Reduction of water consumption
Climate change, extreme weather events and longer periods of drought have a major impact on the availability of clean drinking water. To counteract the risks posed by water scarcity and the associated water stress, Zeppelin has defined a goal for the efficient use of this important resource.
- Reduce water consumption by 30% by 2030 (base year 2021)
In 2021, the Zeppelin Group set itself the goal of reducing fresh water consumption by 30% by 2030 as part of the Group Call for Strategy (base year 2021). The fresh water consumption is based on the individual consumption per national company.
Water consumption increased by 6.8% in 2022 compared with 2021. Of the total water consumption, 1,186 m³ can be attributed to the use of rainwater. The increased consumption was due in particular to the Plant Engineering SBU. Constant room temperatures are required in the laboratory due to the calibration and measuring instruments used. Due to the high outside temperature in summer 2022, an increased cooling requirement and thus fresh water consumption was necessary in the calibration laboratory to ensure the required room temperature of 20 degrees. Evaporative cooling with waste heat utilization will be replaced by an electrically operated compression chiller. The Construction Equipment Eurasia and Central Europe strategic business units cut consumption slightly.
| SBU | Unit | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction Equipment Central Europe SBU | m³ | 46,363 | 42,054 | 42,273 |
| Construction Equipment Eurasia SBU | m³ | 32,875 | 40,503 | 38,086 |
| Construction Equipment Nordics SBU | m³ | 7,115 | 8,332 | 9,735 |
| Rental SBU | m³ | 20,012 | 20,960 | 21,662 |
| Power Systems SBU | m³ | 2,936 | 3,014 | 3,053 |
| Plant Engineering SBU | m³ | 21,900 | 19,294 | 29,469 |
| Zeppelin GmbH (holding company) | m³ | 2,739 | 4,281 | 3,662 |
| Zeppelin Group | m³ | 133,940 | 138,438 | 147,940 |
Using the program “Aqueduct tool. The Aqueduct 3.0” from the World Resource Institute, a detailed analysis was conducted to identify sites with high water risk and water stress. Water risk refers to the likelihood that a site will be faced with high challenges due to water scarcity, water stress, flooding, deterioration in infrastructure, drought or weak water management. The severity of the future impact is also considered here. There is a high water stress if the demand for water within an area cannot be met with the help of the available water resources. A total of 20 sites with extremely high water stress were identified. These are located in India, Armenia, China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Belgium, Greenland, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The water consumption of these sites in 2022 was 22,132 m³ (2021: 23,985 m³). Particularly in these regions, it is very important to use water sparingly.
Implemented measures to reduce water consumption
Within the framework of the Call for Strategy, numerous measures were defined within the national companies to reduce fresh water consumption. Of these, the following measures were successfully implemented in 2022:
- The water supply system at the Ashgabat site (Turkmenistan) was renovated. Replacing old water pipes and eliminating leaks reduced water consumption by about 6%. This corresponds to a saving of around 1,000 m³ of water per year.
- A potential analysis for the measurement of rainwater cisterns was carried out at the Zeppelin Baumaschinen GmbH sites. Five assets were identified to be reactivated during 2023. Rainwater cisterns are also taken into account in new buildings such as at Bratislava and Eschweiler.
- A water circulation system was implemented at three Zeppelin Rental sites at the washing stations used to clean the machines.