Environment, Social, Governance

Environment

Mission:Zero is Audi’s environmental program for consistently sustainable production. All activities and measures for reducing our ecological footprint in production and logistics at Audi sites worldwide are bundled here. The focus is on Audi’s key challenges of decarbonization, water use, resource efficiency, and biodiversity. One key objective is to have carbon-neutral production locations by 2025.

Mission:Zero at the Győr site:

• Audi Hungaria has been carbon neutral since January 1, 2020. That makes Audi Hungaria the Audi Group’s third carbon-neutral site after Audi Brussels and Ingolstadt.
• Since 1999, Audi Hungaria has used an environmental management system that adheres to the stringent guidelines set by the EU’s EMAS regulation and the international environmental standard ISO 14001 requirements. The company has also integrated its certified energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001 since 2011. Audi Hungaria’s environmental management system has EMAS register number 1 in Hungary – clear evidence of the company’s environmental commitment.
• Audi Hungaria is Hungary’s biggest consumer of geothermal energy. Over 70 percent of the heat energy that the company needs has been covered by geothermal energy since 2015. The system provides Audi Hungaria with at least 82,000 megawatt hours of heat energy each year. In this way, the company reduces its CO₂ emissions by around 17,000 tons per year.
• In cooperation with DB Cargo, Audi transports components, engines, and vehicles between its plants in Ingolstadt, Brussels, and Győr carbon neutrally by “green trains”.
• In 2020, Audi Hungaria, together with E.ON Hungaria, set up a solar energy park covering about 160,000 square meters (1,722,226 sq. ft.) on the roofs of Audi Hungaria's two logistics centers. The result is Europe’s largest rooftop photovoltaic system on the site in Győr. It has a peak output of 12 megawatts.
• Audi Hungaria uses four levers to advance decarbonization in Győr. The top priority is to reduce energy consumption through targeted measures. The company also switched entirely to green electricity from renewable sources, predominantly solar energy. That means that Audi Hungaria relies intensively on solar energy – thanks to the implementation of Europe’s largest rooftop photovoltaic system. The second source is heat energy from geothermal energy.
  In its third step, Audi Hungaria covers its natural gas consumption with biomethane certificates. As a fourth approach, Audi Hungaria compensates for currently unavoidable CO₂ emissions, for instance, from engine test stands, with internationally recognized and certified carbon credits, which account for around five percent of CO₂ emissions.
• The Aluminum Closed Loop project began in 2021 and was expanded in 2022 and 2023. On July 1, 2023, an additional supplier joined the cooperation. From that point, all quantities of this high-value alloy are recycled in a closed loop. This approach enabled Audi Hungaria to collect over 5,000 tons of aluminum waste according to type in 2023 and return it to two supplier companies. The suppliers used the recycled aluminum to manufacture new aluminum coils of the same original quality and returned them to Audi.
• The company has also joined the “we4bee” initiative, which is supported by the Audi Environmental Foundation. The project expanded beekeeping on the Audi Hungaria site’s grounds with a smart beehive equipped with high-tech sensors.
• To protect plant and animal life on the plant site and preserve biodiversity, we maintain green areas covering 3.3 million square meters (35 million sq. ft.) according to environmental precepts.

Social

AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. has been an important driver in developing the Hungarian economy and the city of Győr since 1993. For Audi Hungaria, being socially responsible and promoting local cultural and sporting events is an obvious choice. The goal is to improve the quality of life in the region.

• Examples from the cultural scene include sponsoring the Győr Ballet ensemble, the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, and various cultural events in Pannonhalma (Martinsberg).
• AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. is also an important player in the city of Győr’s sports life. Since 2006, the company has been the eponymous main sponsor of the women’s handball team of Győri AUDI ETO and the eponymous partner of the Audi Aréna Győr, which can accommodate 5,500 spectators. Audi Hungaria has also supported the kayaking and canoeing department of the Győr water sports club, the student sports club Staféta, the association EMBERsÉG (Humanity) DSE, and the Malteser International since June 2022. With these partnerships, the company with the four rings is not only committed to elite sports but also to grassroots sports and people with disabilities.

October 2021 and 2022 were all about good deeds: Audi Hungaria employees volunteered to help welfare institutions or enhance residential areas. The month of good deeds continued in November with the “Pro Bono” lecture series, where colleagues shared their expertise and experience with small and medium-sized companies in the region. The project earned Audi Hungaria the CSR Hungary Award in 2023. As part of the international Audi Social Day in 2023, a donation center named Fogadó opened with Audi’s support and colleagues’ volunteer work.

The donation center, which is unique in the country and serves as a central drop-off point at the city level, is just one example of Audi Hungaria employees’ involvement.