Ideas for tomorrow

As sponsor of the GREENTECH FESTIVAL’s GREEN AWARDS, Audi supports sustainable ideas that will make the world a better place to live.

Copy: Bernd Zerelles - Photo: Ulf Büschlep, AUDI AG, WorldofMeMarie, Greentech Festival, RePack, Carlsberg, Desert Control archive, Virj Kan (CC BY-SA 4.0), neustark AG, KALEA GmbH, Netafim, Slow Food, Werner & Mertz, George Pimentel/Getty Reading time: 4 min

The green “#celebratechange” hashtag shines above the heads of audience members.

At the GREENTECH FESTIVAL, exciting ideas and visions for more sustainability meet trade visitors and interested parties from a wide range of fields.

There was an extra surprise at the digital world premiere of the Audi RS e-tron GT^* and Audi e-tron GT quattro^* in February 2021: the presentation of the GREENTECH FESTIVAL’s special GREEN FUTURE Award. This special prize recognises projects and individuals promiting environmentally sustainable urbanisation, while at the same time making a significant contribution to enhancing quality of life and urban infrastructure.

The GREEN FUTURE Award went to Israeli startup Zencity for its eponymous intuitive tool for local governments. Zencity is an AI-based tool that uses an algorithm to collect and analyse social media posts and local news from cities. Municipal authorities can use this data to better understand—and, where necessary, respond to—the needs of their residents. At the same time, Zencity enables residents to gain the attention of political decision makers in an automated way. This method conserves resources, replacing face-to-face surveys, committee meetings and citizen hotlines. Zencity is already being used in 300 cities, including Chicago, Ottawa and Tel Aviv.

Nico Rosberg, co-founder of the GREENTECH FESTIVAL, says: “Time is a critical factor when it comes to climate change — and we need to act now. Startups like Zencity provide us with the necessary tools. ”Audi shares this philosophy. According to Henrik Wenders, Head of Brand AUDI AG: “Audi stands for Vorsprung. Our aim is to harness technology in contributing to a sustainable future and shaping urban mobility in a way that puts people front and center.”

Nico Rosberg, co-founder of the GREENTECH FESTIVAL, as well as host Steven Gätjen, Marco Voigt and Judith Kühn from the GREENTECH FESTIVAL together with Henrik Wenders, Head of Brand AUDI AG, (from left) congratulate the winner at the GREEN AWARDS ceremony to mark the world premiere of the Audi RS e-tron GT^* and Audi e-tron GT quattro^*.

“

Time is a critical factor when it comes to climate change — and we need to act now.”

Nico Rosberg

2021’s GREENTECH FESTIVAL was held in Berlin from June 16 to 18. Audi is not only one of the founding partners of the festival co-founded by Nico Rosberg but also sponsors the GREEN AWARDS. These awards recognise disruptive ideas and innovations to fight climate change. An independent jury selected three nominees in each of the four competition categories — Youngster, Innovation, Startup, Impact. In the next stage, a final winner will be chosen for each category. The selection and evaluation process is overseen by TÜV Nord. The winners of the GREEN AWARDS were announced on the evening of June 18.

Categories and nominees at a glance:

Youngster

Young thought leaders (aged 16 to 25) making a lasting contribution to sustainability.

Melati Wijsen (20), activist, founded the Bye Bye Plastic Bags initiative committed to banning single-use plastic on the island of Bali when she was just 12. Her latest project, YOUTHOPIA, is a global platform, which aims to train a generation of change makers, equipping them with the tools they need to bring about positive change.

Innovation

Projects demonstrating the most cutting-edge innovation in the green technology field.

RePack, a reusable packaging service for webstores, replaces single-use packaging for online orders, which is otherwise disposed of by the ton. Customers can return their order packaging from anywhere in the world free of charge, simply by posting it in a mailbox in letter size. The returned packaging is cleaned and shipped back to the webstores participating in the project.

Startup

Young companies making an important contribution to environmental protection and resource conservation.

Primitives Biodesign develops biodegradable plastics—for example, for food packaging—as well as applications and tools to reduce plastic pollution.

Impact

Established companies and organisations positively impacting people’s awareness of sustainability.

In 1965, Netafim was the first company to introduce drip irrigation. This process releases small doses of water directly to the plant root zone. Drip irrigation technology reduces water consumption by up to 70%, securing the livelihood of farmers and smallholders worldwide in the face of climate change.

The Lifetime Achievement Award (Male) presented by Audi was also awarded at the GREEN AWARDS. That year, the award went to Hollywood legend Robert Redford and was presented by Henrik Wenders, Senior Vice President of the Audi Brand. Redford has long been a champion of environmental causes, including as an activist for the Sea Shepherd marine conservation organisation as well as producer of the “Ocean Warriors” docuseries. To find out more about 2021’s festival and awards and to watch 2020’s recording, visit the GREENTECH FESTIVAL website.

GREENTECH FESTIVAL

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