Audi Waterford has been awarded EcoMerit environmental certification in recognition of the environmental performance of its state-of-the-art terminal at Butlerstown Roundabout, Cork Road, Waterford.

The terminal style showroom was designed with sustainability in mind in line with Audi’s Ultra ethos which strives not only to use advanced lightweight technology in its cars but to apply these design principles to its terminals to create eco-friendly, sustainable showrooms.

The design of Audi Waterford places great emphasis on energy efficiency, incorporating under floor heating, natural ventilation, high performance glazing, and LED lighting to maximise energy usage. As a result of this, the terminal uses 20% less energy than the equivalent conventional building.

The environmental performance of the terminal is not limited to energy considerations. All Audi cars are washed using a filtered rainwater harvesting system fed from the roof saving 1,600 tonnes of mains water supply every year.

The EcoMerit certification programme is backed by the Environmental Protection Agency and Waterford County Council and aims to encourage and recognise environmental awareness in businesses and other organisations. Waterford City and County boasts 21 EcoMerit certificate holders. This includes the design engineers on the Audi project, Douglas Carroll Consulting Engineers.

Christian Gussen, managing director, Audi Ireland said: “Audi Waterford’s Eco Merit certification is the embodiment of Audi Ultra; a strategy that promises our customers ecological sustainability in every way. Audi Ultra is the on-going commitment to sustainable solutions; to deliver the best product with the lowest consumption and the best CO2 emissions performance in our segments. The Audi Ultra commitment extends to our dealer terminals in order to create the most sophisticated and environmentally sustainable showrooms in Ireland, which is evident with Audi Waterford’s certification.”  

Brendan Walsh, general manager, Audi Waterford said: “At Audi Waterford we are passionate about sustainability and our local environment and pride ourselves on ensuring that where possible we are taking steps to reduce our energy usage. We are delighted to have been awarded the EcoMerit environmental certification in recognition of the environmental performance of our showroom.”