We develop, produce and distribute motor vehicles and mobility services. In this role, we have made ourselves committed to shaping mobility for us and future generations and become a role model for the protection of our environment.
We comply with legal and regulatory requirements as well as company standards and targets. We implement Environmental Compliance Management Systems to ensure that environmental compliance obligations are understood and achieved in our business operations. Environmental fraud and misconduct will be treated as a severe compliance violation. Compliance with this Group Environmental Policy Statement and with Group environmental requirements will be annually evaluated and reported to the Boards of Management at Group and at each entity.
To reduce our environmental footprint we use our global innovative capacity to address environmental challenges throughout all life cycle stages of our mobility offers. Our mobility innovations will also help our customers reduce their environmental footprint while simultaneously securing our business competitiveness and employment.
Guided by our Environmental Mission Statement, the Volkswagen Group commits to the following requirements:
Leadership
Our leaders, at every level of the organization in all brands and majority shareholdings of the Volkswagen Group, are aware of the environmental risks of their business activities and will demonstrate, in words and in actions, their commitment to compliance and to environmental leadership.
They are responsible for the implementation of this policy in their business units and for ensuring that all employees are informed, qualified and held accountable for their assigned responsibilities. In their area of responsibility, they create an appropriate framework in which employees and business partners can communicate especially sensitive environmental issues openly and without fear of negative consequences. The Boards of Management at Group and at each entity will consider environmental leadership with equal weight to other business criteria in key company decisions.
Compliance
We comply with legal and regulatory requirements as well as company standards and targets.
We implement Environmental Compliance Management Systems to ensure that environmental compliance obligations are understood and achieved in our business operations. Environmental violations, misconduct and deliberate disregard or fraud are treated in accordance with our organizational guidelines as violations of rules. Compliance with this Environmental Policy Statement and with Group environmental requirements will be annually evaluated and reported to the Boards of Management at Group and at each entity.
Environmental Protection
We follow a life-cycle approach to mitigate environmental risks and to seize environmental opportunities such as the integration of renewable energy sources, decarbonisation, sustainable supply chains and resource and energy efficiency.
We implement economically viable methods to reduce our environmental impact across the life cycle of our operations, products and services. Our efforts are verified annually by public disclosure of key performance indicators.
Stakeholder Collaboration
We engage with our employees, regulators, customers, suppliers, communities, public authorities and other interested stakeholders to improve our understanding of environmental requirements and expectations.
Stakeholder input is considered and reflected in our Environmental Compliance Management System and in our operations, products and services. We commit to providing transparent and reliable information in our dialogue with and reporting to our stakeholders.
Continual Improvement
As part of our effort to continually improve, we implement internationally-recognized and third-party verified environmental management systems which integrate environmental requirements into our key business processes and decision-making.
As well our environmental management systems themselves are subject to a process of continual improvement. We rely on our global network of subject matter experts to identify and transfer best practices in environmental technology and management. We stay at the forefront of emerging environmental developments in regulations, science, technology and stakeholder expectations to meet or exceed our commitments.
Download "Mission Statement Environment"