Automotive: Daimler creates sustainability board, invests €14 billion in green R&D

Major OEMs continue to funnel more funding into sustainability. For example, German automaker Daimler has established a Sustainability Board as part of its stated goal to create environmentally compatible vehicles, drive systems, production processes, and fuels. In a release, Daimler said it “is shaping mobility with a view to the future in passenger cars and commercial vehicles,” and that it will invest €14 billion in research and development by 2010.

At the fifth Magdeburg environmental forum organized recently by Daimler and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the hosts called for the establishment of an electric and fuel-cell vehicle infrastructure. The Magdeburg Environmental Conference was created in 1999, and three years ago, Daimler and UNEP signed a memorandum of understanding, in which they agreed to promote the use of biofuels. Daimler committed to creating vehicles that could run a 10% biofuel blend and has since achieved that goal.