Ten years of the Audi Environmental Foundation: How do we shape a future worth living?

Marine biologist and research diver Robert Marc Lehmann has completed more than 2,500 dives in all climate zones. He documents the state of the oceans and the penetration of plastic waste into the remotest corners of the earth. He is also committed to educating people about the consequences of our consumer behaviour. Santa Meyer-Nandi, co-director of the FindingSustainia initiative and behavioural coach, has developed 30-day sustainability challenges that encourage people to question their own needs. It provides incentives for everyone to make their everyday lives more sustainable. Felix Finkbeiner founded the children and youth initiative Plant-for-the-Planet at the age of nine and addressed the UN General Assembly in New York at the age of 13. He calls for trees to be planted to absorb 25 percent of man-made CO2 emissions. The Audi Environmental Foundation will donate the entrance fee for the evening of eight euros to Finkbeiner’s initiative, which plants a tree for every euro donated.

Rüdiger Recknagel, Managing Director of the Environmental Foundation, says: “Environmental protection is a task for society as a whole. The Foundation is a driving force for the use of innovative technologies in environmental protection. We want to inspire everyone for environmental protection and give them concrete ideas on how to reduce their own footprint.”

AUDI AG has also firmly anchored environmental protection in its corporate values. Peter Kössler, Audi Board of Management Member for Production and an associate of the Foundation, will talk about the central challenges of the future with the speakers in a panel discussion.

AUDI AG established the Audi Environmental Foundation in 2009 to strenghen its environmental commitment with a separate unit. The Foundation aims to sensitize and inspire people of all ages for environmental protection and thus to make a social contribution to a future worth living. One of the focal points of its commitment is the promotion of so-called greenovations, the use of new technologies to conserve natural resources.

One of the first projects to be funded is research into the CO2 storage capacity of forests: Oak trees planted in concentric circles have been scientifically accompanied since 2009. The aim is to find out how trees need to be optimally planted in order to achieve the greatest possible carbon sequestration and the best conditions for biodiversity in the forest. Meanwhile, oak forests are being examined at seven sites: Ingolstadt, Neckarsulm, Győr, Brussels, Sant’Agata Bolognese and Puebla. In Ingolstadt, the trees have been fitted with sensors which, among other things, investigate the relationship between weather conditions, growth and water consumption.

Cooperation with the Recycled Island Foundation started in 2018. Collecting basins made of recycled plastic in the ports of Rotterdam and Brussels collect waste floating in the water and guide it into a net to prevent it from drifting into the open sea. Each basin collects about one cubic metre of waste per month.

The Audi Environmental Foundation offers committed citizens and employees the opportunity to apply to participate in the environmental campaign “MACH MIT!” Together with a non-profit partner, interested parties can submit an idea for an environmental project, 75 percent of whose costs will be covered by the Environmental Foundation. The maximum funding amount is 2009 euros, based on the year the Foundation was established.

Ten Years of Greenovation

Wednesday, November 13, 2019, admission at 4:30 p.m., start at 5:00 p.m.
Audi museum mobile, Auto-Union-Strasse 1, 85045 Ingolstadt, Germany
Tickets are now available for eight euros online at www.ticket-regional.de/audi-umweltstiftung, at all Ticket Regional advance booking offices, or by telephone at 0651 9790777 (Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.).