It is the conviction of Volkswagen Financial Services, the global financial services provider in the Volkswagen Group, that its business model can continue to be successful moving ahead only if we act responsibly in the long term.
Volkswagen Financial Services believes that taking responsibility means gearing its decisions to the needs of society as well as its customers, employees and owner.
Volkswagen Financial Services offers a one-stop shop for automotive financial services and develops offerings for tomorrow’s mobility needs.
Volkswagen Financial Services operates internationally, yet has deep local roots. Sustainable, responsible business is vital. Volkswagen Financial Services acts reliably and with the environment in mind, is an attractive employer, and is committed to creating a society that has a sustainable future. It goes without saying that compliance with the law and the company’s values forms the basis of its commercial activities. Volkswagen Financial Services is committed to its obligation to give something back to society.
The three highlight projects 2021
Cooperation with the Neuerkerode Foundation and a donation of €50,000 for digital end-user devices for residents of the foundation’s retirement and nursing homes for the elderly in the coronavirus pandemic
Demographic change and longer life expectancy mean that Volkswagen Financial Services is placing greater focus on the issue of employees who care for relatives. Since the beginning of 2020, the company has cooperated with the Neuerkerode Foundation to offer a counseling service for employees on this subject. In addition, employees can contact a hotline and obtain quick answers in response to pressing questions on the subject of nursing support and help for senior citizens. Persons in need of care are also found places in the group’s establishments, where capacities permit. There are also talks on changing subjects, such as “Nursing care is needed – what now?”, “General power of attorney and living will” and “Palliative care and the Dignity Center.”
€50,000 for residents of the foundation’s retirement and nursing homes for the elderly in the coronavirus pandemic
Right at the start of the pandemic, leading virologists in Germany urged that senior citizens in particular had to be protected in these exceptional times, since the coronavirus poses a greater risk to the elderly. Consequently, there was a strict ban on contacts with residents of retirement and nursing homes for the elderly until June. In order to cushion the psychological effects of this ban on visitors on residents in the establishments run by the Evangelical Neuerkerode Foundation, Volkswagen Financial Services Germany donated €50,000 to it. The foundation used the money to buy tablets so that residents could keep in contact with their family digitally, as well as gaming consoles to promote exercise and add more variety to everyday life.
Cooperation between Volkswagen Financial Services and the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU)
Volkswagen Financial Services and the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) have been working together since 2009 to protect moors and restore them to their natural state. That is because moors are exceptionally important for climate protection and biodiversity.
From 2012 to 2020, Volkswagen Financial Services invested a total of four million euros in the German and International Moor Conservation Fund established by NABU. In Germany, the money is currently being spent on 13 national project areas. In the international arena, the company supports the European Union's LIFE Peat Restore Project, as a result of which an additional four million euros in public funding has been obtained due to the fact that the basic financing for the project has been secured.
It is an international EU project the NABU is implementing together with its cooperation partners from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Its objective is to renew degraded peatlands and restore their natural function as carbon sinks in the five partner countries.
The joint commitment of Volkswagen Financial Services and NABU has already received several accolades from independent bodies.
Stabilizers
Volkswagen Financial Services has encouraged civic commitment by its employees since 2017. Community engagement is a key component of Volkswagen Financial Services’ corporate responsibility strategy. Social success has been, is and will continue to be driven by qualified and dedicated people who go that extra mile in their private life and are guided by clear values.
Volkswagen Financial Services supports innovative and original projects relating to the Brunswick region with a one-off maximum amount of €5,000. Requirement: The employee must be personally involved in the project so that the funding can be awarded.
As part of its social commitment, the company has supported numerous initiatives: the circus project of the booster club Förderverein für die Grundschule KTK & Kita Veltenhof e.V., the Verein Kinderkrebsfürsorge, an association in Gifhorn which cares for children with cancer, Semmenstedt Volunteer Fire Brigade, the refugee relief association Flüchtlingshilfe Papenteich e.V., the sports club Lindenberg von 1949 e.V., Brunswick Young Chamber Choir, KöKi e.V., an association that supports physically handicapped children, and the local section of the German Life Saving Association DLRG OG Vorsfelde e.V.
Other projects
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Art Mobile
The Art Mobile provided by Volkswagen Financial Services takes pupils from the Brunswick region to Wolfsburg Museum of Art free of charge. The successful cooperation between Volkswagen Financial Services and the Museum of Art dates back to 2002. The bus has technical equipment that lets pupils watch a film on the Museum of Art during the journey so that they are playfully prepared for their visit.
The total number of pupils who have visited the Museum of Art in this way from when the project was launched up to 2021 is 82,877.
The project was expanded in 2003. Senior citizens from various institutions, such as residential homes and community centers, have been given the chance to take part in excursions to the Museum of Art and then have a coffee in its restaurant. 8,892 senior citizens have now used the bus shuttle (figure at 2021).
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Strong children for a strong future: Foundation – “Our Children in Braunschweig”
The not-for-profit foundation “Unsere Kinder in Braunschweig” (“Our Children in Brunswick”), which was established by Volkswagen Financial Services AG in December 2008, focuses on socially disadvantaged children and youngsters. Thirteen institutions – day care centers and primarily and secondary schools in socially deprived areas – are currently being provided with support to suit their needs in the areas of education, exercise, music and nutrition. A hallmark of the foundation is its sustainable approach, i.e. it nurtures long-term partnerships flanked by extensive assistance, not just of a financial nature.
Other institutions, such as the public health department (alcohol and cannabis prevention), youth centers and youth welfare institutions, are supported in one-off campaigns.
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Award for social and ecological engagement
VW FS has received an award from Europe’s largest non-profit IT company “Arbeit für Menschen mit Behinderung” (AfB social & green IT) for its social and ecological engagement: It handed over around 14,000 19-inch to 23-inch monitors it had taken out of service to AfB social & green IT. It is also currently preparing to hand over almost 700 business mobile phones and tablets.
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Schunter habitat
Volkswagen Financial Services is supporting renaturation of the Schunter Meadow near Rühme – in the direct vicinity of the company’s headquarters – with a sum of €340,000. This funding made the project possible in the first place. The project’s total cost is around €3.3 million. The renaturation work is expected to be completed by mid-2022.
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E-mobility program “Blue Fleet”
Volkswagen Financial Services and the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) are cooperating as part of the e-mobility program “Blaue Flotte” (“Blue Fleet”). As a result, key accounts gain access to all the facets of e-mobility – from fleet analysis, vehicle procurement and advice on infrastructure, to numerous tools and product packages to enable successful operation of an e-fleet. As part of that, Volkswagen Financial Services also invests in concrete climate protection measures – namely in moor protection projects of the NABU. One of the core projects is the renaturalization of the Sulinger Moor in Lower Saxony.
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Donations
Wish list campaign
Fulfilling heart’s desires at Christmas
The Works Council of Volkswagen Financial Services has organized the Christmas wish list campaign for many years. It was once again a big success in 2021. 629 wishes were fulfilled. The coronavirus meant that the wish lists could not be plucked as usual from a Christmas tree in the Works Council’s offices this year. Instead, colleagues were able to order the wish lists by e-mail and then drop off the presents with the Works Council. The Works Council brought the parcels to children and youngsters at the following institutions:
- St. Nikolaus, Brunswick
- The midwife foundation “Eine Chance für Kinder”, Brunswick
- The Remenhof Foundation, Brunswick
- Diakonisches Werk, Wolfsburg
- Christliches Jugenddorf, Wolfsburg
- Diakonisches Werk, Gifhorn
- Elisabethstift, Salzgitter
- AWO Jugend- und Erziehungshilfen, Brunswick
- St. Nikolaus, Brunswick
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Internship to enable recognition of refugees’ vocational IT qualifications
Internship as a bridge to the labor market: Volkswagen Financial Services gives refugees with vocational IT qualifications the chance to obtain supplemental training and upskill so that their prior vocational qualifications are officially recognized. Their opportunities on the labor market are increased by completing such training.
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VW FS unites – Global engagement with a local focus
Region: Africa
Education empowers girls
Volkswagen Financial Services South Africa paid for renovating and equipping the laboratory at the Lofentse Girls High School in Soweto. It was officially handed over to the school in 2017. Volkswagen Financial Services South Africa embarked on the partnership with the SAME Foundation as part of its corporate responsibility initiative. The focus of this not-for-profit organization is on healthcare as well as education, and aims to give children and youngsters from very poor communities the chance of educational advancement. The organization identified and supported 50 highly effective and sustainable projects in South Africa, including the Lofentse Girls High School. €43,000 in funding was given to the project.
Region: Europe
When your muscles stop working: ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable, fatal disease that causes the death of motor neurons controlling voluntary muscles, finally resulting in sufferers’ inability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The goal of Volkswagen Pon Financial Services/DFM is to help ALS patients lead an independent life for as long as possible. That is why the company supports the “ALSopdeweg” foundation, an organization that helps patients to lead a dignified life. In 2018 and 2019, Volkswagen FS Netherlands sponsored two VW Caddies, which the ALS foundation provides to patients. VWPFS/DFM donates a total of around €50,000 a year to ALSopdeweg.
Region: South America
Help for little people
Volkswagen Financial Services Brazil has supported the non-profit Little Prince Hospital in Curitiba in the south of Brazil since 2013. The Pediatric Specialty Center not only houses a children’s hospital, but also has a research department and trains skilled medical staff. The organization relies on supporters like Volkswagen Financial Services, since the public healthcare system only covers 60 percent of its costs. Around €117,000 in funding has been given to the project since 2013.
Region: India
In short supply and valuable
Since 2015, Volkswagen Financial Services India has been supporting three villages – Lonar Bhaigaon, Khedgaon and Kauchalwadi – most affected by drought in the Indian state of Maharashtra by building and maintaining dams and water canals. Volkswagen Financial Services India embarked on the partnership with the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) as part of its corporate responsibility initiative. The joint project’s goal is to provide people in the rural region with a sustainable water supply and thereby improve the population’s health and economic situation. Around €87,000 in funding has been given to the project since 2015
Awards in 2021
“Great Place to Work”
Volkswagen Financial Services evaluates the degree to which it achieves its goal of being a top employer by taking part regularly in external employer competitions. Its goal is to enhance working conditions and derive appropriate measures so as to capture a spot among the top 20 employers in the Great Place to Work ranking not only in Europe, but also worldwide, by 2025.
Employees again gave their thumbs up for the fifth time in 2021 (after 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019): Volkswagen Financial Services was voted one of Germany’s best employers. In the nationwide survey by the independent institution “Great Place to Work,” randomly selected employees – from the trainee to top management – anonymously assessed the company.
Moreover, Volkswagen Financial Services was again ranked one of the top 25 employers in Europe in 2021.
Volkswagen Financial Services will again take part in the competition in 2022.