We assume ecological responsibility – we make a contribution to the preservation and protection of our environment.
Taking ecological responsibility is a key component of our corporate conduct and a cornerstone of our business operations. We are convinced that we have an obligation to create added value for our customers, employees and investors and to live up to our responsibility towards the environment and society. That is why we are improving our climate and environmental protection measures.
At the New Year's Reception of Volkswagen Financial Services, the Chairman of the Board of Management, Lars Henner Santelmann, therefore announced that the goal is to be CO2-neutral at the Brunswick location by 2023. Electricity is already being generated entirely from renewable energy sources. In the future, the necessary heating power will also be generated using regeneratively generated district heating from local suppliers and further measures will be implemented. In addition, the corporate campus was modified last year to make it more natural in order to increase biodiversity.
The Volkswagen Group's environmental policy provides the framework for the environmental activities of the brands. For Volkswagen Financial Services, this joint environmental policy means that we align our core business in particular with these principles and thus support the Group in implementing its environmental goals. The environmental policy of Volkswagen Financial Services derived from the Volkswagen Group can be downloaded here.
In addition, the Volkswagen Group has formulated the "goTOzero" environmental mission statement, which gives the Group and its stakeholders a clear strategic orientation. "goTOzero" programmatically stands for an environmentally friendly and balance-sheet CO2-free way of doing business, which the Volkswagen Group has set itself the goal of achieving by 2050.
Systematic sustainability: Volkswagen Financial Services have implemented an environmental management system certified to ISO 14001. On this basis, we record, assess and minimize the environmental repercussions of our business operations. The system helps us to systematically improve our energy and resource balance. In our ultramodern computer center in Braunschweig-Rautheim, the waste heat that is generated is fed into the supply grid of the regional energy supplier and delivered directly to the neighboring residential area. The heating capacity is equivalent to the annual consumption of around 100 single-family homes. Moreover, our buildings and properties only use certified electricity from renewable sources. Our company headquarters in Braunschweig is equipped throughout with charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, which also includes a charging station for e-bikes.
Award-winning construction: Volkswagen Financial Services are one of the few companies in Germany to make use of the digital planning and construction method BIM (Building Information Modeling). This technique makes it possible to build more quickly, in a manner less vulnerable to errors, more cheaply, and in a more sustainable fashion. BIM enables the complex structures of a building to be digitally recorded down to the smallest detail and be virtually tested long before construction begins. Potential construction defects are therefore detected before they occur – which also conserves resources. At our Braunschweig location, the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) has awarded three new buildings its Sustainable Building Certificates in the platinum and gold categories during recent years. Ecological, economic, socio-cultural/functional and technical aspects are the decisive factors for these awards.
Since 2009 Volkswagen Financial Services have been working together with the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) for the protection and ecological restoration of moorland and peatland. Moors play a central role in both climate protection and the preservation of biodiversity. From 2012 to 2020 Volkswagen Financial Services are investing a total of four million euros in the German and International Moor Conservation Fund, which was set up together with NABU. In Germany the funds are currently benefiting 13 national projects. In the international arena, the EU project "LIFE Peat Restore" is also being supported. The joint commitment of Volkswagen Financial Services and NABU has already been recognized with several national and international environmental awards. Moreover, Volkswagen Financial Services are also enabling the re-naturalization of the River Schunter wetland in Braunschweig, which is located close to the company headquarters. The course of the River Schunter is being restored to its original stream. As a result, the diversity of species and biotopes typical to it can be restored.
