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Corporate Citizenship
For Audi, corporate citizenship is an essential part of responsible and sustainable business operations. That is why Audi is involved in many different ways: from providing concrete support to employees to enable them to achieve a better work-life balance, through promoting education, culture and sport all the way to volunteering and donations. Its goal, above and beyond actual business activity, is to create added value for society. The regions where Audi’s production sites are located are the main focus. The company aims to contribute to the attractiveness of these locations as a “good neighbor.” But social engagement also offers real added value for Audi itself – for example, by generating new ideas and fresh impetus. At the same time, Audi can increase its attractiveness as an employer, such as through measures that improve work-life balance, benefiting both local communities and employees.
What makes a good neighbor
“As a company, we have a responsibility to the communities in which we operate across the globe,” stresses Xavier Ros, Board Member for Human Resources at AUDI AG. Audi fulfills this responsibility through a wide range of commitments.
The company focuses on two main topics in this respect: social engagement – such as promoting volunteer work by employees or regional donations to charitable organizations – and activities aimed at improving work-life balance. These core topics are complemented by targeted company initiatives in the areas of culture and sport in the regions where its sites are located.
Corporate citizenship officers at each of the sites ensure that the donations and other forms of support go exactly where they are most urgently needed. At the same time, all parties involved benefit from close networking and the opportunity to share their knowledge.
Focus topics of corporate citizenship at Audi: social engagement as well as work-life balance, complemented by sports and cultural sponsorships.
Social engagement
In various projects, Audi specifically supports employees and encourages them to advocate sustainable practices and lifestyles – for example, through volunteering or social activities. For example, the cross-site “Audi Social Day,” on which employees have been volunteering for social projects in the regions since 2012, has a long tradition. Departments can engage in social “Team Actions” throughout the year, making a voluntary contribution while strengthening team cohesion at the same time.
Through the digital “Audi Volunteering Platform,” employees also receive opportunities for social engagement in their free time. In this way, Audi strengthens team spirit within the company, promotes employee development while also making a contribution to the regions. Donations of goods and money for regional projects and associations complement the company's commitment.
Audi also makes a contribution in the field of research and teaching. The company works with numerous national and international universities and colleges and finances endowed professorships, among other things.
Work-life balance
At Audi’s German sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm alone, the families of Audi employees include around 30,000 children aged between 0 and 14 years. At the same time, demographic change means that the number of people in need of care is steadily increasing, which poses a particular challenge for many families. Work-life balance is an important aspect of Audi’s attractiveness as an employer and its own competitiveness. For this reason, the company supports its employees in the areas of both childcare and caregiving. This benefits the workforce, the sites and Audi itself – for example, through fewer absences and better opportunities for employees to balance family and career.
Audi helps its employees with tailored care services. In cooperation with partners, the company provides fixed and flexible places in regional daycare centers and with family childcare providers and offers vacation programs and counseling services.
And employees who face the challenge of nursing care in their private lives receive support not only from their direct colleagues, but also from the company. Working together with experienced professionals, the company offers a wide range of free exchange and information formats, as well as personal advice on caregiving. In addition, the company offers reserved places for the short-term care of relatives as part of what is known as respite care.
Find out more about the benefits for Audi employees here.
ESG engagement made measurable: More key figures from the areas of Environmental, Social and Governance can be found here.
Culture and sport
In the areas of culture and sports, Audi is involved in selected sponsorships and regional events to strengthen its connection to the regions where its sites are located and create an even more attractive environment for its employees. The focus here is on activities that strengthen the Audi Team Spirit – for example, through sports teams made up of Audi employees. In addition, the company organizes its own cultural events.
Management approach
Corporate citizenship has been an important concern for Audi for decades. Its guiding principle: The company takes responsibility and is committed to driving positive social change. As a “good corporate citizen,” Audi wants to contribute to structural change and equal opportunities, promote good working and living conditions and strengthen social cohesion – especially at its locations.
In the materiality analysis, the topic of “corporate citizenship” is identified as material for Audi. Potential positive impacts on affected communities and employees are primarily evident through the company’s corporate citizenship projects and corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. These can promote education, health, social inclusion and sustainable infrastructure, thereby creating an actual and potential positive impact on affected communities by improving their quality of life and creating long-term development opportunities. The communities primarily include individuals or groups living and working near the global Audi sites and whose living environment is directly or indirectly connected to Audi.
Management concept and guiding principles
Corporate citizenship at AUDI AG is based on the Audi Code of Conduct, the Support Guidelines for Corporate citizenship and the internal Audi donation policy.
The Audi Code of Conduct (CoC) sets out the behavioral principles for daily work within the Audi Group – regardless of hierarchy. The CoC provides employees with guidance by creating and promoting a shared awareness, a common understanding of values and a binding basis for action.
The Support Guidelines for Corporate Citizenship define which topics are of particular importance to the company when it comes to funding measures and discloses the decision-making criteria as well as requirements for partners. The internal Audi donations policy defines fundamental guidelines and regulates all processes and responsibilities as well as the prioritization of and approval requirements for donations. All donation funds are handled uniformly and in compliance with legal requirements according to the specifications of the Volkswagen Group policy and the Audi policy based on this and are approved by the AUDI AG Donations Committee under the principle of dual-party verification.
Audi’s CSR and corporate citizenship activities contribute to the corporate goal of a “strong Audi team,” to compliance with sustainability and ESG objectives, to ratings and to the sustainability strategy of the Volkswagen Group regenerate+.
Overall responsibility for the topic of “corporate citizenship” lies with the Board Member for Human Resources of AUDI AG, while operational implementation of the guidelines, policies and the management system is carried out by the “Corporate Citizenship” department.
Good Corporate Citizenship
In the year under review, AUDI AG further refined its approach to corporate citizenship. The strategic focus of corporate citizenship is on activities that promote work-life balance (childcare and caregiving) and social engagement (for example, promoting employee volunteer work, regional donations to charitable organizations).
These core activities are complemented by targeted company initiatives in the areas of culture and sport in the regions where its sites are located. They make a significant contribution to making the company’s locations more attractive and livable overall.
In addition, local corporate citizenship activities are also carried out at the Audi México and Audi Hungaria production locations and donations made for social, cultural and educational projects.
