Volkswagen
What do our scores mean?
The organizational score represents the degree to which the organization influencing climate policy and legislation. Corporations also have relationship scores reflecting their links with influencers like trade associations. Both are combined to place the corporation in a performance band. Full details can be found here.
Engagement Intensity
The engagement intensity (EI) is a metric of the extent to which the company is engaging on climate change policy matters, whether positively or negatively. It is a number from 0 (no engagement at all) to 100 (full engagement on all queries/data points). Clearly energy companies are more affected by climate regulations and will have a higher EI than, for example retailers. So an organization’s score should be looked at in conjunction with this metric to gauge the amount of evidence we are using in each case as a basis for scoring. On our scale, an EI of more than 35 indicates a relatively large amount of climate policy engagement.
Relationship Score, December 2020
A new batch of industry associations has been uploaded onto the InfluenceMap system and the relationship scores recalculated accordingly.
Updated terminology, February 2021
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
- Details of Organization Score
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What do the 0,1,2 and NSs, NAs mean?
Each cell in the organization's matrix presents a chance for us to assess each data source against our column of climate change policy queries. We score from -2 to 2, with negative scores representing evidence of obstructive influence. "NA" means "not applicable" and "NS" means "not scored" - that is we did not find any evidence either way. In both cases, the cell's weighting is re-distributed over others. Red and blue cells represent highly interesting negative or positive influence respectively. Full details can be found here.
- Details of Relationship Score
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What is the Relationship Score
A corporation, as well as its organizational score will have a relationship score. It is computed by aggregating the organizational scores of the Influencers (trade bodies etc.) it has relationships with, weighted by both the strength of these relationships and the relative importance of the Influencers towards climate change policy. Full details can be found here.
QUERIES
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DATA SOURCES | |||||||
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Main Web Site
The main organizational Web site of the company and its direct links to major affiliates and attached documents. |
Social Media
We search other media and sites funded or controlled by the organization, such as social media (Twitter, Facebook) and direct advertising campaigns of the organization. |
CDP Responses
We assess and score responses to two questions from CDP's climate change information request (12.3 a & 12.3c) related to political influence questions (currently these are not numerically scored by the CDP process). |
Legislative Consultations
Comments from the entity being scored on governmental regulatory consultation processes, including those obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests. |
Media Reports
Here we search in a consistent manner (the organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
CEO Messaging
Here we search in a consistent manner (the CEO/Chairman, organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
Financial Disclosures
We search 10-K and 20-F SEC filings where available, and non US equivalents where not. . |
EU Register
Information provided by to the voluntary EU Transparency Register. |
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Communication of Climate Science
Is the organization transparent and clear about its position on climate change science? |
1
|
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NA |
Alignment with IPCC on Climate Action
Is the organization supporting the science-based response to climate change as set out by the IPCC? (the IPCC) |
2
|
1
|
NA | NS | NS |
0
|
NS | NA |
Supporting the Need for Regulations
To what extent does the organization express the need for regulatory intervention to resolve the climate crisis? |
0
|
1
|
NS | NS |
0
|
1
|
NS | NA |
Support of UN Climate Process
Is the organization supporting the UN FCCC process on climate change? |
1
|
1
|
NA | NS | NS | NS | NS | NA |
Transparency on Legislation
Is the organisation transparent about its positions on climate change legislation/policy and its activities to influence it? |
0
|
NA |
-1
|
NA | NA | NA | NS | NA |
Carbon Tax
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: carbon tax. |
NS |
1
|
NS | NS | NS |
2
|
NS | NA |
Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
NS |
1
|
NS |
1
|
1
|
NS | NS | NA |
Energy and Resource Efficiency
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy efficiency policy, standards, and targets |
NS |
-1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
NS | NS | NA |
Renewable Energy
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy legislation, targets, subsidies, and other policy |
NS | NS | NS |
1
|
NS | NS | NS | NA |
Energy Transition & Zero Carbon Technologies
Is the organization supporting an IPCC-aligned transition of the economy away from carbon-emitting technologies, including supporting relevant policy and legislative measures to enable this transition? |
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
NS | NA |
GHG Emission Regulation
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: GHG emission standards and targets. Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Standards, targets, and other regulatory measures directly targeting Greenhouse Gas emissions |
0
|
-1
|
NS |
0
|
0
|
0
|
NS | NA |
Disclosure on Relationships
Is the organization transparent about its involvement with industry associations that are influencing climate policy, including the extent to which it is aligned with these groups on climate? |
0
|
NS |
-2
|
NA | NA | NA | NS | NA |

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Executive is co-chairman of the data management working group, and another is co-chairman of the working group on digital infrastructure
Carmen Schmidt and Wolfgang Glabus

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Volkswagen is an indirect member of BDI via VDA

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Volkswagen is an indirect member of BDI via VDA
not specified

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Executive is co-chairman of the data management working group, and another is co-chairman of the working group on digital infrastructure
Carmen Schmidt and Wolfgang Glabus

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Volkswagen is an indirect member of BDI via VDA

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Volkswagen is an indirect member of BDI via VDA
not specified

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of VW is on Board of VDA
Herbert Diess

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of VW is on Board of VDA
Matthias Muller

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of VW is on Board of VDA
Herbert Diess

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO of VW is on Board of VDA
Matthias Muller

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO is on the Board of Directors of ACEA
Herbert Diess

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO is on the Board of Directors of ACEA
Matthias Müller

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO is on the Board of Directors of ACEA
Herbert Diess

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEO is on the Board of Directors of ACEA
Matthias Müller

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
VW is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group
n/a

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
VW is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
VW is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group
n/a

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
VW is a partner company in the Corporate Advisory and Support Group

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
A subsidiary of Volkswagen (Skoda) is a member of SIAM

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
A subsidiary of Volkswagen is a member of SIAM

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
A subsidiary of Volkswagen (Skoda) is a member of SIAM

InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
A subsidiary of Volkswagen is a member of SIAM
How to Read our Relationship Score Map
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Climate Lobbying Overview: Volkswagen is actively engaged on European and US climate regulation, and appears to have become more positive on climate regulation since early 2019. However, Volkswagen has a history of opposition to stringent measures to decrease emissions from road vehicles in both the EU and US prior to this time.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Volkswagen recognises the science of the IPCC and, since early 2019, has explicitly supported the aims of the Paris Agreement, which it calls a “yardstick” for its operations. Volkswagen has continually signalled its commitment to the aims of the Paris Agreement on its website and through it’s CEO, Herbert Diess, who called climate change “the greatest challenge of our time” and pointing to the Volkswagen Group’s “clear commitment to the Paris climate targets” in an October 2020 LinkedIn post. The company has also been a supporter of the EU Green Deal, writing an open letter to the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen in June 2020 with ten other companies to support the Green Deal and its net-zero target for the EU, and reaffirming this support in an October 2020 press release.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Since 2019 Volkswagen has framed much of its lobbying around the idea of putting a price on carbon. As such, the company has supported the extension of the EU ETS to cover road transport, stating in a September 2019 blog that “a CO₂ price should fundamentally be based on the price within the emissions trading system.” Evidence also suggests that Volkswagen supports higher carbon costs in the EU, with the company’s chief lobbyist Thomas Steg stating that all sectors should face a price of at least “60 euros per tonne of CO2 in 2023,” according to a September 2020 article in Euractiv. Volkswagen also supported emissions trading for road transport as part of Germany’s climate protection law in September 2019. Volkswagen does not appear to have clearly disclosed whether it supports an extended EU ETS working in concert with or replacing other regulations such as EU emissions standards for vehicles.
In October 2018, Volkswagen CEO Dr Herbet Diess strongly criticized EU proposals to tighten vehicle CO2 targets for 2030, warning of job losses and that “the transformation in speed and impact is difficult to manage”. However, more recently the company has seemed more supportive of the EU standards, with Diess supporting the maintenance of the standards through the COVID-19 crisis in March 2020. Diess also signalled his support of the revision of vehicle CO2 standards to align with the EU’s revised 2030 CO2 targets, although Diess still emphasised the economic costs of the regulations. In addition, while the company did not support the complete rollback of US CAFE standards in line with the proposals of the Trump Administration, it did support the significant weakening of the standards. In July 2019 Volkswagen entered into a voluntary compromise agreement with California regulators on emissions standards. Whilst this agreement represents a weakening for an overall regulatory program in California, the deal represents a significant increase in stringency compared to the US Federal Administration’s SAFE law.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Volkswagen has supported a number of measures to support the electrification of the transport sector. The company has publicly supported the expansion of electrified infrastructure in the EU as well as a number of countries including Germany (2019), South Africa (2019) and Spain (2020). Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess has also been a vocal critic of the continued use of coal in the EU’s energy mix, stating in January 2020 that "We need clear exit times for every single member state of the EU." However, the company has sometimes opposed measures to decarbonise transport, including opposing the Irish government’s ZEV mandate in 2019.
Industry Association Governance: Volkswagen publicly discloses a list of its industry associations on its memberships but has not published an audit of its alignment with its trade associations. The company is a member of a number of groups which have opposed climate policies in a number of regions including Business Europe, the Alliance of Automobile Manufactureres (now the Alliance for Automotive Innovation) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Volkswagen’s CEO Herbert Diess sits on the board of both European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and the German Automotive Association (VDA). It is worth noting however that Volkswagen has publicly distanced itself from the VDA on a number of occasions, for example in March 2019 when Volkswagen reportedly threatened to withdraw from the VDA due to the association's failure to promote electric vehicles.