The #Project1Hour initiative encourages the more than 660,000 employees in the Volkswagen Group to focus on their own contribution to sustainability and climate protection. This year, ŠKODA AUTO employees are not the only people taking part in the project; the car manufacturer’s subsidiaries, including ŠKODA AUTO Slovakia, ŠKODA AUTO Germany, ŠKO-ENERGO and SAVWIPL India are also getting involved.
For one hour of this workday, they will be learning about and discussing how they can personally contribute to climate protection. The response last year was positive: the results of the discussions included more energy‑efficient production, using environmentally friendly means of transport or avoiding waste. Targeted campaigns and team activities had an impact both inside and outside the company.
The employees’ commitment to climate protection has been an important part of ŠKODA AUTO’s corporate culture for many years. For example at the beginning of April, employees and family members once again took part in the ‘Clean Up Czechia’ campaign, which the Czech car manufacturer has been supporting as a partner since 2015.
ŠKODA AUTO combines its commitment to sustainability along the entire value chain and concrete measures to consistently minimise the ecological footprint of the company’s activities under the umbrella of its ‘Green Future’ strategy. With the NEXT LEVEL – ŠKODA STRATEGY 2030, the company has once again significantly tightened its ambitious environmental targets; from 2030 onwards, the Czech and Indian plants will be producing vehicles with net-zero emissions and European fleet emissions will be reduced by more than 50 per cent compared to 2020. An important milestone has already been reached; the Vrchlabí plant is ŠKODA AUTO’s first production site to have been net CO2 neutral since the end of 2020.
The Czech car manufacturer is continually investing in new, energy-efficient technologies and sustainable energy generation. The company’s clear goal is to set the standard in sustainability. For example, the company is steadily reducing energy and water consumption, the amount of waste per vehicle produced and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as those produced during body painting. In 2021 alone, ŠKODA AUTO saved around €1.2 million by implementing more than 50 measures to this effect. Since the beginning of 2020, the company has recycled or thermally processed all waste generated during production at its Czech sites.
ŠKODA AUTO has also joined the Volkswagen Group’s ‘goTOzero’ strategy. This includes the issues of climate change, resources, air quality and environmental compliance and aims to minimise the environmental impact of all products and mobility solutions – from the extraction of raw materials to the end of the life cycle.
