First Retail Partner Receives New Sustainability Certificate Designed by Volkswagen Group

• “goTOzero RETAIL” initiative supports retail partners of Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Škoda, SEAT/CUPRA and Audi in reducing their ecological footprint
• CO₂ emissions of global network of around 17,000 dealerships from 150 countries to decrease by at least 30 percent until 2030 compared to 2020
• New certification process assesses around 70 criteria from four focus areas: climate change, resources, environmental compliance and ecosystems

Recently, the first Volkswagen Group retail partner received its goTOzero RETAIL certificate. It was developed for the global partner network of some 17,000 dealerships from around 150 countries as part of the company’s goTOzero environmental mission statement. One important goal is to decrease the CO₂ footprint of the network by at least 30 percent until 2030 compared to 2020. Participating partners of the brands Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Škoda, SEAT/CUPRA and Audi are given a tool to record their environmental performance and receive information on how to further improve it.

The certification serves to measure and control the implementation of the environmental strategy at retail level in addition to the Group’s own comprehensive sustainability activities. The certification process assesses around 70 environmental criteria that retailers can influence directly. Each of these is related to one of goTOzero’s four focus areas: climate change, resources, environmental compliance and ecosystems.

“Climate and environmental protection are really close to my heart. We must join all forces to reduce CO₂ emissions as quickly as possible in order to keep our planet livable. Therefore it makes so much sense that besides our own ambitious environmental protection targets, we now give our retail operations even greater support on environmental topics”, says Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Group’s Extended Executive Committee for Sales.

Carla Wentzel, President of the Board of Volkswagen Group Poland, adds: “Environmental protection requires all of us. Thus, we are particularly proud that a retail partner from Poland was the first worldwide to qualify for the Group’s new goTOzero RETAIL sustainability certificate. Big congratulations and words of thanks to Michał Ignaszak for his commitment, pioneering approach, investments and what is very important, involvement of the team. We encourage all partners to have their dealerships certified and improve their environmental performance. In addition to the active protection of nature, sustainability becomes increasingly important to customers and lifts employer attractiveness.”

As no existing certification covered all environmental aspects of a car dealership, the Group developed its own. Relevant elements were taken from established guidelines – such as aspects of the energy efficiency of buildings from building certifications as well as classic management factors such as organizational structures, guidelines, targets and implementation measures from environmental management systems such as ISO 14001. These were supplemented by car dealership-specific evaluation indicators, for example with regard to workshop operations, customer interactions and environmental aspects of the vehicles sold. An expansion of the certification beyond environmental topics in the sense of a holistic sustainability approach (ESG) is planned for the coming years.

If retailers wish to be certified, they go through a multi-stage process. They provide data that the auditors need to verify the environmental performance. Auditors generally have training based on the ISO14001 and ISO9001 environmental and quality management systems. In addition, they must complete a training course that specifically prepares them for the content of the goTOzero RETAIL certification. The auditors evaluate the information collected during an on-site visit and the resulting score determines if the certificate is awarded and which level has been achieved. These range from Bronze to Silver and Gold all the way to Platinum. The certificate is valid for three years. After that, a re-auditing is required.

Examples of relevant certification criteria

• General environmental management: existence of an environmental policy, management structures and employee training, targets for reducing resource consumption and emissions, action plans for reducing the ecological footprint, use or generation of renewable energies
• Buildings, business operations and properties: Condition of buildings and equipment to reduce energy consumption, measures to reduce water consumption, waste management standards and processes, design of outdoor facilities of the dealership (impact on biodiversity)
• Interaction with customers: Average CO₂ rating of vehicles sold, customer interactions on environmental topics that relate to the vehicle models offered or the dealer’s general environmental measures