Alignment with sustainability strategy regenerate+
New impulses for sustainability: Volkswagen Sustainability Practice Groups
Esra Aydin
Corporate Communications
Spokesperson Sustainability & CSR
Berlin. Volkswagen’s new Sustainability Council will be presented for the first time at The Volkswagen Group Sustainability Forum. For one day, over 90 experts from science, civil society, industry and the Volkswagen Group will exchange ideas and discuss on sustainability topics together.
“Sustainability forms the foundation of our values guiding us in all our responsible actions at Volkswagen Group. It is firmly embedded as a strategic goal and supported by distinct milestones. The independent Sustainability Council brings a fresh perspective to our organization, providing valuable insights to drive our transformation and growth. I am therefore delighted to welcome the new panel of distinguished experts.”
“By introducing the new Sustainability Practice Groups, we are fostering a constructive and critical dialogue beyond our corporate boundaries. Collaborating with leading experts from science, industry and civil society, we seek to continuously enhance our regenerate+ sustainability strategy. Thereby with strive towards our goal by enabling innovative solutions to create lasting positive impact for both the nature and society.”
Highlights:
The new format is based on the holistic sustainability strategy regenerate+, it will be more agile and set clear practical impulses. This is also reflected in the name: Sustainability Practice Groups.
Twelve independent experts from academia, industry and society
The experts contribute their ideas to four Sustainability Practice Groups, each focusing on one of the strategic sustainability dimensions of regenerate+: Nature, Our People, Society, and Business. In each Practice Group, three advisory board members work together on an equal footing with three experts from the Volkswagen Group.
New agile format with practical impulses and direct impact on regenerate+
As a mobility provider the vision of regenerate+ is to contribute positively towards nature and society. In the new Practice Groups - the topics are discussed and taken up directly and practically by the external council members together with their Volkswagen Group counterparts. In this way, they can contribute directly to the implementation and further development of the sustainability strategy.
About Volkswagen Group’s Sustainability Council
Volkswagen’s new Sustainability Council will be presented for the first time at The Volkswagen Group Sustainability Forum in Berlin. For one day, over 90 experts from science, civil society, industry and the Volkswagen Group will exchange ideas and discuss on sustainability topics together.
The independent advisory body, established in 2016, supported the Volkswagen Group in important strategic sustainability topics. The committee was made up of experts from science, politics and civil society. In doing so, it acted as a source of inspiration, supporter, critical voice and "challenger" – always with the aim of bringing different stakeholder perspectives into the company.
While the format until 2023 focused primarily on advising the Executive Board and various corporate committees, its realignment is based also on expert level.
With the new format, the name Sustainability Practice Groups becomes the program: The cooperation model ensures reference and impact on the strategic sustainability fields and the operational implementation in the company. In this way, it contributes to the further development of the holistic sustainability strategy regenerate+, which was presented at the beginning of 2024.
These are the twelve new Council members for the four strategic dimensions:
Nature:
Frauke Fischer, Agentur auf!; University of Würzburg
Rebecca Tauer, WWF Germany
Julian Zuber, GermanZero e.V.
Our People:
Joel Hartter, Parallel Labs; University of Colorado
Christine Schildmann, Hans-Böckler-Foundation
Hannah Zoller, University of Labour
Society:
Aron Cramer, Business for Social Responsibility
Laura-Kristine Krause, Yale University
Marcin Piersiak, Alliance for Responsible Mining
Business:
Rosaline May Lee, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
William Todts, Transport & Environment
Jean-Louis Warnholz, Future