We Take Ecological Responsibility

Nature

We take ecological responsibility seriously and continuously reduce the impact of our actions on the environment and climate. At the same time, we support our customers throughout their own sustainable transformation.

Nature is not only our shared living space but also the foundation of our economy and actions. Healthy ecosystems provide essential resources such as clean water, fertile soil, and fresh air – and therefore require our special protection.

We believe that protecting nature is not only an obligation, but also an opportunity. Through mindful use of natural resources, sustainable value creation can be secured in the long term. Preserving nature protects supply chains, promotes innovation, and strengthens resilience in the face of global challenges.

Our goals

ESG scoring of our risk-relevant dealer groups

In the "Nature" dimension, our focus is not only on our own operations, but especially on our fleet and corporate customers as well as our dealers. We actively support them in successfully managing their transformation towards more sustainable mobility. By financing infrastructure such as solar installations or charging parks, we enable the expansion of sustainable mobility offerings, creating essential conditions for change in the automotive retail sector and among commercial customers.

100% of our risk-relevant dealer customers receive an ESG score so that sustainability requirements can be assessed systematically and developed together in a targeted way. From 2027 onwards, we also plan to implement at least one infrastructure project, such as solar installations or charging parks, in each market annually, thereby making a tangible contribution to our customers' transformation.

Reducing CO₂ emissions from our business operations

As a company, we have a responsibility to keep the ecological impact of our activities as low as possible while also contributing to limiting global warming. Our primary goal is to sustainably reduce the CO₂ emissions from our business operations. Our focus here is on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions¹ – that is, CO₂ emissions generated by our own facilities, vehicle fleets, and the consumption of purchased energy, which can therefore be directly controlled through our decisions, investments, and operational practices.

We continuously reduce CO₂ emissions from our own business activities (Scope 1 and 2) and improve the environmental efficiency of our operational processes. By 2050, we aim to achieve net (balance-sheet) carbon neutrality¹ across our business operations.² To achieve this, we have set ourselves interim targets. By 2035, we aim to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO₂ emissions by 70%, and by 2050 by 90%, compared with the base year 2021.

Our measures

Sustainability at the Braunschweig site and ISO certifications

We are consistently advancing the development of our company campus at our headquarters in Braunschweig with a focus on environmental aspects. Already today, we use exclusively certified electricity from renewable energy sources for our properties. Heating is provided by the local utility company’s regenerative district heating system. Furthermore, the company campus has been designed to be more nature-friendly to increase biodiversity. Additionally, the entire company headquarters in Braunschweig is fully equipped with charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, including a charging station for e-bikes.

A systematic approach to sustainability: Volkswagen Financial Services has implemented ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certified environmental and energy management systems at the Braunschweig site. Based on this system, we record, evaluate, and minimize the environmental impacts of our business operations. The system helps us systematically improve our energy and resource balance.

Decarbonizing our vehicle fleet

Reducing our direct CO₂ emissions depends significantly on gradually decarbonizing our company vehicle fleet. To achieve this, we are implementing a targeted set of measures for our employees entitled to company cars. This includes information events and revised fuel and charging card policies.

In addition, we are expanding our charging infrastructure at our Braunschweig campus, which currently offers around 370 charging points. Our employees charge their vehicles exclusively with certified green electricity. These measures create the conditions to increasingly align our fleet toward lower-emission vehicles and thus significantly reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.¹

Already today, the share of e-vehicles in our German company car fleet is more than 60%.

goTOzero Retail

We actively support the Volkswagen Group's goTOzero RETAIL initiative and thereby make an important contribution to reducing the ecological footprint across the global retail network. This initiative helps dealer partners representing the Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Škoda, SEAT/CUPRA and Audi brands improve their environmental impact in a measurable way.

The underlying certification process assesses around 70 criteria across four key areas: climate change, resources, environmental compliance, and ecosystems. This creates a transparent framework within which our dealer partners can systematically document their progress and identify further opportunities for optimization.

Our environmental and energy policy

As it evolves from automaker to mobility provider, the Volkswagen Group is guided by its strategic "Mobility for Generations" roadmap . The ambition is to become a global leader in the provision of sustainable mobility. For the Group, sustainability means pursuing economic, social and environmental goals simultaneously and with equal priority. As part of the Volkswagen Group, we at Volkswagen Financial Services also want to create lasting value, offer good working conditions, and handle the environment and natural resources with care.

Our environmental policy provides the framework for precisely this. It is aligned with the Volkswagen Group's environmental policy and ensures that we orient our core business around these principles, thereby supporting the Group in achieving its environmental objectives.

Our environmental and climate protection projects

Our projects with NABU:
The protection of peatlands and rivers

For more than 15 years, Volkswagen Financial Services has been working together with Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (NABU) to protect and restore peatlands. Peatlands play a crucial role in both climate protection and biodiversity.

Additionally, Volkswagen Financial Services is involved in the restoration of rivers – for example, in the Schunteraue in Braunschweig, the Aller near Verden, and the Dosse and Temnitz in Brandenburg. The goal is to restore the original course of the rivers that have often been straightened, allowing typical species and habitat diversity to return.

So far, Volkswagen Financial Services has invested around 19 million euros in peatland and river protection projects.

Our international engagement:
Biriba and Eastern Cape

We are also committed to nature conservation and climate protection projects outside Europe. Our two flagship projects are located in Brazil (Biriba) and South Africa (Eastern Cape). As part of the Biriba project, we are supporting Brazilian farmers in their transition to sustainable agriculture in order to protect the Cerrado rainforest. In South Africa, the focus is on reforesting the succulent shrub “Spekboom”, which allows areas degraded by extensive agriculture to recover. Both projects increase biodiversity and contribute to climate protection. Volkswagen Climate Partner is our cooperation partner in implementing the projects.

More information

Our Sustainability Strategy

Employees

Society

Business

Integrity and Compliance

Scope 1 and Scope 2: Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by the reporting company (e.g. emissions from combustion processes in the company's own plants or vehicles). Scope 2 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the generation of purchased energy (especially electricity, heat, steam or cooling) that is consumed by the company. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol forms the basis for this distinction.

Volkswagen Financial Services AG (VW FS) defines net (balance-sheet) carbon neutrality as a state in which, after exhausting other possible avoidance and reduction measures with regard to the generated CO₂ emissions, any remaining emissions that are currently unavoidable are offset by voluntary, globally implemented CO₂ compensation projects.