Engagement & environment

Audi’s Mission:Zero environmental program

Mission:Zero is the Audi environmental program for consistently sustainable production. All activities and measures for reducing our ecological footprint at Audi sites worldwide, in Production, and in Logistics 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 second carbon-neutral site after Audi Brussels.
• Since 1999, Audi Hungaria has used an environmental management system that adheres to the particularly strict guidelines set by the EU’s EMAS regulation and the requirements of the international environmental standard ISO 14001. 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 MWh 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 the company’s two logistics centers. As a result, Europe’s largest rooftop photovoltaic system on the Audi Hungaria site in Győr. It has a peak output of 12 megawatts.
• Audi Hungaria is using four levers for decarbonization in Győr. First, the company switched entirely to green electricity from renewable sources, predominantly solar energy. That means Audi Hungaria relies intensively on solar power – thanks to the implementation of Europe’s largest rooftop photovoltaic system. The second source is heat energy from geothermal sources. 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. Within that framework, aluminum waste that is produced in the course of production is collected according to type and brought back to a supplier company that turns it into new aluminum coils of the same original quality and brings them back to Audi.
• As part of a collaborative project between Audi Hungaria, the Audi Environmental Foundation, and CLEAR RIVERS, a waste trap made from recycled plastic was installed in the Danube.
• The company has also joined the “we4bee” initiative, which is supported by the Audi Environmental Foundation. The project has expanded beekeeping on the Audi Hungaria plant grounds with a smart beehive that is equipped with high-tech sensors.

Corporate Citizenship

AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. has been an important driver in the development of the Hungarian economy and the city of Győr since 1993. For Audi Hungaria, it is an obvious choice to be socially responsible and promote local cultural and sporting events. 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 sports in the city of Győr. 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 has space for 5,500 spectators. Audi Hungaria has also been supporting 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 2022 was all about good deeds: Audi Hungaria employees did volunteer work for welfare institutions or beautified the residential environment. The month of good deeds was followed in November with the “Pro Bono” lecture series, where colleagues shared their expertise and experience with small and medium-sized companies in the region.

Audi Hungaria also supported Győrer Hospital in the fight against the coronavirus. The company’s support makes it possible to procure additional equipment for treating and caring for patients. The company has supported medical and welfare institutions in the region since the start of the corona pandemic with a total of about 200 million forints to date. Additionally, the company has provided the Red Cross with an Audi A4 Avant.