How seriously does the company take climate protection?
(Photo: imago images / regios24)
Cologne Institutional investors want to force Volkswagen to be more transparent in its lobbying work. Several public pension funds from Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain have therefore now taken legal action against the car manufacturer. One is concerned that although the group is publicly committed to the green transition, through its membership in a number of car and business associations it may be doing lobbying work that runs counter to its declared climate goals.
Supported by the environmental organization Client Earth, they submitted an application to the Braunschweig District Court this week. In it, they want to ensure that Volkswagen discloses “direct or indirect lobbying activities” by the group companies, which “are aimed at the issue of climate change”.
The VW board of directors should explain to what extent the activities reduce the risks for the group resulting from climate change, according to the application, which is available to the Handelsblatt. The investors are represented by the law firm Hausfeld.
VW vetoed at the general meeting
If you believe the public statements, Volkswagen wants to be a pioneer in climate protection. The company wants to “redefine mobility while at the same time doing business in a climate-neutral and responsible manner,” says the current sustainability report. We are committed to the Paris climate agreement. “The goal is to become a company with a carbon-neutral balance sheet by 2050,” it says.
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Institutional investors suspect Volkswagen of undermining these goals through its lobbying. In the run-up to this year’s Annual General Meeting, they had already tried to get the group to be more transparent – without success. The attempt to put the issue on the agenda at the shareholders’ meeting failed due to VW’s veto.
“As a long-term shareholder, we encourage Volkswagen to ensure that there is no mismatch between its stated climate ambition and its lobbying activities,” said Emma Henningsson, representative of Swedish pension fund AP7. She described it as “worrying” that Volkswagen is disregarding shareholders.
Investors are disappointed
Adam Matthews of the Church of England Pensions Board investor, who was also involved, described it as “extremely disappointing that we have to go to the courts to get VW to do the right thing”. Many other car manufacturers and German listed companies have already taken such steps. “VW’s intransigence raises serious questions,” Matthews said. “What are people so afraid of in Wolfsburg?”
The car company reacted calmly and rejected the claim: “Volkswagen is of the opinion that the request by the applicants for an addition to the agenda, which has now been asserted before the Braunschweig District Court, is inadmissible,” said a spokesman for the group. “The applicants are trying to add a provision to the articles of association that would improperly interfere with the management authority of the board of directors.”
In terms of content, however, they share the assessment that aspects relevant to climate protection deserve even higher priority in reporting. Improvements should also be made in terms of transparency. However, Volkswagen already reports extensively on this.
Climate lawsuits are piling up
Another case also deals with the question of whether Volkswagen is doing enough to protect the climate: an organic farmer from North Rhine-Westphalia has gone to court because, in his opinion, Volkswagen is doing too little to reduce emissions of the climate-damaging gas CO2. The lawsuit is supported by the environmental organization Greenpeace.
The case is currently being heard at the Detmold district court. The court there has already indicated that the lawsuit does not have a good chance of success. However, it is foreseeable that the dispute will be taken to the higher regional court in Hamm. The judges there are already dealing with the climate lawsuit brought by a Peruvian Andean farmer against the energy company RWE. It is quite possible that the Federal Court of Justice will soon have to deal with these cases.
More: Lawyers and NGOs are threatening governments with mass lawsuits for stronger climate protection