
share of our electrified and battery-
powered car sales to more than 50
pandemic have reduced carbon dioxide levels in percent by 2030. Our clear, long-term
many regions. However, the far-reaching conse- goal is to offer a CO2-neutral fleet of
quences of these measures have also clearly shown new Mercedes-Benz cars worldwide
that renouncing economic growth is not the right by 2039.
way to combat climate change. That is why we are We are taking a holistic ap-
taking a different approach: As an automaker, it proach to meet this important
is our mission and responsibility to decouple eco- objective. At Daimler, we see our
nomic growth and emissions, and the still-ongoing contribution to climate protection
pandemic is no excuse to slow down our efforts. going far beyond our vehicles alone.
Daimler is resolutely pressing ahead with our Take production: As of 2022, less
SpurWechsel—meaning “lane change”—toward than one short year from now, our
CO2-neutral mobility, which we initiated in 2019. cars and vans will be produced on a
We are making great progress: By the end of 2020, CO2-neutral basis at the more than
the Mercedes-Benz car portfolio included five all- 30 Mercedes-Benz plants worldwide.
electric and more than 20 plug-in hybrid models. This standard already applies to our
One of the many new electrified models we will Factory 56, which we opened last fall
launch this year is the EQS, an all-electric luxury in Sindelfingen, Germany. Factory
sedan in the S-Class segment. As measured by the 56 also serves as a blueprint for our James Cameron and
European standard Worldwide Harmonised Light other production facilities in other Ola Källenius
Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), the EQS will set respects. It uses about a quarter
PHOTO BY XXX
PRE-SPRING 2021 LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE 45
GUEST EDITORIAL
Ola Källenius
less energy than conventional assembly plants. The perfect cycle, inspired by
The roof is extensively greened to compensate nature
for sealed floor areas, and a photovoltaic system We are convinced people
installed on the roof supplies the plant with green around the world will continue
electricity. We even issued green bonds in Sep- to travel individually and freely in
tember 2020, exclusively to finance sustainable growing numbers in the future.
projects. The high demand for these bonds is an Therefore, overall demand for cars
additional motivation for us, as they were more will increase. In global terms, the
than four times oversubscribed. solution is not fewer cars, but bet-
ter cars.
Electric first: Batteries and fuel cells for com- That’s why the approach we
mercial vehicles have adopted at Mercedes-Benz
Sustainability is also a priority for our com- is what we call “decoupling.” We
mercial vehicle business—one of the world’s larg- are working to separate resource
est. Our production of trucks and buses in Europe consumption from volume growth.
will also be CO2-neutral as of 2022; more sites Our tools for resolving this appar-
around the globe will follow. In the major Europe- ent contradiction are technology
an, Japanese, and North American markets, we are and sustainable innovation. The
aiming for all new Daimler commercial vehicles three “Rs”—reduce, reuse, recycle—
to operate CO2-neutral by 2039. We already have a are the most important levers in
variety of all-electric trucks, buses, and cargo vans this process. The goal is to move
on the road today. The light-duty eCanter truck from the traditional value chain to
has been in use since 2017. We are also intensively a “closed value cycle” that wastes
testing the heavy-duty eActros truck in everyday nothing. Nature, where closed
operations with our customers. Series production cycles are standard, is our most
is scheduled to launch this year. The eActros Long- important teacher here.
Haul for the long-distance transport of goods will
go into series production in 2024. Our commercial Three Rs: Reduce, reuse, recycle
electric vans are also in great demand. At the end The first step in this direc-
of August 2020, we received a record order for tion is the significant reduction
1,200 eSprinter and 600 eVito cargo carriers. The of our CO2 footprint, which we
Mercedes-Benz eCitaro city bus is already on the have already initiated in concert
road in numerous European cities. with our partners and suppli-
Drive systems based on fuel cells and hydrogen ers. We have entered into several
also play an important role in the electrification of important cooperative initiatives
our commercial vehicles. In order to bring the tech- with companies that lead in green
nology into series production quickly, we entered energy technologies. For example,
into a joint venture with the Volvo Group. And in we are working with Farasis Energy,
the fall of 2020, we presented our fuel-cell-concept an advanced lithium-ion battery
GenH2 Truck—a heavy-duty truck with a range of technology company, to develop
more than 1,000 kilometers—which we will launch and industrialize CO2-neutral bat-
in the second half of this decade. We are pushing tery cells. Together with CATL, a
all of these projects forward because we see the global leader in the development
emission-free transportation of people and goods and manufacture of lithium-ion
as another major lever for a healthier environment batteries, we aim to further develop
and cities that are more pleasant to live in. battery technology and production.
PRE-SPRING 2021 LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE 47
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Ola Källenius
The next step after reducing future must be sustainable to stay desirable. We
CO2 emissions is the further conser- want to provide an exceptional experience for
vation of resources. We are working our customers without burdening the environ-
to reduce water consumption per ment. An automobile that combines maximum
Mercedes produced by one-third by fascination for our customers with minimum
2030. Here, too, the goal is a closed impact on nature is the ultimate development
water cycle that reuses all industrial goal of our engineers and designers: It strikes
water in a factory. the perfect balance between technology and
The same applies to the energy nature.
used in production. By 2030, our goal We have shown what this might look like
is to use 40 percent less energy per one day with our Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR
vehicle produced. In the same time (Advanced Vehicle Transformation). This vision-
frame, we also want to reduce the ary concept vehicle is inspired by nature in
waste produced per vehicle by 40 many ways. It shows completely new approach-
percent. es to the interaction between human, machine,
Where resource conservation and nature. The organic design allows the
is not possible, reuse and recycling interior and exterior to merge—and the vehicle
come into play. Today, every Mer- reacts and moves almost like a living be-
cedes car is already 95 percent recy- ing. The battery is free of rare earths
clable. In addition, we are increas- and metals, and the materials
ingly using secondary materials. By are compostable and
2030, we are aiming for an average therefore com-
share of 40 percent for the Mercedes- pletely recyclable.
Benz car fleet. This car is in-
We will continue to follow the spired by James Cameron’s
three Rs in all aspects of our manu- fascinating world of Avatar. We worked
facturing because we are convinced closely together with the team behind the
that the reduction, reuse, and recy- Avatar saga to create this visionary show
cling of valuable raw materials is the car that looks far into the future. The VI-
right way to reconcile further growth SION AVTR emphasizes that
with the significantly reduced con- the most effective
sumption of resources in an environ- lever for combining
mentally compatible manner. more mobility with
lower emissions
Creating fascinating products lies in technological
while leaving the smallest pos- progress.
sible footprint This pioneering spirit is part
Our goal at Mercedes-Benz is to of our DNA. More than 130 years ago, the
create fascinating, luxurious vehicles founding fathers of our company were architects
that leave as small of a footprint as of a new mobility without horses. Today, our
possible on the environment. As a mission is individual mobility without emis-
luxury car brand, it is our job to de- sions. And we face this task with enthusiasm— Click here to view the
fine luxury at each moment in time. for the benefit of our customers and for the Mercedes-Benz video
We are convinced the luxury of the future of our planet. on their future plans.
48 LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE PRE-SPRING 2021
GUEST EDITORIAL
Ola Källenius
PRE-SPRING 2021 LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE 49
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