OREANDA-NEWS. February 20, 2015. Among Germany’s most important publicly quoted companies, the Volkswagen Group has the best image in the media. This is the result of an analysis carried out by media research Institute Media Tenor International, which presents the Dax 30 Reputation Award. The award is being handed over at the Agenda Setting Conference 2015 in Vienna today.

Over a period of 12 months, the Swiss media experts analyzed about 87,000 reports in 50 international print, radio and TV media. 12 criteria were assessed, ranging from overall visibility and presence of the CEO to the diversity of value drivers. Volkswagen scored heavily in the categories of overall visibility, overall tonality and the diversity of value drivers. Especially with respect to communications on human resources matters and the Group’s many and varied activities in the field of corporate social responsibility, Volkswagen was able to present itself as an agenda setter.

Stephan Gr?hsem, General Representative of Volkswagen AG and Head of Group Communications, External Relations and Investor Relations, emphasized: “The digitalization of communications has led to completely different opinion shaping processes and customer decisions. One example: in future, more and more people will feel that it is important for their own brand to have a credible commitment to society. The question of whether a company has shouldered its social responsibility is just as important for customers, employees and other stakeholders as product quality or job security. This is why we have established a dedicated team of communications experts especially for CSR topics.”

This approach is supported by the new study “CSR Index 2015” of the Swiss company InnoVatio Publishing, which forms part of Media Tenor International. Editor Francis Quinn: “It is becoming increasingly important for companies to clearly define what they mean by CSR and how it is being leveraged for their business growth.” Media Tenor founder Roland Schatz: “Nowadays, companies must commit to the latest environmental, social and governance standards and communicate this commitment in a credible way. This has already become part of Volkswagen’s DNA.”