There are currently three core developments that impact on companies’ approach to sustainability management:

• At the political level there are efforts under way to intervene in corporate sustainability reporting and give it a more binding character. Expectations and requirements in terms of transparency and quality are on the increase.
• Customers – and key account or fleet customers in particular – are demanding verifiable compliance with strict sustainability criteria.
• Financial market participants are increasingly basing their recommendations and decisions not only on the financial numbers, but also on companies’ CSR and sustainability profiles. In other words, for analysts, CSR and sustainability performance are becoming key indicators of forward-looking corporate leadership.

These trends go hand-in-hand with much higher expectations of companies’ sustainability management. Without abandoning the foundations provided by a voluntary and thus competition-driven approach, for corporate players it is increasingly a question of putting in place a holistic and strategic sustainability concept. In this sense, CSR means “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society” as defined in the Renewed EU Strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Given the evolution of its corporate culture, Volkswagen is better placed than the vast majority of companies to successfully merge a modern understanding of responsibility and sustainability with the traditional values underlying entrepreneurial activity. As a globally active company, Volkswagen is able to integrate the fine tradition of shouldering responsibility in the sense of helping the needy (the traditional but restricted take on CSR as “charity”) with the new model of responsibility and sustainability. This new model unites the challenges of the 21st century, and in particular resource conservation and climate protection, with intra- and intergenerational fairness. The modern view of CSR sees responsibility and sustainability as two sides of the same coin, because sustainability calls precisely for an equitable ultimate balance between the economic, ecological and social dimensions.

With its integrated CSR concept, the Volkswagen Group seeks to prevent risks, ensure timely identification of growth opportunities and enhance the Company’s reputation. Thus, CSR makes an important contribution to safeguarding the long-term future of the Company and increasing its value over time.  08