The C score obtained by Audi is explained by several major factors, all contributing to the company not achieving, at least for now, the level of sustainability that it says it aspires to achieve, as summarized in Table 1 of the  below. 

There is no doubt that Audi is accelerating its changeover to electric mobility: As early as 2026, all new models from the Four Rings on the global market will be fully electric. And in 2033, the Four Rings will shut down the production of vehicles with internal combustion engines. One exception could be China, where the company is investigating the possibility of longer production depending on local demand. Audi has also announced that it already has net carbon-neutral operations for the production of its vehicles at several sites.

Now, according to Audi official documents,  the company is focusing more on sustainability throughout the entire product life cycle – from resource extraction and vehicle operation to recycling of the materials used. In the future, ESG (Environmental – Social – Governance) aspects are, according to management, to play an increasingly important role in all the decisions made by Audi, as well as in its products and services. Audi puts forward as its main ESG criteria: climate protection, the use of finite resources, employee health and safety and the perception of social responsibility.

Audi’s sustainability reporting, as shown in the table below, is scored A as it is both transparent and comprehensive; furthermore, it has obtained most of the sustainability certificates that it needs and that are important in the automotive industry (see Table 4 below for details).

Audi’s public image is also positive, and the hiring in 2022 of a well-known climate scientist, Spencer Reeder as its American director of government affairs and sustainability  has no doubt helped (more details in the Technical Annex). But on other counts, the results are not so positive. There are setbacks and difficulties (see Table 2), as the progress reported in sustainable production is still generally below 50 percent of the total. One number is emblematic, indicating the length of the road that still needs to be covered: at present, only 10.7% of the total Audi brand production is fully electric and plug-in hybrids.

Company claims to phase out fuel powered cars by 2033 are contradicted by reports that this might not be the case in China where the company is also focusing on the market to sell more cars, one of the largest consumer markets in the world with high potential future consumption growth.

As for the automotive industry in general, the shortage of semiconductors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major setbacks for the production of vehicles, making it all the more difficult to achieve sustainability.

Despite the difficulties afore-mentioned, Audi has been able to show a fairly high degree of compliance with SDG targets and its overall score in this regard is “B” (for details, see Technical Annex, Table 3). For example, Audi  is an active member of the Global Battery Alliance, which aims to establish a sustainable value chain for batteries, from resource mining through to sustainable recycling. And it has successfully pursued a strategic research partnership for battery recycling. The result: Over 90% of the cobalt and nickel from the high-voltage batteries of the Audi e-tron can be recovered.

Where Audia falls back is in the area of human rights and overall employment quality. For example, it reports that it will  increase the proportion of women in the first management tier (i.e. below the Board of Management level) and in the second management tier. As of now, press reports indicate that only 16.8% of managers at the second management level and 8.6% at the first management level are women. This is commendable but still very far from full gender equality. 

The company it still is not where it should and can be. Hence Audi is given an overall score of C, close enough to B and with a positive outlook given the company’s avowed determination to achieve sustainability.