Our contribution to sustainability
Zeller Gmelin pursues a sustainability strategy supported by certified environmental and energy management systems, as well as the tracking of CO₂ emissions in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. To reduce emissions, the company is implementing measures such as heat recovery, the modernization of the cooling water system, the expansion of photovoltaic systems, the use of electricity with certificates of origin, and other energy efficiency projects.
On this page, we disclose how we track our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, what climate goals we are pursuing, and what measures we have implemented.
Certified Environmental and Energy Management
The Zeller Gmelin Group is certified to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 for quality management, to DIN EN ISO 14001 : 2015 for environmental management, to DIN EN ISO 45001:2023 for occupational health and safety management, and to DIN EN ISO 50001:2018 for energy management. We also hold TISAX certification.
For more information: https://zeller-gmelin.de/managementsysteme/
How We Track Energy Consumption and Emissions
Our data is based on the energy management system at our Eislingen site, which is certified in accordance with DIN EN ISO 50001. Within this framework:
+ We continuously track energy consumption, broken down by energy source and by facility
+ We systematically track developments through our energy monitoring system
The goal is the continuous improvement of energy performance—a core requirement of ISO 50001.
The energy management system is audited annually during surveillance and recertification audits conducted by a certifier accredited by DAkkS.
The consumption data collected in this way also serve as the data foundation for Scope 1 and Scope 2 of our greenhouse gas inventory.
Greenhouse Gas Balance
We prepared annual greenhouse gas inventories for Zeller Gmelin Germany from 2018 to 2024. These inventories covered Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope categories 3.1 through 3.8.
In 2026, we expanded the calculation for the first time to include the major companies of the Zeller Gmelin Group and, at the same time, added Scope categories 3.9 through 3.13 (categories 3.14 and 3.15 do not apply to our business model) —for the 2024 fiscal year.
Due to the expanded scope of consolidation, the 2024 consolidated financial statements are not comparable to previous financial statements. They serve as the basis for our future reporting.
The three emission categories according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Figure 1.1 “Overview of GHG Protocol scopes and emissions across the value chain,” p. 7
Scope 1 – Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources
Examples: Combustion of natural gas or heating oil, fuel consumption of the company’s own vehicle fleet, emissions from refrigerants
Scope 2 – Indirect Emissions from Purchased Energy
Example: Electricity
Scope 3—all other indirect emissions along the upstream and downstream value chain
For Zeller Gmelin, these include, in particular, purchased goods and services (Category 1), such as the use (11) and processing (10) of products sold, capital goods (2), fuel- and energy-related emissions (3), business travel (6), etc.
The vast majority of our emissions fall under Scope 3.
Climate Goals
In 2025, Zeller Gmelin committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to set science-based climate targets (Near-Term Commitment). In June 2026, we submitted our climate targets to the SBTi for validation. The validation process is not yet complete; therefore, the targets have not yet been validated by the SBTi.
The SBTi was founded by CDP, the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, and the WWF. It assesses companies’ climate targets for alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Measures to Reduce Energy Consumption and Emissions
Utilization of waste heat
With heat pumps, we use residual heat from our processes for:
+ Heating of raw materials
+ Heating of domestic water
+ Heating energy, e.g., for climate control in the production facilities
+ Cooling energy, e.g., for cooling raw materials
Renewal of the cooling water system
In 2022–2023, we completely modernized the cooling water system at our Eislingen facility. As a result, we have achieved the following:
+ significantly lower fluctuations in flow temperatures
+ higher cooling capacity of the cooling water
+ Better utilization of energy from return condensate and cooling water
Electricity from Renewable Sources
Since 2020, we have covered our electricity purchases on a net basis using certificates of origin; in 2025, these covered 100% of the electricity needs at our German location. The certificates of origin come from hydroelectric power plants and are validated in the Federal Environment Agency’s certificate of origin registry.
These certificates of origin reduce our market-based Scope 2 emissions. The physical electricity consumption at our sites and the site-based emissions remain unaffected. We report both figures in our greenhouse gas inventory.
Further measures
+ Insulation of Pipes and Systems
+ Modernization of the compressor system
+ Use of more energy-efficient transformers
As of September 2026
