Glossary

• Active and passive safety of vehicles

  "Active safety" in vehicles includes, for example, emergency braking systems in a vehicle that help to reduce the severity of accidents or even to prevent them entirely. "Passive safety", on the other hand, refers to measures that take effect during or after a collision in order to mitigate the consequences of the accident.

• Advocacy

  Advocacy is a term from political sciences that describes the public exertion of influence by individual lobbyists or lobby groups on policy-making and decision-making processes.

• Airflow volume

  The airflow volume refers to the volume of air moving through a cross-section within a defined period of time and is usually measured in m³/s or m³/h.

• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  The broad term Artificial Intelligence (AI) is today often used in a narrower sense to mean the latest advances in the area of machine learning (ML). ML represents a subset of the AI methods and is based on mathematical methods that find complex patterns in data volumes, for example.

• Assignees

  Employees on international assignments. This includes employees who come from abroad and are on international assignments in Germany, employees from Germany who are on international assignments abroad, and employees who come from a country outside of Germany and are on international assignments in another country outside of Germany.

• Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS)

  UN Regulation 157 for Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) describes the minimum functional requirements that a conditionally automated system has to fulfil so that the driver does not have to continuously monitor the driving task. The main focus is on regulating the necessary and permissible interaction between the driver and the system. Examples include the handover of the driving task as well as the behaviour of a conditionally automated system while it performs driving tasks (for example the way it reacts to unexpected incidents).

• Base load

  With regard to the power supply, the base load is the minimum amount of electric power that has to be generated in order to ensure grid stability.

• C_d value

  The abbreviation stands for drag coefficient. It indicates how streamlined a vehicle is. The smaller the C_d value, the more aerodynamic the vehicle.

• California Air Resources Board (CARB)

  The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is a government agency of the State of California. Its mission is to promote and protect public health and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants.

• Car-2-X communication

  Car-2-X communication is based on technologies with which vehicles share real-time information with each other and with other systems involved in the traffic infrastructure (for example, via WLAN or mobile communications).

• Catalytic converter

  The catalytic converter of a vehicle (or catalyst for short) serves to purify the exhaust gas in vehicles with combustion engine. It can greatly reduce pollutant emissions.

• Circular economy

  The circular economy is an approach in which existing materials and products are used for as long as possible, repaired, reused or recycled in order to extend their life cycle. This minimises waste and the need for primary raw materials. The circular economy is seen as the counter-model to linear economies, in which materials and products are often only used once. In a circular economy, the eventual recycling of the processed materials is already considered during a product’s design phase.

• Climate Pledge

  The Climate Pledge is a voluntary commitment by companies to fulfil the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change ten years earlier than required. The companies who have taken this pledge promise to make their business CO₂ neutral by 2040. The Climate Pledge was created in 2020 by Amazon and Global Optimism.

• CO₂ fleet compliance

  In addition to limits that individual vehicle models may not exceed for their type approval (for example regarding pollutant emissions), the EU also sets CO₂ fleet compliance requirements in terms of a limit value based on the average weight of a manufacturer’s fleet. To this end, a CO₂ emissions limit depending on the average weight is defined, which the manufacturer’s fleet of new vehicles may not exceed.

• Concept safety

  In this context, concept safety means that the integration of high-voltage components has been carried out from the very start so as to achieve a high level of safety.

• Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards

  Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) refers to a legally stipulated minimum for the average fuel economy of a vehicle fleet in the USA. Automakers have to achieve the CAFE standards for their fleets of cars and light trucks in order to be able to sell vehicles in the USA. The limits are recalculated each year.

• Corporate citizenship

  Refers to the social engagement of companies that goes beyond their intrinsic business activity. This includes, for example, donations and sponsoring activities, the foundations' work or the voluntary commitment of the employees to charitable causes (corporate volunteering).

• Decarbonisation

  Decarbonisation is the switch to a carbon-free economy.

• Deep learning (DL)

  Another subset of machine learning is deep learning (DL), which enables complex patterns to be found in very large data volumes by means of (deep) neuronal networks.

• Digital ecosystem

  The term digital ecosystem refers to a socio-technical system, which, similar to a biological ecosystem, renders services from within to the benefit of a host of system partners. Participants are, for example, internal company units, IT systems as well as customers, suppliers and third parties.

• Dry/wet separation technologies

  Paint separation systems are technologies that can bind excess paint particles which are released into the air when vehicles are painted. Wet separation uses water to clean the air. Dry separation is a more environmentally friendly variant in which a dry binding substance (for example stone dust) is used in order to reduce the amount of water and chemicals that are needed.

• Due diligence

  In general, due diligence processes involve careful examinations, analyses and assessments of a company. Human rights due diligence encompasses measures that a company employs in order to detect and counteract human rights-related risks in its business operations, its supply chain and the services it uses.

• EKOenergy label

  The EKOenergy label is an internationally recognised mark of quality for electricity, gas, heat and cooling from renewable sources.

• Electromobility ecosystem

  The term electromobility ecosystem refers to a socio-technical system, which, similar to a biological ecosystem, renders mutually complementary services to the benefit of a host of system partners. This includes, for example, the provision of electric vehicles as well as energy, charging infrastructure and charging services including home energy storage systems. Participants include internal company units, IT systems, customers, as well as suppliers and third parties.

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the US federal government tasked with environmental protection matters and the protection of human health.

• ESG

  The acronym ESG stands for Environment, Social and Governance. Within the context of sustainable finance, this abbreviation is used when investment decisions take into account environmental, social and responsible governance aspects, in short: ESG criteria.

• Ethics by design

  The “ethics by design” principle refers to the consideration of ethical questions during the development of products – for example those involving the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

• EU taxonomy

  EU taxonomy (also referred to as Sustainable Finance Taxonomy) is a classification system that was developed by the European Commission in order to create a uniform understanding of the sustainability of business operations within the EU. The aim is to assess business activities throughout the EU according to their sustainability in order to facilitate corresponding financial decisions.

• European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)

  The European Union Emissions Trading System is a climate protection tool for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. A government-stipulated upper limit states how many tonnes of CO₂ may be emitted in total. A company needs an emission allowance for every ton of CO₂. These emission allowances can be freely traded on the market. However, their number is limited. This results in a price for CO₂ emissions in order to give companies an incentive to reduce their emissions.

• FOSS

  Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is software whose source code is public and thus offers possibilities to many developers to develop custom solutions. A prerequisite is compliance with relevant licences that require the open source principle for the further development. Players and resources in this area can be seen in their multiplicity as an "ecosystem", which evolves dynamically and in a self-directed manner.

• Gold Standard

  The Gold Standard is the highest quality standard for carbon-offsetting projects. Gold Standard projects not only avoid CO₂, they also contribute to the project surroundings' sustainable environmental and social development. The Gold Standard was developed under the direction of the WWF and with the assistance of the German Ministry of the Environment.

• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol

  The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (or GHG Protocol for short) is currently the most commonly used series of accounting standards for greenhouse gas emissions.

• High-voltage disconnect device

  A high-voltage disconnect device is a safety precaution in electric vehicles that deactivates high-voltage systems. When this system is activated, the residual voltage outside of the battery in a high-voltage system is automatically brought to a non-critical level within a few seconds.

• Human Rights Due Diligence

  Human Rights Due Diligence refers to the obligations a company has to respect human rights and to counter human rights risks in the context of its business activity.

• Hydrometallurgy

  Technology for metal extraction from aqueous metal salt solutions.

• Inflation Reduction Act

  The Inflation Reduction Act from 2022 is a federal law of the USA. Among other things, it aims to reduce inflation and lower the costs for drugs in health care. Furthermore, it sets out to promote investments in domestic energy production, in particular for generating clean energy in order to curtail climate change.

• Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)

  The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) was created in response to the global demand for socially acceptable and environmentally compatible mining. IRMA provides independent inspections and certifications according to a comprehensive standard for mined raw materials. The standard covers the entire spectrum of risks associated with the effects of industrial mining.

• International Energy Agency (IEA)

  The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a cooperation platform in the area of research, development, market launch and use of energy technologies.

• International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)

  The ISSB is an independent, private-sector body that develops and adopts the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS SDS). The ISSB was set up in 2021 to meet the need for global sustainability standards.

• Intrinsic safety

  Intrinsic safety is a technical property of a device or system. Special designs ensure that even a breakdown does not cause a dangerous situation.

• IPCC SSP5-8.5 scenarios

  Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) describe possible economic and social development pathways that lead to different future greenhouse gas emissions and thus to different greenhouse gas concentrations. The SSP5-8.5 climate scenario is based on the increased use of fossil fuels and little realisation of renewable energies. Accordingly, the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere rise sharply and result in major climate changes.

• Last mile delivery

  The term "last mile delivery“ or "last mile" is mainly used in connection with inner-city supply, distribution and infrastructure technology. Due to the obstructions of traffic and the reloading onto smaller transport vehicles, the "last mile" is frequently the most energy- and resource-intensive leg in the transport of raw materials and goods. That is why low-emission alternatives are increasingly being sought, for example the electrification of urban transport mobility.

• Line of credit

  Line of credit, also called credit facility, is the sum total of all pre-approved loans that a company has at its disposal from one or multiple banks to meet its borrowing needs and which the customer can use as required.

• Load case

  A load case refers to the configuration of a crash test. This includes the number, type and positioning of the crash test dummies on board the vehicle as well as the parameters of the collision configuration, for example type of collision, velocity and impact angle.

• Machine Learning (ML)

  ML represents a subset of the AI methods and is based on mathematical methods that find complex patterns in data volumes, for example.

• Malicious code

  Malicious code or malware refers to computer programs developed to carry out damaging tasks such as stealing passwords or other sensitive data.

• Management levels

  The managers of the organisational hierarchy of the Mercedes-Benz Group are divided into the management levels one through five. Level one is the management level directly below the Board of Management and Level five is that of the forepersons.

• Mass balance approach

  In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save primary raw materials, the chemical industry increasingly uses recycled or bio-based raw materials without impairing the quality and properties of a product as a result. This not only improves the climate footprint of the end product, but also allows the use of existing machinery and processes as usual. Using the mass balance approach, these more sustainable raw materials introduced at the start of production are mathematically allocated to the end products.

• Merger and acquisition projects

  A merger is the union of two or more companies with the aim of operating more efficiently and/or improving the joint market position. The overarching term mergers and acquisitions (M&A) also includes the purchase of companies in this context.

• Metaverse

  A metaverse is a digital space created by the interaction of virtual, augmented and physical reality.

• MINT

  MINT is an acronym comprised of the first letters of certain training areas and academic subjects as a collective term for mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and technology.

• Multilateral trade order

  In multilateral trade systems, policies ensure free and rule-based trade. The multilateral trade order of the World Trade Organization (WTO) requires that activities for protecting business from foreign competition must have the same effect on all members. This means that foreign goods, service providers and suppliers must not be treated less favourably than domestic ones.

• Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE)

  The Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE) is a normative IEA scenario that points a way for the global energy sector to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, taking into account that advanced economies will achieve net zero emissions before others. It is in accordance with limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, without or with just slightly exceeding the temperature (with a probability of 50%).

• Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

  A non-governmental organisation (NGO) is a civic association, and thus not a governmental or profit-seeking organisation, that advocates for a certain cause.

• OECD

  Based in Paris, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation encompassing 37 member countries that are committed to democracy and a market economy.

• Off-cycle technologies

  Off-cycle technologies are technologies for real CO₂ emissions reduction, whose effect cannot be measured in the standard cycle.

• Partial load

  Partial load refers to a machine’s mean operating condition between full load (100% of possible output) and no load (the machine is switched off).

• Partner protection

  Partner protection refers to the protection of the occupants of the other vehicle in the course of a road accident involving two vehicles.

• Peak loads

  Peak loads occur in power grids, for example, when energy demand suddenly increases steeply for a short period of time. In order to meet this demand and ensure that supply is uninterrupted, more electricity has to be fed into the grid at short notice. This can be done by means of battery storage systems or pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations, for example.

• Plug-in hybrid (PHEV)

  A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) has a hybrid drive system whose battery can be charged either by a combustion engine or by the power grid.

• Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

  A Power Purchase Agreement describes a special, normally long-term power supply contract concluded between a major buyer, for example a company, and an independent producer of electricity from renewable energies – the Independent Power Producer (IPP). This enables agreement on prices and scope of supply individually and independently, which ensures stable power supply and stable costs for the buyer.

• Powertrain Network

  The Powertrain Network stands for locations in charge of producing engines, transmissions, axles and components (major assembly plants). These include for example the locations Untertürkheim, Hamburg and Berlin.

• Privacy by design

  Privacy by design is data protection by means of technology design. The basic principle of this approach is that personal data can be best protected if software and hardware are designed and developed to comply with data protection regulations from the very start.

• Protectionism

  Protectionism describes a type of trade policy which involves state interventions to protect domestic goods, services and traders from foreign competition. The trade barriers are to protect the competitiveness of the domestic markets. However, they severely hamper international trade as a whole in the long term.

• Pyrolysis

  Pyrolysis refers to a thermochemical change process that uses high temperatures to decompose organic compounds. This enables biomass or plastic waste to be converted into high-order products such as fuels or chemicals.

• Rated thermal input

  The rated thermal input stands for the thermal energy that can be fed to a furnace system in continuous operation by burning fuel. After energy losses are subtracted, the result shows the thermal output of the respective heating system.

• Recycled content

  Recycled content comprises secondary raw materials which are recovered during the recycling of plastics that were disposed of at least once previously. It is subsequently used to manufacture new products.

• Remuneration framework agreement (ERA)

  The remuneration framework agreement (ERA) is the collective bargaining agreement for the standardised regulation of employee remuneration in Germany’s metal and electrical industries.

• Rescue data sheets

  Rescue data sheets contain a standardised depiction of technical information that is relevant for rescue teams. They cover specific vehicle models and make it easier for rescue teams operate at an accident site.

• Residual energy

  Residual energy can be present in the cables of switched-off machines. This can become dangerous if electrical or mechanical residual energy leads to sudden movement of a machine, for example.

• Restraint systems

  Restraint systems are safety systems in vehicles which serve to hold the occupants in their seats in conditions such as heavy braking – using seat belts or airbag systems, for example.

• Rights holders

  From a human rights perspective, rights holders are all natural persons that (potentially) may be affected by human rights violations.

• SAE Level/automated and autonomous driving

  Automated driving functions help drivers with their driving tasks – or enable them to perform them entirely on their own. There are five different levels of automation: assisted (SAE Level 1), semi-automated (SAE Level 2), conditionally automated (SAE Level 3), fully automated (SAE Level 4) and driverless (SAE Level 5). The degree of automation increases with each level, and the drivers' responsibility for the driving task diminishes accordingly. In Germany, the Mercedes-Benz Group is strictly guided by the terms of the VDA.

• Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

  The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTI) is a joint initiative of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). It aims to encourage companies to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the level of decarbonisation that scientists are calling for in order to limit global warming to less than 1.5 °C/2 °C compared to pre-industrial temperatures.

• Shop floor management

  Shop floor management refers to the management of manufacturing and value-added processes by managers who are physically present and active on site.

• Sled testing

  Sled tests are crash tests in which a vehicle does not collide with a wall or other object. Instead, the vehicle body shell fitted with the components to be tested are mounted on a sled that is then suddenly braked. As a result, there is no actual collision.

• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)

  The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) is a non-profit organisation in the United States that has developed industry-specific standards for sustainability reporting.

• Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)

  The SFRD is part of a more comprehensive package of legislative instruments designed to gear capital towards more sustainable business. The main goal is to ensure that the participants in the financial market are able to finance growth in a sustainable manner in the long term.

• Tank-to-wheel

  Unlike the more comprehensive well-to-wheel assessment, tank-to-wheel assessments take into account the chain of cause and effect from the time energy (for example petrol or electricity) is absorbed until its conversion into kinetic energy during driving.

• Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

  The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is a corporate reporting initiative that was created by the Financial Stability Board. Its long-term goal is to incorporate climate-related opportunities and risks into companies’ business and financial reports. To this end, it published recommendations in 2017 on how businesses should conduct uniform climate reporting.

• Technology platform

  A technology platform in the automotive industry is a concept vehicle which presents innovative technologies in an exemplary manner with the aid of a near-production vehicle.

• Think tank

  A think tank can comprise a research institute, association or expert group. Its mission is to research, develop or evaluate concepts or strategies for solving political, social or economic problems and thus influence the shaping of public opinion.

• Tier 1

  Tier 1 refers to the first upstream stage of the supply chain, i.e. the direct suppliers. The other stages of the value chain (all the sub-suppliers) are referred to as Tier 2 to Tier n suppliers.

• Transform to Net Zero

  Transform to Net Zero is a corporate initiative launched by Microsoft. In addition to the Mercedes Benz Group and Microsoft, eight other renowned, globally operating companies take part. Its goal is to improve the climate policy framework for the decarbonisation of the economy and society worldwide.

• Turbocompressor

  A turbocompressor is a machine that can compress air. Compressed air is used, for example, to drive machines in industrial production. Unlike normal“ compressors, turbocompressors are designed like a turbine and have aerodynamic properties. They are particularly energy-efficient as a result.

• UN Global Compact (UNGC)

  The United Nations (UN) Global Compact is a pact concluded between companies and the UN in order to make globalisation more socially and environmentally friendly. The companies regularly report to the UN on the progress they make.

• UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

  The six UN Principles for Responsible Investment were initiated by an international investor network. They aim to make it easier to understand the effects of investment activities on ESG issues and help the signatories to take ESG criteria into account in their investment decisions.

• Unsprung mass

  Unsprung mass refers to the components of a vehicle that are subject to direct impacts from the road. These components include the tyres, rims, brakes and wheel bearings.

• Vehicle class N1

  Class N1 vehicles are motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 t and at least four wheels, which are used to transport goods or for another special purpose.

• Waste hierarchy

  A waste hierarchy defines and prioritises the various approaches to handling waste. The most important measures are those which are especially environmentally compatible. The EU’s Waste Framework Directive defines the following five hierarchy levels:
  1. Prevention
  2. Preparation for reuse
  3. Recycling
  4. Other recovery, especially incineration for the generation of energy and use as a filling material
  5. Disposal

• Well-to-tank

  A well-to-tank assessment is a consideration of the effort for providing the drive power for motor vehicles from the generation of the primary energy (for example oil, natural gas or electricity) to the provision for the vehicle.

• Well-to-wheel (WtW)

  In addition to the driving operation, a well-to-wheel assessment also takes into account the production of the energy carrier, such as the power generation or the production of petrol..

• WLTP-TML/WLTP-TMH

  The suffixes “TML” and “TMH” refer to the range of possible assessments of a vehicle in the WLTP measurement standard. The values for aerodynamics, rolling resistance and vehicle mass change depending on the optional equipment used. These circumstances are taken into account in the WLTP cycle. TML (test mass low) stands for the most favourable and TMH (test mass high) for the least favourable case.

• WLTP

  WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure – WLTP) is an international measurement standard that is used to determine how much fuel a car consumes and whether it complies with the emission limits. The WLTP replaced the former measurement standard NEDC on 1 September 2017. In the WLTP cycle, certification values are determined for each vehicle from its mass, air and rolling resistance, and optional equipment. It also includes a test under real driving conditions (RDE).