Since the founding of the Allianz Centre for Technology in 1971, various aspects of sustainability have been among our central tasks. Even the fundamental ideas of the AZT, such as the promotion of repair-friendly vehicles and the contribution to greater road safety, are closely linked to the concept of sustainability. Up until the 2010s, the AZT mainly focussed on technical and social sustainability issues. With the increasing focus of regulation on sustainability, the AZT has taken up earlier approaches to quantify sustainable claims management again. In addition, strategic conceptual projects were added at the beginning of the 2020s, in which the AZT supports both Allianz Versicherungs-AG and Allianz SE as a superordinate international holding company in a wide variety of issues and projects. As the topic of sustainability continues to grow in importance and we increase our activities in this area, we have included sustainability as an explicitly named pillar in our portfolio of tasks. In doing so, we are explicitly honouring our vision of safe, sustainable and affordable mobility.

Some of our initiatives and projects in the various areas of sustainability are listed below.

Sustainability from a technical perspective

• ‘Repair’ instead of ‘renew’:
  The topic of repairing damaged components instead of replacing them has always been deeply rooted in the AZT. For example, repair examples on sheet metal and plastic components are carried out at the AZT and recorded according to REFA methodology and can be subscribed to by interested parties (link to order form, available only in German language). The aim is to show what can be repaired and what effort is involved in order to help both workshops and experts with the calculation.
  In addition, the AZT already analysed the ecological footprint of repair work involving the replacement of components in 2009 in cooperation with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and published the project results (link to the study, available only in German language). While the response to this study was rather modest at the time and only took place within a small circle of experts, a new edition in 2023 attracted a great deal of attention. The report ‘Repair or Replace’ (see Link), which is available free of charge in the download area, impressively shows the potential savings in CO2 equivalents (CO2e) when repairing components compared to replacing them.

• Reuse of OEM spare parts / ‘used parts’:
  Of course, it is not technically and/or economically possible to repair damaged components in every case of damage. In order to significantly reduce the CO2e footprint that a newly produced spare part contributes to the overall CO2e footprint of damage, the reuse of OEM spare parts is a technically and ecologically sensible option. The AZT has supported a pilot project by Allianz Versicherungs-AG and also carried out its own repair trials with reused OEM spare parts. After weighing up the solvable challenges of this repair method, which is not yet established on the German market, and the ecological benefits, Allianz Versicherungs-AG decided in 2024 to make greater use of this sustainable option as a pioneer. 
• Investigating new repair methods:
  Just as the bodywork trade has evolved from coachbuilding to the present day, production processes and joining techniques have also continued to develop. This also offers the opportunity for new repair methods. For example, the AZT was heavily involved in the investigation of ‘gluing and riveting’ as a joining method in the repair of bodywork damage. Together with partners from industry, the possibilities and limitations of this repair method were investigated and presented to interested vehicle manufacturers. Nowadays, ‘bonding and riveting’ has become an integral part of everyday workshop life and is the joining method of choice, particularly for multi-material mix car bodies.
• Repair of leisure vehicles:
  Motorhomes are not comparable to cars or light commercial vehicles in terms of their structural design, although these are generally based on well-known and widely used chassis. In addition, both motorhomes and caravans are often highly customised. All of this leads to enormous complexity in the calculation of damage claims and corresponding challenges in the repair business. Together with the predecessor associations of the current Caravaning Industrie Verband e.V. (CIVD), the AZT has developed a repair manual for leisure vehicles and has supported and accompanied its further development ever since. The basis for this is, among other things, the exploration of the market for new repair options and the collection of own experience in practical execution and implementation.

Sustainability from a social perspective

• Assuming social responsibility:
  AZT has always been committed to promoting road safety. Various studies, accident research and campaigns aim to make a relevant contribution to ‘Vision Zero’ (no fatalities or serious injuries on the roads).
• Training and further education of AZT employees:
  As a research institute of Allianz Versicherungs-AG, the training and further education of its own employees is a high priority. Only those who always have their finger on the pulse and are able to recognise and assess future developments at an early stage are in a position to draw the appropriate conclusions. Outstanding technical expertise, which is constantly updated, is the key to success and contributes significantly to both our research results and employee satisfaction.
• Training and further education for our customers:
  Since its foundation, AZT has pursued the principle of sharing acquired knowledge in order to promote technically flawless and economically viable claims management. First and foremost, this includes the continuous training and further education of our claims field service so that our experts are always able to offer first-class customer service and speak with relevant partners such as garages on an equal footing.

Sustainability from a strategic perspective

• Promotion of alternative drive technologies
  With its technical expertise, the AZT provides fundamental work both in the area of product design for electric vehicles and in handling claims for HV vehicles in order to ensure the goal of safe, sustainable and affordable mobility.
• Supporting research in the field of sustainability:
  A doctoral position at the Technical University of Munich, jointly financed by Allianz SE and Allianz Versicherungs-AG, is supported by the AZT with the necessary technical expertise to ensure practice-relevant models for a more sustainable orientation of the ‘claims’ business area in insurance.
• Collaboration in the cross-divisional sustainability initiative of Allianz Versicherungs-AG with the aim of making the company more sustainable across all business areas and ensuring a leading position in the German insurance market.
• Public relations work with the placement of sustainability as a strategic topic:
  A good example of this is Allianz Motorday 2022, which was held under the motto ‘Sustainability in motor insurance’ (link to article) and at which the intermeshing of Allianz's strategy and, in particular, AZT's expertise in the field of repair practice contributed in a special way to a widely acclaimed event.

Both testing methods are aimed at covering typical, everyday accidents, and should hence not be confused with tests conducted to assess occupants' safety (ECE, NCAP), which have to address accidents of significantly higher, albeit considerably less frequent, degrees of accident severity, and are hence primarily focused on occupants' safety.

However, the positive results achieved in the laboratory have to also be reflected in good energy absorption demonstrated by the vehicles in a real accident. This is possible only if bumpers interact without sliding against each other. In this conjunction, an international working group (rcar.org), headed by the Allianz Center for Technology, hence developed a test which is aimed at ensuring the geometrical compatibility of various vehicles, and, in the experiment, also examines the interaction of the bumpers until the vehicles have come to a standstill.

This bumper test was defined in 2006, and has been binding since 2010 for the type classification of all vehicles newly introduced to the market. It is evaluated by an independent trustee in the classification process - in addition to the crash repair test.

For the bumper test, the minimum requirements for the bumper dimensions are first examined. If these requirements are satisfied, a test drive may be conducted. During the bumper test, the vehicle collides into the middle of a hard barrier while travelling at 10 km/h. The bumper should not slide over or under the barrier, and the components behind it, such as the expensive cooler or the rear panel, should not undergo any damage.

The bumper test has been established as a standard throughout the world (rcar.org). Unlike the more spectacular experiments for the evaluation of occupants' safety (ECE, NCAP), this test addresses more frequent, everyday accidents, and is aimed at reducing costs.