Created with Raphaël 2.1.0 Home Company Products and Solutions Investor Relations Career Blog Social Media Search Statement of the Chairman and the CEO on sustainability As a provider of indoor climate solutions that are energy-efficient, health-promoting and comfortable, the Zehnder Group operates in a market where sustainable development is essential. Along with health, climate change, digitalisation and urbanisation, sustainability is one of the five key trends driving our ambitions. The issue of sustainability is an integral part of our corporate strategy, for which we – the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the CEO – bear responsibility at the highest level. True to our motto "always the best climate", we strive for the best climate – in many ways. By "best climate" we mean, for example, the healthy and fresh air in our customers' homes, the good working climate for our employees, but also climate protection. Accordingly, we focus our sustainability efforts on six key areas: Customers, products, manufacturing chain, employees, society and profitability. In this way we contribute directly to the following 6 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals: The Zehnder Group provides solutions for a healthy indoor climate. The Zehnder Group increases its company value sustainably and is an attractive employer. The Zehnder Group's innovation process focuses on comfort, health and energy-efficiency. The Zehnder Group’s solutions promote energy-efficiency and the preservation of the building fabric. The Zehnder Group considers environmental issues throughout its entire production chain – from purchasing and production to transport and disposal. The Zehnder Group’s solutions are made of sustainable materials, save energy and reduce CO2 emissions. Hans-Peter Zehnder Chairman of the Board of Directors Matthias Huenerwadel CEO Contact Investor Relations Moortalstrasse 1 5722 Gränichen Switzerland E-Mail As a provider of indoor climate solutions that are energy-efficient, health-promoting and comfortable, the Zehnder Group operates in a market where sustainable development is essential. Buildings are a major source of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Our products help to reduce energy consumption while maintaining high levels of comfort. The Zehnder Group understands commercial sustainability in a broader sense: it is an integral part of our strategy. Providing comfort and safety for satisfied customers, ensuring safe working conditions for skilled employees, minimising the ecological footprint of our companies, taking care of and responsibility for the community, and maintaining financial performance and operative excellence are the key goals of the Zehnder Group when it comes to sustainability. Customers Products Manufacturing chain Employees Society Finances Status of our sustainability goals Sustainability success stories Customers Products Manufacturing chain Employees Society Profitability Status of our sustainability goals In conformity with the European Energy Efficiency Directive, the Zehnder Group had set itself nine goals to improve sustainability by 2020. The results of its efforts to achieve these and the status as of 2020 have been compiled below. The sustainability goals that will be in place from 2021 onwards are currently being evaluated. Goal 2020 results Status Ongoing training The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the Zehnder Group’s internal training programmes, and particularly on those activities that were due to span several locations. To ensure that employees were still able to acquire the know-how they needed even in the face of such difficult circumstances, the Zehnder Group shifted its focus more heavily towards online training. The provision for this included internal webinars containing eight different modules on the subject of ventilation. Around 450 employees took advantage of this opportunity. In the month of June, all Zehnder Group employees were given the chance to take online English courses, enabling them to enhance their language skills in general and/or with a focus on specific subjects or industries. Matters relating to the Zmile programme – Zehnder’s continuous improvement programme based on the Kaizen philosophy – were also handled largely online. Local training sessions went ahead wherever possible: these included the Shop Floor Management course for employees at the Saint-Quentin (FR) logistics hub and the Lean Administration course for administrative staff at the Lahr (DE) site. Designed to help Zehnder Group managers develop and nurture their managerial attributes, the management development programme had been scheduled for 2020 but was ultimately postponed as it was not possible to incorporate the in-person component that was considered so important to the programme. It will be held as soon as possible. attained Safe working environment In 2020, providing a safe working environment suddenly became a priority not just for the production facilities, but for every place of work throughout the Zehnder Group. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the focus was placed on preventing employees from becoming infected with the novel coronavirus. The Zehnder Group navigated this task successfully by quickly forming pandemic teams at every site and introducing numerous protective measures, which included restricting business travel, establishing protective measures in production areas, moving administrative staff to home working and setting up new digital methods of contacting customers. It was also possible to reduce the number of accidents from 76 in the previous year to 64. However, we are not yet satisfied with this. Every injury is one too many – so the Zehnder Group will be continuing its efforts to curb accidents at the workplace. This will involve analysing incidents, discussing them within teams and working together to define measures that will prevent them occurring. in progress Sustainable supply chain The Zehnder Group is unwavering in its efforts to optimise sustainability across the entire manufacturing chain. Our production activities are now benefiting from a new painting line for radiators in Vaux-Andigny (FR), which went into operation in November 2020. It consumes 27% less water and 53% less energy. It also generates 70% less waste water and 90% less production waste. Across every site in the area of logistics, our cardboard packaging for ventilation filters was improved to the point where there was no longer any need for the additional plastic packaging that had been used in the past. What’s more, the plastic foam that had been used to protect Excelsior and Arteplano radiators during journeys to customers was replaced with a more environmentally friendly cardboard structure. In the area of administration, the Campogalliano (IT) sales site made a notable achievement in 2020, renovating its office premises and Zehnder Academy facilities with a focus on energy efficiency and comfort for the benefit of both employees and visitors. The gas heating system and wall-mounted fan coils were removed – now, heat pumps and Zehnder heating and ventilation solutions ensure a pleasant indoor climate in both summer and winter. In 2020, the site was also able to satisfy all its energy requirements through renewable sources. attained Reducing the energy consumption of our new products In its product development activities, the Zehnder Group is keen to ensure that its new units perform more sustainably than their predecessor models. A good example of this is the Zehnder ComfoAir 225 comfort ventilation unit that was launched in 2020 and consumes around 15% less energy than its predecessor, the Zehnder ComfoAir 200 model. Passive house-certified and boasting heat recovery of as much as 92%, it is suitable for both renovation projects and new buildings. The reporting year saw the introduction of the modular, flexible Zehnder Fleximo activation modules in the area of heating and cooling ceiling systems: these are able to transform almost any conventional metal ceiling into a high-quality heating and cooling ceiling. Complementing the existing Zehnder Group range, they make it possible to take advantage of an existing ceiling as opposed to stripping out an old structure and replacing it with an entirely new ceiling. attained Increasing our customers' knowledge of our products Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, or perhaps precisely because of it, 2020 saw more customers participate in Zehnder Group training sessions than ever before. They amounted to a total of 39,770 people (previous year: 23,847) across the Group and were primarily made up of fitters, planners, installers and service technicians. These sessions introduced numerous online courses that rapidly provided an addition to the conventional format normally held at the Zehnder Group’s various training centres (Zehnder Academies). The additional courses covered subjects including the relationship between ventilation and the coronavirus, plus specialist technology training for the after-sales network, which demonstrated correct approaches to maintenance and service. The number of customer training sessions is set to increase again in the future. Work is under way to create a new, modern training and office building at the Lahr (DE) site. The “Center of Climate” is intended to boost customer retention in the Zehnder Group’s largest sales market as well as providing pleasant workspaces for its employees. Preparations are in full swing, but the start of construction had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is now scheduled for some time in 2021. attained Investing in the next generation In 2020, the Zehnder Group employed 63 apprentices on average – four more than the previous year. The number of apprenticeships offered within the Zehnder Group has in fact doubled in the last ten years. The majority of the apprentices are trained in Germany, Switzerland and France. The Zehnder Group made it a priority to carry on training young people despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and to take on new apprentices as planned. While switching to a home office and home studying format proved a challenge for apprentices and trainers alike, it was one that they managed to navigate successfully. However, there were some events that had to be cancelled – including career fairs, which the apprentices have a hand in organising and are always exciting projects for them to be a part of. attained Reducing our own energy consumption In 2020, the Zehnder Group once again managed to lower its energy consumption in comparison with the previous year (310,676 GJ compared with 325,935 GJ in 2019). The Group considers it important to look at sustainability factors when purchasing new installations and equipment. As an example of this bearing out in practice, the new painting line in Vaux-Andigny (FR) consumes around 50% less electricity than its predecessor model. The new LED lamps used in the Zwolle (NL) production facilities achieve energy savings of around 66% as compared with the previous luminescent tubes. Since replacing its old gas heating system with new, energy-efficient air to water heat pumps, the Campogalliano (IT) sales site is now achieving savings of around 100 GJ per year. In Lenham (UK), meanwhile, the production and storage areas have been physically separated – a move that has enabled more efficient heating and cooling, reducing energy consumption as a result. In 2020, solar plants were installed at two other locations – in addition to the headquarters in Gränichen (CH) – to produce renewable energy for their own production work: these are Buffalo, NY (USA) and Zwolle (NL; solar plant in operation since January 2021). attained Increasing the proportion of renewable energy In 2020, renewable energy made up 13% of total consumption (previous year: 10%), a figure that remained below the defined goal of 20%. However, the reporting year also saw work on several projects whose aim was to boost this percentage – as an example, solar installations were put in place at two Zehnder Group locations. Since 2020, the factory in Buffalo, NY (USA) has been renting out the space on its roof, where 1040 solar collectors have been installed. The installation is owned by a large regional bank and is operated and maintained by Green Mountain Electric Supply. This solar facility is allowing the factory to cover as much as 25% of its energy requirements, with another 50% being generated by hydropower from nearby Niagara Falls. A dedicated installation made up of 3600 solar modules has also been mounted on the roof of the Zwolle plant, and generates 35% more energy than the site consumes – with the excess energy fed back into the grid. The installation was completed at the end of 2020 and successfully put into operation in January 2021. in progress Reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption through our ventilation units with heat recovery August 2020 marked the 100,000th sale of a Zehnder ComfoAir Q ventilation unit. The new generation of central ventilation units was launched in 2016 and consists of three types with air volumes of 350, 450 and 600 m³/h. Its outstanding performance is one particular highlight among its features. Through the use of innovative technology, the Zehnder ComfoAir Q ventilation units are able to achieve the very highest standards of energy efficiency while maintaining the lowest energy consumption in its class. The 100,000 units sold so far have made it possible to achieve 650,000 MWh of recovered energy, 170,000 t of savings in CO2 emissions and 2.7 billion breaths of filtered air. In total, there are around 1 million Zehnder ventilation units with heat recovery in operation today. They are allowing us to save the equivalent of the energy consumption and CO2 emissions of around 267,000 cars or 146,000 large oil-heated single-family homes per year. This contribution to reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption is set to grow exponentially in the future. attained Sustainability success stories Zehnder Vaux-Andigny The Zehnder Group's production facility invested around EUR 3 million in modernising. More information Zehnder Rittling The American subsidiary obtains 75% of its energy requirements from renewable sources. More information Zehnder Clean Air Solutions A clean and healthy working environment for our employees More information All success stories Choose your language: Deutsch English © Zehnder Group AG Terms of use Data policy General Conditions for Purchasing Contact Company Our brands and worldwide locations Management Our Values Sustainability Products & Solutions Business segments and product lines Applications References Covid-19 ClimateSwitch Innovation & Tradition Design Development Product innovation Quality ClimateSwitch Investor Relations Reports & Presentations Shares Annual general meeting Key figures News Company calendar Financial analysis Corporate Governance