Business and Biodiversity Initiative

Using the slogan “Volkswagen connects habitats”, the company has begun to develop its own international biodiversity management system and integrated it into its pre-existing environmental management system.

Volkswagen is actively implementing its biodiversity management at home and abroad. It has not only clearly defined its responsibilities in the realm of biodiversity management, but biodiversity has been taken on in its environmental action plans and is regularly discussed at its regional non-European locations.

Expert reports delineating threatened species in the surrounding areas as well as the emissions values for all of the German and many of the European offices have been compiled. Additionally, biodiversity is now included in the regular sustainability reports.

With the help of Volkswagen AG’s B2B platform, a forum to actively communicate with its suppliers about corporate biodiversity management standards, the car manufacturer is working to constantly improve its practices. At the same time Volkswagen cooperates with many competent partners, especially with NABU, in the field of biodiversity protection to expand its know-how and facilitate an exchange between the business world and other organizations.

Among the many diverse nature and wildlife protection projects in the world of conservation, there are a few that are based directly on the business model of vehicle manufacturers. One of these projects has been developed in cooperation with NABU and resulted in putting Volkswagen in the forefront of innovation on the market. As part of the new and inventive mobility concept Volkswagen Leasing GmbH has developed the “Green Fleet Programme”. This is an environmental programme designed to allow corporate customers to combine cost-saving lease vehicles with climate protection and nature conservation.

Customers interested in leasing particularly economical vehicles, such as BlueMotion or EcoFuel, can rest assured their business is supporting NABU projects in moor rewetting and CO₂-reducing measures generated from biogas plants. Additionally, fleet operators can send fleet drivers to fuel-saving trainings at reduced costs. To inform the public and create more awareness for innovative fleet management, Volkswagen and NABU have instituted the ‘Green Fleet Prize’. Nearly every second new car in Germany is a company car – for this reason VW Leasing’s environmental programme has the potential to play a key role in climate and environment protection.

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