Sustainable mobility is firmly anchored in the Volkswagen brand’s strategy. Key aspects include increasing the environmental compatibility of products, developing innovative mobility solutions to relieve the strain on cities and customers, continuously reducing the environmental impact of production and logistics, and optimizing ecological and social aspects along the entire value chain from raw material extraction to recycling.
Sustainability
Press releases
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Astypalea: Kick-off for transformation to smart, sustainable island
Astypalea is on course to become a smart, sustainable island. The first electric vehicles, including the first fully electric police car in Greece, were taken into service today in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Fragogiannis. The first public and private charging points were also inaugurated. The event marked the launch of the transition to full electrification on Astypalea. In the coming years, the island wants to switch to smart sustainable mobility and completely modernizing its energy system. Volkswagen and the Greek government signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect last November. -
Press shop expansion: Volkswagen reduces the number of truck journeys to Zwickau e-location by 9,000
Volkswagen officially inaugurated the press shop expansion in its electric car plant in Zwickau. As of now, the complete outer skin for the six electric models produced in Zwickau will be pressed on site. The €74 million investment will enable further gains to be made in reducing the carbon footprint of the ID.3 and ID.4. The effect is remarkable: more than 9,000 fewer direct truck journeys each year from now on for body manufacturing and thus annual savings of 5,800 tonnes of CO2. This will create 60 new jobs in the factory. The official opening was attended by Minister President of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, in the company of Christian Vollmer, member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Production and Logistics for the Volkswagen brand, Dr Stefan Loth, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Saxony and Jens Rothe, Chairman of Volkswagen Saxony’s Central Works Council. -
Volkswagen Board discusses decarbonization plan with independent Sustainability Council
At their first joint meeting this year, Volkswagen Group Board of Management and the independent Volkswagen Sustainability Council discussed the Group’s decarbonization plan and activities. The Sustainability Council called in particular for an even stronger discussion on Volkswagen Group’s corporate purpose to provide CO2 neutral mobility for all, together with a clearly defined end date for internal combustion engines. During the discussion, both sides agreed on a more thorough ESG (Environmental Social Governance) reporting system, and to commission an additional study on socially responsible workforce transition. The firm commitment of Volkswagen to the EU Green Deal also includes the demand for more green energy, faster exit from fossil energy production, rapid expansion of charging infrastructure, and new rules for state aid to strengthen the transformation and decarbonization of industry and production sites. The nine-member Sustainability Council has been advising Volkswagen on strategic issues relating to sustainability and social responsibility since 2016. -
Data-driven innovations to combat climate change: Volkswagen and Microsoft Deutschland choose the most innovative sustainability project
The 10toGO thinkathon hosted by Volkswagen AG and Microsoft Deutschland has been won by the Pina team from Munich, which will receive funding of €100,000 for its sustainable forestry project. Microsoft and Volkswagen will also support the project with digital infrastructure and expert advice. As part of their joint 10toGO initiative, Volkswagen AG and Microsoft Deutschland aim to provide help in kick-starting sustainable, data-driven innovations that address selected areas of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. -
Volkswagen Group is officially reinstated as a participant of the UN Global Compact
The UN Global Compact has confirmed the reinstatement of the Volkswagen Group as a participant. After a five-year break, the Group thereby returns to the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. The main grounds for this decision was the Volkswagen Group’s completely rebuilt compliance and integrity policy as a result of the successfully concluded monitorship supervised by the US Department of Justice. The Group’s ambitious climate protection program was also welcomed positively. By 2025, the Volkswagen Group plans to cut its CO2 emissions over the life cycle of its passenger car portfolio by 30 percent compared to 2015 and aims to be climate-neutral by 2050. In 2016 Volkswagen also appointed an independent Sustainability Council. -
Volkswagen Passenger Cars over-fulfils European CO2 fleet targets for 2020
Based on preliminary figures, Volkswagen Passenger Cars has exceeded the ambitious European CO2 fleet targets for 2020 and produced around six million grams fewer CO2 than required by law. The passenger car fleet of new vehicles in the European Union achieved average CO2 emissions of 92g/km – the legal CO2 target for the brand was 97g/km. As a result, CO2 emissions fell by 22 percent compared to the previous year. -
(Updated on 04/22/2021) E-offensive gains traction: Volkswagen Group significantly reduces CO2 fleet average in the EU
Wolfsburg, January 21, 2021 – The Volkswagen Group’s e-offensive is gaining traction: deliveries of electric models in the EU including the UK, Norway and Iceland increased more than fourfold in the year now ended to a total of 315,400 electric vehicles (2019: 72,600). The proportion of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in-hybrids (PHEVs) in the total deliveries rose to 9.7 percent (2019: 1.7 percent). The Volkswagen Group is thus the clear market leader in the all-electric segment in Western Europe, accounting for a share of around 25 percent (2019: 14 percent). The main drivers of this development were the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Audi brands, which overfulfilled their CO2 fleet targets largely due to the successful start-up of their ID.3 and e-tron electric models. Based on preliminary figures, the Volkswagen Group thus reduced the average CO2 emissions of its new passenger car fleet in the EU by around 20 percent compared with 2019 to 99.9 g/km in 2020. The emissions of Bentley and Lamborghini are measured individually, which is why they are not included in this figure. In anticipation of narrowly missing the target for the CO2 pool established jointly with other manufacturers by around 0.8 g/km, the Group had recognized provisions at an early stage to avoid any impact on fourth-quarter earnings. -
Fuel from waste: Volkswagen powers car freighters with used oil from restaurants
The Volkswagen Group continues to force the pace of climate protection: in future, Volkswagen Group Logistics will be using certified fuel from vegetable residues for certain new car shipments via marine routes. The fuel is produced from materials such as used oil from restaurants and the food industry. The first car freighter was re-fuelled for the first time with this oil in mid-November 2020 and a second ship is due to follow at the beginning of 2021. “We are the first automaker to make widespread use of this fuel. This way, we reuse waste oil in an environmentally compatible way. With 85 percent lower CO2 emissions than with conventional fossil fuels, the contribution to climate protection is enormous,” says Thomas Zernechel, Head of Volkswagen Group Logistics. -
Volkswagen engages in improving working conditions in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo
As a responsible company, Volkswagen is actively engaging in improving artisanal cobalt mining conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the living conditions for people in the surrounding communities. Cobalt is an important raw material for the production of electric vehicle batteries. Artisanal mining involves risks to the environment and people. Volkswagen has joined the “Cobalt for Development” initiative and is thus supporting efforts to minimize these risks. -
Volkswagen Group and Greece to create model island for climate-neutral mobility
The Volkswagen Group and Greece have agreed to establish a groundbreaking mobility system on the Mediterranean island of Astypalea. To that end, the current transport system on the island will transition to electric vehicles and renewable power generation. In the long run, Astypalea will become a model island for climate-neutral mobility. A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed in Wolfsburg and Athen today by Konstantinos Fragogiannis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, and Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group. New mobility services such as vehicle sharing or ridesharing will help reduce and optimize traffic. Energy will be primarily generated from local green power sources such as solar and wind. The project initially will run for six years. -
Volkswagen starts development of climate projects for CO2 compensation
The Volkswagen Group and the project developer Permian Global have signed a Joint Development Agreement to create climate protection projects. With the support of Permian Global, the Volkswagen Group will begin developing climate protection projects to protect tropical forests in the second half of 2020. Following successful verification, the avoided deforestation and restoration of endangered forests will lock away carbon and deliver carbon credits that will be used to compensate for CO2 emissions from the supply chain, production and logistics of vehicle, as long as these CO2 emissions cannot be avoided and renewable energies cannot be used currently. -
Volkswagen is publishing reports about a special audit of the Environmental Management Systems
Today Volkswagen is publishing the third and final series of reports from an Environmental Management System special audit, conducted in 2019, which is required by the U.S. Department of Justice and California Third Partial Consent Decrees (“Consent Decrees”) entered into by Volkswagen in 2017. -
Volkswagen presents Green Finance Framework
With the Green Finance Framework (GFF), the Volkswagen Group today presented further guidelines for sustainable financial instruments. In future, it will therefore be possible for investors to invest in a targeted fashion in sustainability projects of the Volkswagen Group such as e-mobility. A new corporate body, the Green Finance Committee, will select appropriate projects and can adapt the GFF to reflect changing requirements. Furthermore, regular reporting will ensure transparency in the use of funds. The objective is to ensure independent external verification of the use of funds. -
170,000 tons of CO2 saved: Carbon Fund strengthens climate protection
2020 The Volkswagen Group has launched its own Carbon Fund. The CO2 fund, which is endowed with €25 million annually, is available to all twelve Group brands. They use it to finance their own climate protection projects at their locations worldwide. -
Volkswagen upping use of green electricity at its plants
The Volkswagen brand is making good progress towards its target of CO2-neutral production by 2050. The company has now set itself further ambitious targets for 2020 in order to expand the percentage of externally sourced energy from renewable sources at its plants. Andreas Tostmann, Volkswagen Brand Board of Management Member for Production and Logistics, said: “We want to significantly increase the amount of green energy bought in at our plants this year from 70 to 90 per cent.” Besides that, Volkswagen is consistently focussing on natural gas for its own power generation and is switching its power plants in Wolfsburg from coal to gas. -
Volkswagen is making faster progress towards sustainable and efficient production
Volkswagen Group is making faster progress towards sustainable and efficient production. At the same time, the company continues to make good progress towards reducing its production costs. Oliver Blume, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Group and Chairman of the Board of Porsche AG says: "We are producing more environmentally friendly than ever. From 2010 to the end of 2019, the environmental impact per produced vehicle is expected to drop by more than 37 per cent.” To address offsetting trends, performance measures estimated at one billion euros are also being made in production, and productivity is increasing by six per cent. At the same time, however, Blume emphasises that further efficiency measures must not be neglected. -
Volkswagen to be the first company to use low-emission LNG drive for overseas car freighters from January 2020
Volkswagen Group Logistics is the first company to use two car freighters powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) in overseas traffic. The two charter ships of Siem Car Carriers were launched last Friday in Xiamen, China. -
Joint development of Drömling - Volkswagen Group signs Letter of Intent with Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt
The joint working group Drömling of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, which rep-resents local authorities, associations and regional stakeholder groups, met today in the Autostadt. In this context, Volkswagen signed a letter of intent with representatives of the federal states to further develop the Drömling into a UNESCO bio-sphere reserve. -
Global Social Business Summit Berlin - The Gathering 2019: Volkswagen promotes ideas for social and sustainable business
Social, economic and ecological: At the Global Social Business Summit Berlin - The Gathering 2019 (GSBS) - 550 representatives from business, science, politics and society are discussing business models that pursue social and ecological goals and are profitable at the same time. The conference with participants from 54 countries is taking place on 7 and 8 November in Berlin. For the fourth time, Volkswagen Group is supporting the annual conference with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and is represented by three members of the Group Management Board: Hiltrud Werner, Integrity and Law, Gunnar Kilian, Human Resources, and An-dreas Renschler, Truck & Bus brand group and CEO of TRATON SE. -
Volkswagen Group on course to reduce CO2 emissions
While the climate package continues to be a political issue in Germany, Volkswagen committed itself to the Paris Climate Agreement some time ago. The Group has set the course for being net CO2-neutral in 2050 in line with its "goTOzero" environmental mission statement. -
SEAT generates biomethane from waste
SEAT will participate until 2023 in the Life Landfill Biofuel project, recently ap-proved by the European Commission, which aims to produce renewable gas from municipal landfills. The project will be developed jointly with other partners over the next four years and has a total budget of €4.3 million, of which the European Commission will contribute 55%. -
Bentley Motors’ Headquarters and Main Plant now CO2 neutral
Bentley Motors' corporate headquarters and main plant in Crewe, England, received CO2 neutrality certification in early October. The Volkswagen Group's only production plant on the British Isles is thus making an important contribution to the decarbonisation of the Volkswagen Group by 2050. -
Volkswagen plant Wolfsburg receives environmental "Lean and Green Management Award"
The Volkswagen Wolfsburg plant receives the "Lean & Green Management Award 2019" in the "Automotive OEM" category for its efficient and sustainable production. More than 250 plants from more than ten countries and 20 different industries participated in this competition. -
Volkswagen invests in climate protection projects to compensate for unavoidable CO2 emissions
The Volkswagen Group is now supporting climate protection projects, focusing initially on forest conservation and restoration, especially in the tropics. Projects are certified according to the highest international standards ‘Verified Carbon Standard’ (VCS) as well as ‘Climate Community and Biodiversity Standard’ (CCB) or "Gold Standard". -
Volkswagen Group Appoints Professor Ye Qi to Sustainability Advisory Council
The Volkswagen Group has appointed Professor Ye Qi from Hong Kong as a new member of its independent Sustainability Advisory Council. Herbert Diess, Chairman of the Board of Management, said: "The Sustainability Advisory Council is a very important body for the Volkswagen AG. It has given significant impetus to the decarbonisation strategy of the Group. We are pleased that the Advisory Council is now being supplemented with another renowned expert, Professor Ye Qi. His expertise in regenerative energy generation in an urban environment is outstanding." -
New gearbox generation enables CO2 savings of up to five grammes per kilometre
Volkswagen has developed a new state-of-the-art manual gearbox: the MQ281, as it is known, works efficiently and saves up to five grammes of CO2 per kilometre depending on the engine-gearbox combination. The new Passat is the first vehicle to be equipped with the MQ281, followed by almost all vehicle classes of the Volkswagen Group. -
Volkswagen with New Corporate Mission Statement Environment "goTOzero"
The Volkswagen Group is bundling all its measures in environmental protection under the new "goTOzero" environmental mission statement. Oliver Blume, Member of the Group Board of Management responsible for environmental protection, says: "With the new Group Environmental Policy, the Group is giving itself and its stakeholders a clear orientation. Our efforts to improve environmental protection cover the entire product cycle, from development, production and operation to the subsequent recycling of our vehicles and administration. We also involve our suppliers. Only together can we achieve our goals". -
Volkswagen Group commits suppliers to sustainability
As of 1st July 2019, the Volkswagen Group will introduce a worldwide Sustainability Rating for its suppliers. This enables the company to assess the sustainability conduct of its business partners in its supply chain with regard to risks relating to human rights, environmental protection and corruption. -
Green Computing Performance: Volkswagen opens carbon neutral data center in Norway
The Volkswagen Group moved into a new, climate neutral data center in Rjukan (Norway) today. The facility was set up in just six months in collaboration with the Norwegian partner Green Mountain. The data center will be 100 percent powered by hydropower in the future, thus saving more than 5,800 tons of CO2 per year compared to a conventionally operated data center. The maximum output of 2,750 kilowatts will be used by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and AUDI brands for high-performance servers, on which computer-intensive vehicle development projects are processed. These include the simulation of crash tests and virtual wind tunnel tests. The Volkswagen Group focuses on economic and ecological factors in the development of additional computing capacity. Volkswagen already operates a climate neutral data center in Iceland. -
Worldwide Volkswagen Group Accompanies International Biodiversity Day with Initiatives for Species Conservation
On the occasion of the International Biodiversity Day on 22 May 2019, Volkswagen is calling on all corporate brands and locations to provide support to nature conservation projects and especially conserve insects under the motto "Biodiversity as a livelihood". -
Electric Vehicles with Lowest CO2 Emissions
For the same vehicle models with different powertrains, the carbon footprint of the battery-powered E variants is already better than those of the corresponding vehicles with internal combustion engines. In addition, the electric vehicles offer a higher CO2-saving potential in all phases of the product cycle. Furthermore, it is of crucial importance for CO2 emissions whether the propulsion energy is generated from fossil or regenerative sources. This is the result of a certified life cycle assessment (LCA) of the Volkswagen Golf, which compares the CO2 emissions of the different vehicle versions with either an electric or an internal combustion engine. -
Electric Life: Volkswagen subsidiary Elli offers Volkswagen Naturstrom® throughout Germany with immediate effect
The Volkswagen Group is taking a further consistent step towards sustainability. The new Group subsidiary, Elli Group GmbH, is offering an eco-power tariff that is available throughout Germany with immediate effect. The first product from Elli is called “Volkswagen Naturstrom®”, comes from 100-percent renewable sources and is intended for private households and small businesses. The new tariff is expressly intended not only for current customers of Volkswagen Group brands or owners of electric vehicles. -
First Interim Report of the Sustainability Advisory Board of the Volkswagen Group
In its first interim report, today the Sustainability Council of the Volkswagen Group has published an interim report on its activities from October 2016 to October 2018 in Berlin. The eight-member international panel summarizes its experience of working with the Volkswagen Group and assesses progress in sustainability matters and describes its attitude towards the future development of the Group in this area. -
"Open Source Lab" sets course for the mobility of the future
Yesterday, the "Open Source Lab for Sustainable Mobility" has started dialogue as a platform for sustainable mobility in Berlin. It is funded by the Volkswagen Group Sustainability Council, is independent in its research agenda and is obliged to publish all research results and other results. -
Volkswagen Sachsen reduces environmental footprint using Naturstrom® hydropower
The Volkswagen brand is stepping up the use of renewable energy in production with a view to further reducing its environmental footprint. Starting this year, the three production plants of Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH have been supplied with Volkswagen Naturstrom® electric power from 100% renewable sources by VW Kraftwerk GmbH. This measure is playing its part in meeting the target of Volkswagen's Think Blue. Factory environmental program to produce each vehicle and component in a way which is 45 percent more environmentally compatible in 2025 than in the base year of 2010. -
Volkswagen intends to almost halve environmental impact of production by 2025
The Volkswagen brand has set itself new, ambitious targets for reducing the environmental impact of production. By 2025, vehicles and components are to be produced in a way which is 45 percent more environmentally compatible than in 2010, the reference year for the current Think Blue. Factory. environmental program. This was announced by Thomas Ulbrich, Member of the Brand Board of Management responsible for Production and Logistics: "We reached our environmental target of producing our vehicles 25 percent more sustainable by 2018 before the date set. We now intend to reduce environmental impact by a further 20 percent by 2025. We are on the way to the resource-optimized factory at all the locations of the brand." -
Volkswagen brand supports 100 CSR projects throughout the world
Throughout the world, the Volkswagen brand is involved in 100 environmental and social projects for people beyond the factory gates. This is highlighted by the Sustainability Report of the Volkswagen Group. An interactive world map shows all the current CSR projects in the fields of education and science, equal opportunities, voluntary work, health, culture and arts, environmental protection, regional support, sports and traffic education (sustainabilityreport2015.volkswagenag.com/csr-projects). -
Volkswagen Group appoints international Sustainability Council
The Volkswagen Group is strengthening its sustainability management and appoints an international top-class Sustainability Council. The council members will advise the Group Board of Management on the topics of sustainable mobility, environmental protection, and social responsibility as well as integrity, the future of work, and digitisation. They will be independent and not obliged to follow instructions. -
Volkswagen brand improves environmental compatibility of car production by 25 percent
The Volkswagen brand has taken a major step towards environmentally sustainable production. At the brand's production facilities throughout the world, vehicles and components are now manufactured in a way which is 25 percent more environmentally compatible than five years ago. An ambitious self-defined sustainability target of the brand has therefore been reached three years earlier than originally planned. -
Goods transport of the future: MAN and Scania rely on digitally connected trucks
Transporting goods on highways could soon become even more efficient and safe thanks to digitally connected semitrailer tractors. To demonstrate this, MAN and Scania will participate in the "European Truck Platooning Challenge" - a test drive for trucks that are connected in platoons via digital data transfer. In this case, two or more trucks drive behind each other at a small distance making optimum use of the slipstream of the vehicle driving in front. The driver in the first vehicle sets the direction and speed. The other trucks that follow are semi-automated. This reduces diesel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to ten percent. -
Volkswagen Group presents sustainability report
The Volkswagen Group continues to make significant progress on the way to becoming the world's most environmentally compatible automaker. This is documented by the new sustainability report published on Tuesday. The report, which consists of 152 pages, provides information on the progress achieved in economic, environmental and social sustainability in 2013. -
Volkswagen Group is first German automaker in Clean Shipping Network
The Volkswagen Group is the first German automaker to join the Clean Shipping Network, an association of cargo owners. In future, Volkswagen Group Logistics will use the Clean Shipping Index (CSI) assessment tool to analyze and reduce the environmental impact of marine shipment. This step is part of the Volkswagen Group's strategy with the objective of anchoring environmental sustainability in more and more business activities along the process chain. -
Volkswagen inaugurates solar park in the USA
Today, the Volkswagen brand has inaugurated its largest solar facility in the world at its US plant in Chattanooga. The Volkswagen Chattanooga Solar Park has a peak output of 9.5 megawatts and is the largest solar facility operated by an automaker in the USA. The environmentally compatible power is to be used for Passat production
Stories
Green light for the electric island
The Greek island of Astypalea is set to become an electric island. This was agreed on by Volkswagen and the Greek government. Now, Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have handed over the first electric cars.
Volkswagen is Committed to Biodiversity
At Volkswagen, biodiversity and the sustainable use of resources play an important role. On the United Nation’s international biodiversity day, the group is launching a call to all of its employees.
Earth Day at Volkswagen: “I’m a professional climate protector”
To mark Earth Day on 22 April, the Volkswagen Group is giving all employees the opportunity to get involved in #Project1Hour: 660,000 employees will be given one hour, with their teams, to develop their own ideas to fight global warming. We introduce two Volkswagen brand employees who work to protect the climate on a daily basis. Motto: “I’m a professional climate protector.”
Elhadj As Sy: Volkswagen should be a champion for the environment
Powerful forces such as climate change and digitization are changing the world at a breathtaking pace. During a six-month project, 25 young Volkswagen experts worked out what demands companies will face and what a responsible path into the future might look like. In this interview, Elhadj As Sy, member of the independent Volkswagen Sustainability Council, and Anne-Kathrin Beugel, Volkswagen Future Heads Network, discuss the challenges of 2040. Future Heads involves more than 300 of the company’s employees on topics relating to future mobility and social responsibility.
How Volkswagen is becoming a climate-neutral company
“The climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our time,” says Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen was the first automaker to commit to the Paris climate agreement back in 2018. By 2050, the company aims to be balance sheet CO₂ neutral. This dossier explains the efforts Volkswagen is making to protect the climate in many areas: in its products, in production and together with partners.
Volkswagen begins electric car sharing in Hamburg
Rethinking mobility: Volkswagen Group has already succeeded in doing this with the WeShare pilot project in Berlin since 2019 – so successfully, in fact, that fully electric car sharing will now also be possible in Hamburg from February 25. With this expansion, Volkswagen is driving forward the roll-out of climate-friendly e-mobility and new mobility services in equal measure.
E-mobility is already this climate friendly today
Step-by-step on the way to a climate-neutral electric car: Using the ID.3 as an example, employees from Volkswagen’s Technical Development unit have examined how the carbon footprint of electric cars in Europe compares with that of internal combustion engines. With a clear result.
Energy expert: As much electrification as possible, as much hydrogen as necessary
Electricity or hydrogen? Germany is debating this question passionately once again. Dr. Felix Matthes is the research coordinator for energy policy at the Ökoinstitut and a member of the National Hydrogen Council. In this interview, he explains which technology makes sense in which areas and how the energy transition can succeed. We talked to him just a few weeks ago.
“Electromobility and the sustainable energy industry belong together”
With its electric offensive, Volkswagen Group has massively increased sales of e-vehicles and only just missed the EU targets for CO2 emissions from its new car fleet. In an interview, Rebecca Harms, a member of the independent Sustainability Council, calls for more small models and a fast pace regarding the so-called Energiewende, or energy transition.
