Volkswagen Group

Does the core business genuinely avoid or reduce emissions, or build climate resilience? Share of revenue that is actually 'green'. Fossil-dependent models score low.

VW's core business is still the mass manufacture and sale of ICE vehicles—Scope 3 use-phase emissions stood at 408.58 million tCO2e in 2024, dwarfing operational cuts; while BEV launches are accelerating, the majority of units sold remain fossil-fueled, keeping the company's net climate impact firmly negative at scale.

Credible, science-based targets (SBTi), a real net-zero plan with progress to date, and CDP disclosure — not just a dated press release.

Scopes 1 and 2 targets are SBTi-validated at 1.5°C and were met six years early (51% reduction vs. 2018 by end-2024), which is genuinely credible; however, the Scope 3 use-phase target (30% intensity reduction by 2030) is only 2°C-aligned, no formally SBTi-validated absolute Scope 3 interim target exists, and China production sites are excluded from the 100% renewable electricity commitment, creating a material gap.

Operational footprint, labour and social practices, and governance quality across the company's own operations and supply chain.

VW reports under CSRD/ESRS (2024 was the first full ESRS year), discloses 14 of 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories, maintains a supplier Code of Conduct covering 63,000+ direct suppliers, and has published four Responsible Raw Materials Reports; offsetting these positives are a 2024 restructuring crisis threatening up to 35,000+ German jobs, acute labor-union conflicts, and persistent supply-chain human-rights exposure in battery raw materials.

Quality of disclosure, independent third-party verification, and how much hard data backs the company's claims.

VW publishes an annual ESRS-aligned sustainability report, a GRI index, a SASB index, CDP Climate and Water scores, an Association Climate Review on lobbying alignment, and quantitative DKI metrics tied to executive pay—among the most comprehensive disclosures in the automotive sector—but key gaps remain: VW of America's GHG data is not third-party verified, China JV emissions are partially excluded, and no SBTi-validated Scope 3 interim milestone is publicly available.

Controversies, litigation, pollution, fossil-fuel lobbying, conflict-zone involvement and governance scandals. Higher means cleaner.

Dieselgate—the deliberate installation of defeat-device software to falsify NOx emissions in approximately 11 million vehicles—resulted in over €32 billion in fines, settlements, and legal costs and remains the most serious environmental fraud in automotive history; ongoing settlements (including Italy 2024) continue, and the scandal fundamentally undermines the credibility of any VW emissions claim absent independent verification.