Minimum requirements

The minimum requirements of the Volkswagen Group are the basis of each S-Rating evaluation. The requirement is to have policies in place that will be checked with the help of questions 3,5,7,9 and 10 and the relevant sub-questions in the SAQ.

The minimum requirements are the following:

1) Suppliers need to have a code of conduct implemented at their site.

2) Suppliers need to have a policy in place regarding human rights and working conditions, including at least the topics:

  • Child labor and young workers
  • Wages and benefits
  • Working hours
  • Modern slavery
  • Freedom of association and collective bargaining
  • Harassment and non-discrimination

3) Suppliers need to have a policy in place regarding health and safety, including at least the following topics:

  • Emergency preparedness
  • Incidence and accident management
  • Fire safety

4) Suppliers need to have a policy in place regarding business ethics, including at least the topics:

  • Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering
  • Conflicts of interest

5) Suppliers need to have an environmental policy in place for which we recommend to include the topics:

  • Energy efficiency
  • Renewable energy
  • Sustainable resources management
  • Waste reduction

The topics listed should be explicitely mentioned in the policies. If the required policies do not yet exist or the required topics are not fully covered, we expect that our suppliers create / update these policies.

Please find some further remarks on creating a policy on the SAQ help pages.

Please find information on the minimum requirements in additional languages here: