Mercedes-Benz Korea driving a sustainable future

Guest Reports

Published: 29 Nov. 2023, 18:56

Mercedes-Benz Korea driving a sustainable future

Mercedes-Benz Korea donated seven pine trees, the national tree of Korea, to Seoul Special Metropolitan City and proceeded over a dedication ceremony for building the Seoul Plaza Forest, at the Seoul Plaza on Nov. 10. [MERCEDES-BENZ KOREA]

Amid the global climate crisis, Mercedes-Benz Korea is taking the lead in creating a better future with a focus on fostering greener cities and supporting children.

Mercedes-Benz Korea received the Golden Star at the 2023 ECCK Sustainability Awards from the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) on Nov. 10.

This marks the second time the ECCK has held these awards, evaluating companies based on their vision, innovation, investment and impact on sustainability. Three awards are given to companies —Green Step, Blue Horizon, and Golden Star — reflecting environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) management, CO2 reduction and company size.

The auto company’s commitment to various social contribution campaigns was a major contributing factor for winning the Golden Star award.

Following the launch of the Mercedes-Benz Korea Social Contribution Committee in 2014, Benz’s GREEN+ City Forest Project, aimed at improving air quality and alleviating the heat island effect is under way, in collaboration with Seoul city.

On Nov. 10, the company donated seven pine trees, the national tree of Korea, to Seoul Special Metropolitan City and proceeded over a dedication ceremony for building the Seoul Plaza Forest, at the Seoul Plaza.

The symbolic ceremony, wishing citizens’ improved awareness of the city forest conservation, as well as their relaxation at the forest, went smoothly.

Meanwhile, the company completed a green space of more than 3,400 trees in Cheonwang Neighborhood Park in Guro District, western Seoul, last year, and completed the construction of three trail roads and parks within Seoul, planting more than 9,300 trees.

Benz has also been dedicated to children through its self-developed educational programs on environment and traffic safety.

Last October, a two-day environment camp GREEN+Village went successfully for a total of more than 500 elementary school students nationwide.

The camp was designed to provide hands-on education for children to learn about climate-friendly actions applicable to their daily lives and develop environmental sensitivity.

In recognition of its efficient methods, Benz’s GREEN+ education program was designated as an “excellent environmental education program” by the Ministry of Environment in September.

Since 2014, the company has been implementing the Mercedes-Benz MobileKids traffic safety education program. To date, a total of 1,749 institutions and 40,717 children have completed the program.

The Mercedes-Benz Social Contribution Committee plans to continue collaborating with participating institutions to promote a child-centric traffic culture and expand traffic safety education for children until 2025.

BY KIM SU-HYEON [kim.suhyeon4@joongang.co.kr]