Mercedes-Benz Launches New Carbon-Neutrality Program and Celebrates the 15th Anniversary of its CSR Journey in China

Mercedes-Benz has kicked off an initiative to protect biodiversity of a tropical rainforest in South China's Hainan province, as the German luxury carmaker celebrates the 15th anniversary of its corporate responsibility efforts in China.

In collaboration with the National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest, Mercedes-Benz is to monitor local wildlife, evaluate their habitats and organize protection-themed training sessions to help the island province restore the rainforest and protect biodiversity.

The Hainan national park, covering 4,269 square kilometers, is one of the most diverse, best-preserved continental island tropical rainforests in China. It is home to 3,653 species of wild plants, accounting for 77.91 percent of the total in the province and 11.7 percent of the national total.

Environmental and wildlife protection has been one of the major pillars of the German carmaker's corporate responsibility efforts in China over the past 15 years.

Back in 2007, Mercedes-Benz started to lend a hand in the conservation and management of the World Heritage sites in China and has since covered 13 of them, benefiting more than 200,000 people.

In 2017, Mercedes-Benz introduced sustainable livelihood projects to China's World Heritage sites, promoting environmental protection while helping local residents to improve their living standards. In the giant panda's habitats in Sichuan province, Mercedes-Benz has assisted some local residents in opening a cooperative to raise bees and collect honey for a prosperous life.

The carmaker has more to tell about wildlife protection. It joined hands in 2009 with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda on the endangered species' studies and protection. In 2013, the carmaker helped the center's branch in Ya'an, Sichuan province, to build facilities devastated by an earthquake and adopted two panda cubs — Xingya and Xing'an. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz adopted a third pair of giant pandas, Xingyi and Xingqiu, and co-worked with the center on improving the giant pandas' living environment and conducted studies on their behavioral and pathological traits.

The efforts in environmental protection from Mercedes-Benz are the essential part of the commitment to the sustainable development in business and social responsibility. A green future includes a green value chain, green production, green products, green operation, green retail and a green world.

The carmaker's vow came as delegates from 196 parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity inked a landmark deal last week, agreeing to conserve at least 30 percent of the Earth's land and ocean area by 2030.

Analysts said this unprecedented framework will protect and restore nature for current and future generations. Together with the Paris Agreement on climate, it paves the way towards a climate-neutral and resilient world by 2050.