Annual Financial Statements Of AUDI AG

efficient use of resources, AUDI AG exercises its environmental responsibility through its extensive
involvement in numerous initiatives. The Company for instance maintains a constant dialog
with politicians, associations, government agencies and journalists about its environmental
philosophy, and is also deeply involved in joint projects between government and industry. Its
renewed participation in now the fourth Bavarian Environmental Pact emphasizes how AUDI AG’s
environmental commitment goes far beyond the statutory requirements. It believes this is the
only way to achieve the goal of enhanced innovativeness harnessed to an environmentally acceptable
and thus sustainable form of economic growth.
Accreditation
Organizational measures within its environmental management systems and pioneering technologies
provide a basis for steadily reducing pollution at all its locations. Regular internal reviews
and external auditing of all production facilities testify to these ongoing efforts. In recognition
of its environmental activities, the Company bears the European Union’s symbol of environmental
excellence as a mark of its efforts to protect the environment. All AUDI AG locations are thus
validated under the European Union’s EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme), which goes
well beyond the minimum standards required. In 1995, the Company became the first premiumsegment
carmaker to be awarded this prestigious certification for its Neckarsulm location. The
Ingolstadt production plant followed in 1997, and is moreover certified according to the worldwide
DIN EN ISO 14001 standard. In addition, the environmental management systems of the
Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants already satisfy the new European standard DIN EN 16001,
which sets particularly ambitious targets for the gradual, systematic reduction of energy
consumption.
Emissions reduction and resource efficiency
Environmental activities place particular focus on reducing energy consumption and related
emissions; the potential for saving energy is already taken into account in the planning phase.
AUDI AG has set itself the overall goal of reducing location-based and company-specific CO₂
emissions by 30 percent by 2020, against the base year of 1990, through a wide range of
ongoing measures.
As well as infrastructure and logistics, the production and supply facilities are key areas offering
scope for permanent efficiency gains. For example, when the engine test benches at Neckarsulm
are running, they can generate power for use at the plant by being connected to generators. The
use of an extra-light body manufacturing tool made largely from carbon fiber and developed by
the Audi Toolmaking Shop cuts power consumption by around 43 percent compared with a conventional
tool. The adoption of innovative joining techniques in body manufacturing, such as
spot welding, laser welding and bonding techniques, also cuts consumption of operating materials
and energy. Technical solutions such as a modern combined heat, power and refrigeration
plant at Ingolstadt as well as heat recovery systems and the use of district heating have furthermore
proved very successful. The district heating contract for the Ingolstadt plant concluded in
2009 means that the amount of waste heat from neighboring industrial enterprises being used
will continue to rise in the future.
Environmental protection activities
Amid the international drive to implement a sustainable environmental policy, AUDI AG gave
an important lead in fall 2009 by establishing the charitable environmental foundation “Audi
Stiftung für Umwelt GmbH.” The goal of the foundation is to protect the natural livelihood of
humans, animals and plants. It will support measures and research activities that further the
development of environmentally acceptable technologies outside the sphere of the car, and will
promote environmental education as well as the sustainability of the human-environment system.
One of the first projects of the newly established foundation involves providing long-term research
backup for the “Oak Forest” international research project launched by AUDI AG, which seeks
among other things to investigate the interaction between stand density on the one hand, and
the potential for capturing CO₂ and for biodiversity on the other. AUDI AG had already paved the
way for the project in 2008 in planting around 36,000 English oaks in Kösching Forest, not far
from the headquarters in Ingolstadt, in partnership with the Bavarian State Forestry and the
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Management Report
4 AUDI AG
10 Business and
underlying situation
21 Financial performance
indicators
23 Social and ecological aspects
23 Employees
26 Audi in society
26 Location-based
environmental aspects
28 Product-based
environmental aspects
31 Risks, opportunities
and outlook
41 Disclaimer