Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron: Power consumption (combined) in kWh/100 km: 18.9–15.6CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 0CO₂ emission class: A
Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron: Power consumption (combined) in kWh/100 km: 18.9–15.6CO₂ emissions (combined) in g/km: 0CO₂ emission class: A
Mission:Zero
Audi is consistently reducing CO₂ emissions and energy consumption along its value chain to reduce the ecological footprint of its vehicles. All Audi production sites1 worldwide are slated to be net carbon neutral2 by as early as 2025, while the entire company is aiming to achieve net carbon neutrality2 by 2050 at the latest.
Two primary activities within the value creation process provide the starting point for achieving these goals: production and logistics. All initiatives for reducing the ecological footprint in these areas are bundled at Audi in the Mission:Zero environmental program. Comprising experts from all Audi production sites,1 the Mission:Zero team members are in close contact throughout the company. Progressive techniques are developed and applied in close collaboration with partner companies. In addition, they identify where there is a particular need for action, which sites will serve as the benchmark in individual areas and which solutions can be applied at other sites. Pilot projects allow the team to test the effectiveness and feasibility of the solutions and to transfer the findings.
The environmental program focuses on four action areas: decarbonization, resource efficiency, sustainable water usage and protection and preservation of biodiversity.
Action area 1: Decarbonization
The decarbonization action area within production and logistics aims to achieve net carbon-neutral2 production at all Audi production sites1 by 2025. This includes CO₂ emissions generated directly at the site (Scope 13) and indirect CO₂ emissions from energy purchased through external utilities (Scope 24).
Audi intends to achieve net carbon neutrality2 at its production sites1 with the following four steps:
- Increase energy efficiency
- Produce own renewable energy
- Purchase renewable energy
- Compensate for currently unavoidable emissions through the purchase of certificates
The results are inspected and certified by external auditing firms. A comprehensive certification process is carried out in which independent experts not only examine the effectiveness of measures to reduce CO₂ emissions (step 1 to 3), but also whether the amount of currently unavoidable CO₂ emissions corresponds to the amount offset from step 4. The goal is to increase energy efficiency each year, to grow the share of own renewable energy produced and to reduce the amount of energy purchased externally.
Together with Volkswagen Group Logistics, Audi is following a long-term roadmap to organize transport to and from the plant in such a way that as little CO₂ as possible is emitted.
As early as 2010, Audi was the first company to use “green trains” that run on green power. The premium car manufacturer is partnering with the transport and logistics company DB Cargo to operate net carbon-neutral2 rail logistics – within Germany, rail logistics is entirely carbon-free. Audi is aiming to continuously increase the share of rail freight in inbound logistics (material procurement, incoming goods and warehousing). The company is using new and innovative loading and unloading concepts to make rail transport more efficient, while leveraging the flexibility of alternative trucking technologies for pre-carriage and onward carriage.
Overseas transport provides the greatest lever for decarbonization in finished vehicle logistics. Audi intends to increasingly use ships with alternative drive systems, such as those that run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Meanwhile, the efforts Audi is making to advance the decarbonization of the company are starting to bear fruit. Audi Brussels (Belgium) was the first production site to achieve net carbon neutrality2 in 2018; Audi Hungaria (Hungary) and the Böllinger Höfe (Germany) sports car production facility followed suit in 2020. Audi has been producing under net carbon-neutral2 conditions at its main plant in Ingolstadt in Germany since 2024. By 2025, the company will have taken the final steps in Neckarsulm (Germany) and San José Chiapa (Mexico) to make all Audi sites worldwide net carbon neutral.2
Action area 2: Resource efficiency
The responsible handling of raw materials is a key aspect of the Mission:Zero strategy. The main focus in this respect is on the principles of rethink, reduce, reuse and recycle. The goal is to use resources efficiently in the production of its vehicles.
As an example from Audi Logistics, the company avoids packaging whenever possible. If packaging material has to be used, preference is given to the use of recyclable and/or renewable resources. From 2030, the goal is to increase the proportion of recyclable packaging materials in new vehicle projects to more than 90 percent. With this in mind, Audi is already focusing on sustainable packaging concepts in the early planning phase of new vehicle projects. To ensure these are optimized comprehensively, the company incorporates the requirements in the product specifications for suppliers. These approaches reduce the volume of plastics in packaging, for example. Since 2020, Audi has therefore conserved more than 650 metric tons of plastic annually, including over 120 metric tons of polystyrene and foam packaging.
Another example of resource efficiency at Audi is the handling of the valuable resource aluminum. In Neckarsulm in 2017, the company rolled out a virtually fully closed material cycle for recycling secondary aluminum, called the Aluminium Closed Loop. The project has since been introduced at all Audi production sites in Europe.
It works by collecting single-variety aluminum waste from production and bringing it to a supplier company. This processes the waste into new aluminum coils of the same original quality before returning them to Audi.
Action area 3: Sustainable water management
Reducing the amount of water used is another focal point of the Audi Mission:Zero environmental program. Depending on the installed technology, it takes around two to three cubic meters of water (as of 2023) to produce a vehicle.
The company’s stated objective is to cut ecologically weighted water consumption5 at the five Audi production sites1 by around half by 2035 compared with the baseline year 2019.
Audi relies on efficient processes, water loops that are as closed as possible, optimized use of rainwater and reduced pollution loads6 to use water consciously and sparingly.
Since 2023, Audi has been the first premium car manufacturer to become a member of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS). This global network of companies, NGOs and public-sector bodies is committed to the responsible use of water resources across the value chain.
A new water supply system will be operational at the Audi Neckarsulm site by 2025. To achieve this, Audi is creating a closed water cycle with the wastewater treatment plant of the “Unteres Sulmtal” wastewater association adjacent to the plant. Water that has been purified by the wastewater treatment plant is further processed for vehicle production with the help of filter systems and membranes. After being used in production processes, the resulting wastewater is returned to the wastewater treatment plant. By 2025, the company aims to establish as closed a water cycle as possible for process water at the Neckarsulm site. The resulting water cycle should then reduce total fresh water consumption by more than 70 percent.
A similar project was undertaken by Audi Brussels:
Article 1:
Water recycling at Audi Brussels – commitment to sustainable use of water resources
Article 2:
Water recycling at Audi Brussels: A milestone for sustainable water use
Audi México is the first premium manufacturer worldwide to produce vehicles without any wastewater and has been doing so since 2018.
Action area 4: Promote biodiversity
Biological diversity is one of the foundations of human life on earth. People’s quality of life and health depend on it. As such, efforts to protect biodiversity are vital to safeguarding the long-term needs of present and future generations. Within the scope of the Mission:Zero environmental program, Audi is therefore committed to preserving biodiversity at its production sites.1 This includes measures such as consistent soil and water conservation at all production sites,1 the renaturation of open spaces and support for reforestation programs.
AUDI AG has been a member of the German Biodiversity in Good Company initiative since 2015 and promotes the preservation of biodiversity as part of its membership. The Audi Group has also committed itself to conserving nature within the framework of the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15).
To measure the company’s commitment to biodiversity at its production sites,1 Audi has developed a biodiversity index together with the Volkswagen Group. The index covers around 50 biodiversity parameters. This allows the effectiveness of measures to be assessed and progress to be recorded more easily.
As an example of a successful biodiversity project, Audi México launched an ambitious reforestation project in 2023. In a wooded area near the Audi site in San José Chiapa, known as Santa Cruz del Bosque, the company plans to successively plant 42,900 trees over an area of 39 hectares. The forest had suffered considerable damage due to an infestation of bark beetles.
The natural open spaces at the production site in Münchsmünster constitute a further flagship project. Thanks to targeted ecological design, the site near Ingolstadt offers a particularly valuable habitat for numerous species of plants and animals. At the production site in Münchsmünster, Audi has transformed 17 hectares of land into natural habitats for animals and plants. So far, more than 160 plant species have flourished there, and around 100 species of wild bees have become established.
