Audi 2010 Annual Report Download - page 168

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NEW ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS IN 2010
Oak Forest project Rail freight on green power Solar power from the desert
Oak Forest project makes further progress
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 Group headquarters in Ingolstadt, in partnership with the Bavarian State Forestry
and the Chair of Forest Yield Science at the Technical University of Munich. A second area was
added near the Hungarian site in Győr in 2009, and planted with over 13,000 English oaks. Most
recently, an additional 10,000 trees were planted near the Audi Neckarsulm plant in late
November 2010. Additional sites at international Audi Group locations are currently in the
pipeline.
Audi vehicles shipped using green power
The Audi Group has been using resource-saving logistics for many years now. Up to 70 percent of
all vehicles are shipped to their destination on freight trains. Ingenious systems help to make
optimum use of the packaging and transport facilities. In August 2010 the Audi Group became
the first company in Germany to ship its cars from its headquarters in Ingolstadt to Emden, the
port of loading on the North Sea coast, by trains running on power generated from renewables.
In becoming the first company to use green power for freight traffic and as a development partner
of DB Schenker, the transport and logistics division of Deutsche Bahn, Berlin, the Audi Group yet
again underscores its pioneering position in the automotive industry.
Use of renewables
As well as taking measures to reduce its consumption of energy and resources, the Audi Group is
mindful of how energy is sourced and therefore eager to increase its use of renewables. One
such example is its collaboration with Green City Energy GmbH, Munich. AUDI AG allowed the
energy service provider to install photovoltaic modules for power generation on various roofs at
the Ingolstadt factory site, initially over an area of 11,600 square meters.