Climate change is the greatest global challenge. Volkswagen was the first long-term car manufacturer to commit itself to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. By 2050, the entire Group wants to become balance sheet neutral. The step that VfL Wolfsburg, as a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, is now taking is another strong exclamation mark on the road to climate neutrality. The Bundesliga soccer team wants to minimize its greenhouse gas emissions and be CO2-neutral by 2025. To this end, the Lower Saxony club is the first professional club in the world to commit to the United Nations' "Race to Zero" initiative that is based on the Paris Climate Protection Agreement.
VfL Wolfsburg leads the way in climate protection
E-cars, natural gas, emission certificates: As part of the "Race to Zero" initiative of the United Nations, the Bundesliga club wants to be the first professional soccer club in the world to be CO₂-neutral by 2025.
National player Felicitas Rauch is among the testimonials for the "Race to Zero" initiative of VfL Wolfsburg.
Austrian international Xaver Schlager is also promoting the "Race to Zero" campaign of his club VfL Wolfsburg.
"Soccer is like a shop window. Many people are watching us," says Michael Meeske, Managing Director of VfL Wolfsburg. "And if we spread the message that climate protection is one of the central issues for humanity, we can hopefully convince many other people to act as sustainably as possible.” VfL's ambitious Net Zero project works in two ways, as Meeske explains: "On the one hand, through reduction, i.e. through savings opportunities that we address locally. In addition, however, there will be a few things that we cannot reduce expediently, such as air travel to remote locations for away games. So on the other hand, it works through compensation."
In terms of reduction, VfL Wolfsburg has achieved substantial savings in the past, especially with green electricity and LED lighting. Now the club is taking up where it left off: The focus is on expanding the e-infrastructure with at least 20 charging stations at the VfL Center. In addition, the employees and professionals are to be increasingly provided with company cars from the fully electric ID. family from Volkswagen. In addition, the Bundesliga club will soon not only be expanding its photovoltaic systems, but will also convert the district heating in the arena to more climate-friendly natural gas.
Michael Meeske has been a member of the VfL Wolfsburg management board since November 2018.
"There are still many small adjustments to be made," VfL Managing Director Meeske says. "One could be the expansion of vegan food. Because the more people eat a vegan diet, the less CO2 is produced in livestock breeding and meat production".
Regarding the compensation of the CO2 footprint, the club is currently primarily concerned with the travel of teams and club employees, but also with that of fans and media representatives. The club cannot directly influence their CO2 emissions. Instead, it sets incentives for climate-conscious (travel) behavior. In the future, VfL wants to make its environment even more enthusiastic about CO2-neutral mobility. For example, fans can purchase a climate-neutral ticket that includes compensation. And the men's and women's Bundesliga teams have decided to offset their travel to away games from their respective team coffers – for example, by supporting United Nations reforestation projects or by purchasing emission certificates from the two Volkswagen power plants in Wolfsburg.
VfL Managing Director Michael Meeske concludes: "Even if a soccer club cannot always operate sustainably in all areas due to its operations today, we want to show that successful climate protection and a successful VfL Wolfsburg are not mutually exclusive.“
Volkswagen on the path to CO2 neutrality
Volkswagen Group automobiles are responsible for one percent of global CO2 emissions. With its commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, the company has committed itself to reducing this figure to zero on its balance sheet by 2050. By 2025, the Group's CO2 emissions are to be reduced by 30 percent compared to 2015. In its production, Volkswagen is focusing, among other things, on expanding the proportion of renewable energies in the power supply and improving the energy efficiency of buildings and plants. In terms of vehicles, the key is electromobility. Volkswagen wants to become the leading provider of sustainable mobility with its brands. The company is planning around 70 pure e-models by 2030. 20 of these have already been launched, and 50 more will follow. The most recent example is the ID.4, an all-electric SUV with a range of up to 360 to 520 km (NEDC).