Here's How The Mercedes Star Inspired Mercedes-Benz's Campaign About Sustainability Goals
The iconic three-pointed star takes on a meaning that is more relevant than ever today.
By Marion Fernando — 12 Jun 2023, 02:47 PM
Have you ever wondered what the Mercedes star stood for?
The Mercedes star was born in 1900, after Paul and Adolf Daimler — sons of Gottlieb Daimler, one of the cofounders of Mercedes-Benz — adapted a three-pointed star for use as the brand logo.
More than a century ago, the three points of the Mercedes star stood for Gottlieb Daimler's vision of mobility on land, sea, and in the air.
Several iterations of the iconic logo were produced over the brand's lifetime, before ultimately looking like how it does now.
Today, the same ethos persists, with the elements of earth, water, and air taking on a meaning more relevant than ever through the three-pointed star — achieving sustainability goals that include Mercedes-Benz shifting to an emissions-free future
In a new worldwide Mercedes-Benz campaign, the three-pointed star symbolises the responsible handling of the elements through resource conservation, recycling, and net carbon-neutrality.
Besides plans to go fully electric by the end of the decade, the brand is committed to reducing the carbon footprint of each car it makes by half, compared with 2020.
It also intends to switch over 70% of the energy requirements in production to renewable energies by 2030.
Highlighting its sustainable business strategy, Mercedes-Benz produced a visually powerful film with clear messaging on the matter, which also sees the historic symbol of the three-pointed star ushered into modern times
Called Land. Sea. Air. you can watch the video here:
Directed by Julien Simsäuser of Builders Club with production company Radical Media, the campaign was unveiled around the world three months ago in February.
The film interprets the sustainability goals of Mercedes-Benz, ranging from repurposing waste such as old fishing nets to using 40% of recycled materials to build its cars.
Here's what the brand has done so far to realise its sustainability goals:
1. Enabling green charging* at public charging points in Europe, the US, and Canada to avoid CO2 emissions when electric cars are in use since 2021
2. Producing CO2-neutral batteries in all of Mercedes-Benz's plants since 2022
3. Using only green electricity from renewable sources, suppliers included, in all Mercedes-Benz production plants worldwide since 2022
4. Offering remanufactured batteries for all electric vehicles to do justice to the concept of a closed economic cycle and to conserve resources
The brand has installed around 20 wind turbines at its Papenburg test track in northern Germany.
Image via MercedesBenz5. Established a successful business model with large-scale storage applications, which means batteries that can no longer be used in vehicles can continue to be used in a second-life storage system
6. Increasing its recycling rate to more than 96%, after expanding its global battery recycling strategy
7. Using innovative recyclate made from upcycled household waste in the cable ducts of the Mercedes-Benz EQS and EQE with the plastic replacement material known as UBQ
8. Using nylon yarn obtained from fishing nets and carpets for the floor coverings in the Mercedes-Benz EQS
9. Offering various fabrics made from 100% recycled PET bottles for vehicle interiors
10. Consistently reducing emissions in the steel supply chain through the use of CO2-reduced flat steel from Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH, which lowers emissions by 60% when compared to the classic blast furnaces
*Green Charging ensures that the appropriate amounts of green energy are fed into the grid after the charging process.
Ultimately, luxury and sustainability go hand in hand, said vice president of communications and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Bettina Fetzer
"Today, as then, the Mercedes star stands for our unique history, the pioneering spirit that characterises the brand, and the constant innovative strength that makes the start of a new era of mobility possible," said Fetzer.
She added, "This is illustrated by the slogan 'It's a sign of new times'. The campaign once again visualises that, for us, luxury and sustainability belong together, surprising with emotional charisma."
