Volkswagen spokespeople keep telling everyone they’re 'surprised' we’re focusing on their company. They think they make green cars. We know they could do much, much better – after all, for every greener car VW sells 15 more polluting ones roll out of the salesrooms.
But what’s really wound us up is VW's dirty lobbying. VW is spending a fortune trying to stop new laws which would make Europe’s cars more efficient and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
If you’ve got any info on VW’s dirty lobbying, drop us a line at www.greenpeace.org.uk/tips.
We know that VW admits to spending €250,000 a year lobbying MEPs, and Scania - one of its subsidiary companies - spends an additional €300,000.
But that’s just the tip of the rapidly-melting iceberg.
That figure doesn’t include the money it pays Weber Shandwick, VW's Brussels-based PR company. Neither does it include the money VW spends bankrolling the car industry’s regressive lobbying.
Three of VW’s subsidiary companies – Scania, VW and Porsche – are on the board of directors of ACEA, the EU car industry’s lobby group.
We know that costs them about €2m a year.
We also know what they’re trying to do. VW’s lobbyists were frantically meeting Conservative MEPs when the European parliament was deciding how efficient new vans should be.
As a result of the auto industry’s lobbying, those proposals were massively watered down.
Volkswagen is trying to stop the laws we need to stop climate change. But there’s still hope. There are hundreds of good people working for Volkswagen.
People who are frustrated that Volkswagen has turned to the Dark Side and who want the company to live up to its potential.
So if you’re one of those people and want to pass on any info about VW’s lobbying – or anything else you think we’d like to know about – head over to www.greenpeace.org.uk/tips and use our confidential whistleblowers’ dead-letter box.
Find out more about Greenpeace's VW Darkside camapign:
>> VW film
competition: classic Greenpeace films - Nestle
>> Greenpeace
film competition: turning the cameras on VW
>> 5 things you didn’t
know about Volkswagen
>> Volkswagen's
Dark Side: caught red-handed in the US
>> 250,000 people call
on Volkswagen to change
>> VW film: A YouTube U-Turn
