Society

A company can only develop successfully in the long term if it is always aware of the social consequences of its actions. Companies need a social environment conducive to their business and society needs the initiative, financial performance and innovative power of private industry. The mutual dependence of industry and society offers considerable leeway for action, which companies must put to effective use.

CSR as business case
Globally active groups like Volkswagen can make a considerable contribution to sustainable development at their various locations, securing the goodwill of local residents and their cooperation for key business areas. This makes corporate social responsibility (CSR) a business case: CSR helps us become more competitive and lays the foundations for corporate management based on sustainability. In this context, we see our responsibility towards society and our stakeholders not as an obligation imposed by external bodies but as an independent and voluntary commitment of the company. In our own interest, we have adopted CSR as a key tenet of our corporate culture by establishing an integrated CSR management system. The key objective of this system is to identify and implement sustainable win-win situations for the company and society, laying the foundations for our future.

Thinking globally – acting locally
Corporate responsibility for social, economic and ecological issues is also a local matter. At each site, the factors that limit the sustainable development of a company may take a different form. For example, employees with different qualification levels are available in each region. Different forms of public-private partnership are needed to promote local structural change and to make regions more attractive for high-potential organisations. To fulfil our responsibilities in the best possible way, we engage in dialogue with a wide variety of people and organisations and identify the need for action at the local level. This allows us to deploy our resources in the optimum way in view of regional conditions.

Personal commitment
The Volkswagen Group faces up to this challenge every day. At our sites around the world, our employees assume responsibility and play an active role in improving living conditions for local people.

One of the main objectives is to pass on experience and help other people be successful. This is why Volkswagen is involved in a number of areas outside the automobile industry, supporting educational initiatives as well as various projects in the fields of sport and culture which have goals just as ambitious as those of Volkswagen itself.

Spotlight on performance
The main focuses of this commitment are on music, sport and nature conservation as well as general assistance for those in need. Our commitment to support for young people is especially pronounced. Our general objectives include strong cooperation and events which benefit all concerned. In this context, we always shoulder our historical responsibility and share our experience with society.

In the future, we intend to give our commitment a more pronounced strategic orientation, improve internal networking in this respect and integrate this approach in our management structures. Already, we are engaged in a wide variety of activities. On this website, we present a number of selected examples to illustrate the breadth of our commitment.