ESG ratings

Analysts and investors are referring increasingly to company sustainability profiles when making their recommendations and decisions. They draw on ESG ratings, among other things, to evaluate a company’s environmental, social and governance performance. At the same time, these ratings are instrumental in determining whether we are meeting our goal in relation to the new Group strategy NEW AUTO, and they provide the basis for implementing internal measures.

After the diesel issue became public knowledge, the Volkswagen Group was downgraded significantly in numerous ESG ratings. With the successful completion of the Monitorship and reinstatement of the Group in the UN Global Compact, an improvement in ESG performance was achieved in the reporting period. The MSCI score thus improved from CCC to B and the Sustainalytics ESG risk score from “severe” to “medium”. Volkswagen has been reinstated in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Europe since November 2021. In addition, Volkswagen had a score of A– in the CDP climate rating in fiscal year 2021 and a rating of A in the Water Disclosure Project (WDP). Both these ratings were unchanged.