An active contribution to enviromental protection – our management approach

As part of its energy and environmental management system, the Zeppelin Group is committed to continuously improving its energy and environmental performance in order to protect the environment, prevent environmental pollution, reduce global warming, and strengthen its market position. Work is always carried out in accordance with the principle of prudence, i.e. potential negative impacts on the environment are reduced as far as possible from the outset and, in the best-case scenario, completely avoided.

The Management Board actively promotes target achievement by providing the necessary resources, data and information, and appoints an energy and environmental management officer who continuously improves the management systems. This person will be supported in the implementation by further contact persons in the individual companies. Zeppelin naturally complies with the statutory requirements and all other binding obligations in the energy and environmental sector.

In 2019, the Zeppelin Group extended the existing syndicated loan agreement with the core banks and, as a foundation company, placed great importance on the syndicated credit facility being issued as a green loan clause. This means that interest on loans increases or decreases depending on the achievement of sustainability targets especially energy saving targets. The first evaluation of the defined targets was carried out for 2020 and showed that the desired outcomes, i.e. the defined energy savings and the required number of certified companies, had been successfully achieved. All procedures and specifications for alignment, development, monitoring, and improvement are described in the management manual. The energy and environmental policy as well as the strategic direction and all objectives and measures derived from it are reviewed at regular intervals and, if necessary, adapted to changing underlying conditions. Once a year, the management review takes place with the Group Management Board, in which the effectiveness of the management approach is reviewed and documented. The effectiveness of the energy and environmental management system was confirmed for 2022.

The scope of the energy and environmental management system extends across all German companies and is covered by a matrix certification. As part of the matrix certification, an energy management system according to ISO 50001 was also implemented in Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark. In addition to energy management, there are isolated local certificates for an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001 in the countries of Slovakia, Sweden, Denmark, and the Czech Republic.