German Environmental Award presented to Zinq management

The "German Environmental Award" recognizes the achievements of around 2,000 Zinq employees in Europe who have worked for over 15 years on the development and implementation of sustainable innovations as part of Planet Zinq. The award is both confirmation and motivation: "We are on the right track, but have not yet reached our goal. The German Environmental Award is an incentive for us to continue on our journey to triple zero - together with our customers and partners," says Lars Baumgürtel, Managing Partner of Zinq. "With Planet Zinq, we have developed a tried-and-tested model that shows how energy- and resource-intensive companies can consistently make their production circular," says Dr. Birgitt Bendiek, Managing Director of Zinq Germany. With the Planet Zinq circular business model, Zinq is driving forward the transformation to a climate-neutral circular economy. To this end, all processes and products are designed in such a way that energy and resources are used efficiently and materials are recycled. The aim is to create triple-zero quality products - zero CO₂ emissions, zero waste and zero pollution. To this end, measures were developed in eight fields of action based on standardized, freely available standards that can be transferred to other companies and industries thanks to their modular structure.

Circular product design at Zinq

The cornerstone and origin of Planet Zinq is thinking in cycles according to the cradle-to-cradle principle. Zinq relies on circular product design according to three central principles of R-strategies: Design the loop, Slow the loop and Close the loop. In this way, products are developed with healthy materials, their service life is extended and all materials are returned to the cycle again and again. "No product is perfect. But every product can be better if quality goes beyond pure functionality and includes durability, material health and recyclability," says Lars Baumgürtel. Zinq's piece galvanizing surfaces are Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certified and thus demonstrably materially healthy and designed for circularity. "Everything has a surface. This is a great lever for change. That's why we want to work with customers, partners, politicians and scientists to promote a circular economy. Our goal is circular surface technology," says Lars Baumgürtel. A goal with a major impact, as steel surfaces can be found everywhere: in bridges, crash barriers, vehicles, machines and household appliances.

Prize money from the German Environmental Award is invested

The German Environmental Award is not only the most prestigious award in Europe, but also the one with the highest prize money. Birgitt Bendiek and Lars Baumgürtel have decided that the prize money they are entitled to will be invested entirely in scientific research and projects that further advance the path towards a climate-neutral circular economy. "We plan to use the funds for two studies," explains Dr. Birgitt Bendiek. The first will analyze the current status from a technical perspective and show which steps are still necessary. The second will look at the economization of the circular quality of products - from a scientific and strategic perspective. "For circular products to be able to assert themselves on the market and thus be competitive, circular lead markets are needed in which the decision for circular products is also economically worthwhile. Digital circular product passports play a decisive role here, as they make the ecological properties of the products measurable and visible," says Baumgürtel.