The board of the ‘Biodiversity in Good Company’ Initiative states:  

Volkswagen AG is one of the founding members of the ‘Biodiversity in Good Company’ Initiative. As a signatory of the Leadership Declaration, Volkswagen committed itself to protect biodiversity and to use it sustainably. It is important that companies which also “come from the heart of the industrial sector” are expressly involved in activities aimed at safeguarding natural life support systems. The protection of biodiversity is closely linked to measures involved in environmental and climate protection. Against the background of the current Volkswagen AG deception scandal, the ‘Biodiversity in Good Company’ Initiative has evaluated the situation and decided to continue to co-operate with the company on the topics of biodiversity and ecosystem services. We therefore expect that the company will transparently and rigorously address the consequences of the events involved, and comply with the principles of good corporate management. We take it for granted in this context that the company carries out a thorough examination to determine which consequences the events have on its commitment to biodiversity, as described in the progress reports accompanying the Leadership Declaration.  

The immense damage Volkswagen has inflicted on its credibility – alongside the economic consequences – is currently impossible to fully assess. What happened also threatens to have a negative impact on the general credibility of business initiatives involving sustainable development. Trust and credibility are the most important currencies for corporate involvement.

Failure of an overall system is the sum of the failures of individual parts, which have to bear responsibility for their failures. A crisis of this kind also generates significant shockwaves within a company. It is becoming clear that employees are not following the same ethical compass. We are aware that many who have worked with integrity in their positions have been affronted. Those in particular who have been actively involved in sustainability issues are now standing in the shattered remains of many years of hard work. Competitive pressures, increasingly intense market environments, and the pursuit of profits, have led to the promises to society as a whole being thrown overboard and compromised for the sake of short-term success. As is now becoming increasingly clear, this short-sighted approach has put economic prosperity in jeopardy.

Hundreds of thousands of jobs, families, and a significant part of the overall production of our national economy are dependent on Volkswagen as a major company. The company now faces what is probably its toughest test, which depends on an in-depth willingness to make and accept changes. If a proper course is charted, the crisis could structurally strengthen its sustainable approach to business. We expect Volkswagen to credibly examine and continue its commitment to biodiversity. 

Current status of Volkswagen as a member of the initiative

Against the background of the current Volkswagen AG deception scandal, the board of the 'Biodiversity in Good Company' Initiative has published the above declaration, stating it intends to continue cooperation with the company under the condition that Volkswagen will transparently and rigorously address the consequences of the events involved and credibly examines and continues its commitment to biodiversity. <link file:4431 _blank download herunterladen der datei>In a personal letter (in German) of 27 October 2015 the new Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller responded. Volkswagen wants to stay a member of the initiative, but asked for the status of a dormant member for the time being in order to clarify all necessary matters to become a credible member again. During this period, Volkswagen will be inactive in our network and will not exercise its voting rights, however will continue to support the initiative by the regular membership fee.