Audi and Litro de Luz will take solar lighting to indigenous communities in São Paulo, Brazil
- The action is supported by Audi Environmental Foundation and Audi do Brasil will impact 12 communities and 147 families in the region
- The initiative will take place between 7-10 September and includes the donation of 180 energy solutions with zero carbon emissions
- Last year, almost 200 lighting solutions benefited more than 600 residents of riverside communities in the Amazon
Audi do Brasil, Litro de Luz and the Audi Environmental Foundation have joined forces for a social project that will have a marked impact on the lives of residents of indigenous and local communities on the south coast of São Paulo. Between September 7 and 10, 180 pieces of lighting equipment will be donated, including solar energy lamps and solar posts, to communities without access to permanent electricity in the cities of Mongaguá, Peruíbe, Itanhaém, Cananeia and Ilha do Cardoso (São Paulo). In total, 147 families from 12 different communities are expected to benefit. The equipment will be fully installed and delivered by the end of this year.
"For those who enjoy plenty of electricity, imagining a reality without this basic resource is a daily exercise in empathy. We had a revealing experience when we witnessed in practice the routine without light of the riverside communities of the Amazon (AM), and it was gratifying to realize the positive impact we brought to the local residents in their simplest tasks," describes Antonio Calcagnotto, responsible for the area of Institutional Affairs and Sustainability at Audi do Brasil.
"This project sheds light on a reality that unfortunately still exists in many parts of the world. Sustainability and social inclusion are part of AUDI AG's ESG pillar, and this initiative reflects our commitment to improving, through electric and carbon-neutral technologies, the basic conditions of safety, health and food in these communities," says Dr. Rüdiger Recknagel, Director of the Audi Environmental Foundation, founded in 2009 with the aim of supporting innovative projects to protect the environment.
Two solutions will be presented for each community: the lamp and the solar post. The lamp has a PVC structure with a PET bottle, a battery, LED bulbs and a suitable size that allows mobility during nighttime activities, both inside and outside the community's homes. The solar pole, on the other hand, is assembled with a lithium battery (high performance and low maintenance) and positioned in strategic places where people move around a lot in the communities. Both use solar panels for charging and, in the case of the posts, they remain on all night, with automatic charging during the day.
The methodology used by Litro de Luz means that the assembly process is carried out through engagement with the communities, by the residents themselves, so that they create a bond and take care of the solutions so that they last as long as possible. Local ambassadors are trained in each community so that contact with the NGO is permanent and the solutions receive the attention they need during use. In addition to maintenance, one of the Audi Environmental Foundation's requirements was that when batteries lose capacity and can no longer be used, they must be returned for recycling and Litro de Luz will work to replace them immediately.
The Litro de Luz Brasil process also includes visits to the communities to engage the residents, training ambassadors in the region to represent the organization, mapping the sites to implement the lighting solutions, training and installation with the residents, research to assess the impact generated and support for future maintenance – even the reverse logistics process for the batteries is covered.
Amazonia’s Action
In 2022, Audi do Brasil, Litro de Luz and Audi Environmental Foundation brought around 180 energy solutions, including 30 solar posts and more than 150 lamps to the riverside communities of Nova Canaã, Nova Jerusalém and Lindo Amanhecer, in the brazilian Amazon region.
Some of these communities, located on the shore of the Rio Negro, have a power generator that supplies electricity to the municipal schools and local Basic Health Units, but which works for short periods of the day and irregularly. As a result, basic needs were affected. In total, the action benefited more than 600 residents.
Audi do Brasil and other ESG Actions
Audi do Brasil has an ESG pillar that has been growing year after year with initiatives that promote diversity, inclusion and respect for the environment. In 2022, the brand spread 100 million seeds from 27 species of native trees in a deforested area in the Amazon.
The initiative was carried out with skydiver Luigi Cani, who released the seeds from a height of 6,500 feet. In addition to the units distributed by air, another six million seeds were delivered to an indigenous community in Amazonas that needed the resources.
At the end of 2021, Audi do Brasil became the official sponsor of the Brazilian male’s and female’s disabled volleyball teams until the end of the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024. In addition to printing the team's official uniforms, equipment and advertising materials, the four rings have supplied the Audi Q5 Luxury SUV adapted to transport the athletes.
In Brazil, Audi has projects such as the use of 100% clean energy from solar panels at the Technical Center (SP) and in the country's dealer network. Audi do Brasil has also invested R$ 20 million in installing electric chargers in the brand's 42 dealerships in Brazil, compatible with vehicles of all makes.
Finally, the Mulheres Audi project aims to increase the participation and encourage women to play a leading role in the automotive sector, which has historically been occupied by men.
Brazilian created solution in 2001
Present in all five regions of Brazil, Litro de Luz Brasil brings solar lighting to communities with no access to energy or without street lights by means of posts, lamps and solar solutions made up of simple materials such as PET bottles and PVC pipes, as well as solar panels, batteries and LEDs.
The organization began operations in Brazil in 2014 and has already impacted more than 23,000 people directly with the constant support of 200 volunteers. Always teaching and assembling the solutions together with the residents of the country's most vulnerable communities, it operates in urban centers and rural areas, including traditional communities such as riverine, quilombola and indigenous communities.
Litro de Luz Brasil is one of more than 15 chapters of the global Liter of Light movement, born in the Philippines in 2011 and inspired by the solution created in 2001 by Brazilian mechanic Alfredo Moser, the "Moser Lamp": a pet bottle on the roof filled with water and bleach, which through refraction provided lighting equivalent to a 60-watt bulb.
The initiative, in partnership with the Audi Environmental Foundation, Audi do Brasil and Litro de Luz Brasil, involves the installation of solar posts in the common areas of the communities, which have a lithium battery charged by solar energy, and solar lamps that will be given to the families served for their use.