Road to Triple Zero

 

Winner of German Environmental Award

ZINQ receives the 2025 German Environmental Award for its Circular Business Model Planet ZINQ

Learn more about the awards ceremony

Planet ZINQ reflects our ambition for Zero Carbon, Zero Waste and Zero Pollution.
But how do we put this ambition into practice?
By applying the highest environmental standards to develop coatings in circular quality.
From the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to Cradle to Cradle (C2C) and into the implementation of a full scale circular business model:
Planet ZINQ is paving the way for Circular.Surface.Technology with coatings in Triple Zero quality.

Join our mission

Triple Zero Wins!

Net zero is not enough. True climate neutrality can only be achieved if products are designed according to the Triple Zero principle. Zero Carbon, Zero Waste and Zero Pollution is the basis for balancing resource use with the ecological product value. To achieve this balance, we have aligned our product design with R-Strategies that help us slow and close the product loop. Triple Zero circular design makes sure that our products comply with the highest standards for material health, long maintenance-free service life and for keeping precious raw materials in the recycling loop. This is the foundation of our circular business model Planet ZINQ.

Planet ZINQ is the winner of the 2025 German Environmental Award – the most prestigious and sought after environmental award in Europe endowed with 500.000 €.

More about R strategies

How we implements the SDGs

As an officially acclaimed Klimaschutzunternehmen (Climate Protection Company) we are committed to the goals for sustainable development (UN SDGs). Our circular business model defines actions that are in line with the social, ecological and economic target setting of the SDGs as laid out by the UN 2030 agenda.

Zero waste & zero pollution with Cradle to Cradle

For over 15 years we have been operating in compliance with the criteria set of Cradle to Cradle (C2C) – with the aim of closing material cycles for products and processes and recycling the raw materials and products used. Batch hot dip galvanized coatings from ZINQ are certified according to Cradle to Cradle standards. They are developed and produced to achieve the highest levels of material health and circularity in our industry. This ensures that our coatings can be used fully and repeatedly in biological and technical cycles making sure that no valuable resources are waisted.

More about C2C

Race to Triple Zero
Planet ZINQ

Based on an integral innovation and sustainability strategy, we have defined specific goals and practical measures for our circular business model. Planet ZINQ combines maximum efficiency and effectiveness in the use of energy and raw materials. Continuous innovation helps us design and produce coatings in circular quality. We are committed to the race for Triple Zero – are you ready to take on the challenge?

More about Planet ZINQ

Circular.Surface.Technology.

All products have surfaces. And depending on their application, these surfaces are exposed to varying degrees of wear and tear. To ensure the functionality of the product throughout its intended life cycle (and possibly a second or third one), permanent and sustainable protection is required but only a circular coating can be completely recycled at the end of its life cycle and is free of harmful substances that could get into the environment through exposure. Still, coatings like polymer paints in outside applications reveals that paint could be the largest source of microplastics and waste that pollute our environment (source: EA 2019). That is why our objective is Circular.Surface.Technology. – because it has the power to protect products for the long term while conserving our environment and our resources.

More about Circular quality

Sustainability is part of our DNA

100%
C2C certified coatings¹
90.000t
CO₂ saved²
100%
green electricity³
100%
waste water free
100%
microplastic free zinc coatings
100%
recycling of zinc residues
50%
of patents in the sector⁴
1350
m² ZINQ Futurium
25
experts in R&D
75%
CO₂ savings using low carbon primary and secondary zinc⁵
43%
lower CO₂ emissions ecoZINQ
80%
less zinc consumption microZINQ

1 All ZINQ HDG coatings are C2C certified.
2 Calculation of CO2 savings based on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for ZINQ HDG coatings.
3 ZINQ Germany and ZINQ Benelux have contracted 100 % green electricity since 2013.
4 sector defined as batch HDG in EU.
5 compared to use of London Metal Exchange (LME) grade primary zinc.

For more information, visit zinq.com or send us an email at planet@zinq.com. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Sustainability through innovation

Why sustainability and innovation are linked: all product or process innovation must be sustainable, and sustainability is impossible without innovation. That is the reason why we have set up our own research and development centre. ZINQ Futurium is the place where we are continuously working to optimise the efficiency and effectiveness of our processes and products. After all, only products that can be recycled in a circular manner are sustainable. That is why all product innovations at ZINQ Futurium are designed for circularity, firmly anchored in our circular business model.

More about ZINQ Futurium

News

ZINQ receives the German Environmental Award 2025
Smart Power to heat
Decarbonising process heat with hydrogen
-80% zinc
Energy and resource efficiency - microZINQ®
Product Passports
ZINQ's DCPP for validated Scope 3 Carbon Footprinting


Together for a
sustainable future.
Get in touch.

Dr. Birgitt Bendiek

+49 178 3876 006

planet@zinq.com

Quality education

With its process mechanic for coating technology programme, ZINQ also offers its own commercial training course, which is unique in the industry, with its own vocational school class in Gelsenkirchen. Twenty years ago, ZINQ took on the first year group in its entirety and has been providing training in this and other commercial professions ever since. In addition to a wide range of training and further education opportunities, ZINQ offers career starters and skilled workers good prospects for a successful career within the company. After training or a dual study programme, these lead to a talent programme and ultimately to management level. More than 75% of ZINQ’s managers have been trained in-house.

Support for disadvantaged children

For many years, ZINQ has supported the non-profit Robert Voigt Foundation, which has been supporting numerous projects for disadvantaged children and young people since 1999. The foundation is particularly active in the areas of the right to education, equal opportunities, and the prevention of poverty, hunger and poverty-related poor health. This prevents private-sector interests from becoming mixed up with commitment to the common good.

Clean energy

More than ten years ago, the Low-Carbon ZINQ programme was launched as an important component of our consistent decarbonisation strategy, featuring heat recovery, a variety of energy-saving measures and the exclusive use of green electricity. In 2026, as part of the Power2ZINQ pilot project, the plant at the Gelsenkirchen site will be converted to energy gas with 60% hydrogen, thus preparing it for use with green hydrogen. ZINQ plans to replace natural gas in process heat and is focusing on green hydrogen. In order to promote the decarbonisation of process heat in energy-intensive SMEs, ZINQ CEO Lars Baumgürtel is founding the Klimahafen Gelsenkirchen initiative with 15 energy-intensive companies from the city harbour and, in his role as spokesperson for the initiative, is advocating the use of hydrogen in process heat. Thanks to the public awareness generated by the initiative, the climate port is expected to be connected to a green hydrogen supply by 2030.

Sustainable economic growth and decent work

Continuous increase in resource efficiency

With the development of the resource-efficient microZINQ surface (link to microZINQ in fields of action), ZINQ has continuously intensified its measures to protect natural resources. In the medium term, we want to replace the entire primary zinc requirement with secondary zinc of primary quality through ReZINQ.

Value-oriented action for people and the environment

ZINQ is a family business with a long tradition. The basis for our actions is responsible corporate management focused on long-term value creation, which is reflected in our corporate guidelines, which have remained unchanged since 1995. In these guidelines, we have established the sustainable use of resources and the environment, as well as the safety of our employees, as one of our highest values, which we follow at ZINQ.

Health and safety at work in accordance with ISO 45001

Measures to protect our employees are an integral part of our corporate policy. Our management system for occupational health and safety is structured in accordance with the international standard for occupational health and safety ISO 45001 and was awarded the ‘Sicher mit System’ seal of approval by the BGHM. This includes clear guidelines for improving occupational safety, establishing controls and identifying potential risks to safety and health at work. We raise awareness and train our employees in occupational health and safety through regular self-audits. Occupational health care and a preventive alcohol and drug policy expand the measures for health protection at

Strengthening mental health with occupational social work

ZINQ wants to increase the mental resilience of its employees and offer them a professional point of contact for uncertainties, problems or concerns. That is why, in 2023, we became the first company in the surface technology sector in Germany to create a position for company social work. Under the umbrella of the employer brand Mach Dein ZINQ, employees can take part in workshops or have one-to-one meetings with the company social worker.

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

In order to further roll out the circular transformation model, managing partner Lars Baumgürtel is involved in political committees, corporate initiatives and regional networks, such as the Energy and Environment Committee of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) or the Transform to Zero (in Prosperkolleg), Klimahafen Gelsenkirchen and H2GE – Wasserstoffstandort Gelsenkirchen.

In addition, ZINQ is one of 50 members of Klimaschutz-Unternehmen e.V. – an association of German companies that showcase exemplary models for climate protection and energy optimisation. As a partner, ZINQ also supports the think tank IN4climate.NRW, which brings together business and science under the umbrella of NRW. Energy4Climate to drive forward the climate-neutral transformation of energy-intensive industries.

Circular surfaces for a more sustainable economy

As a component of steel products, our circular surfaces are part of investments and innovation for greater sustainability in many applications – for example, in infrastructure, construction, and mechanical and plant engineering. We work closely with our customers and suppliers to make wind turbines, bridges and buildings more sustainable.

Sustainability through innovation

With the ZINQ Futurium in Gelsenkirchen, we have created a platform for communication, networking, knowledge transfer and innovation. Here, we share our knowledge of circular business models with employees, customers and suppliers and cooperate with partners from industry and research on the path to a circular economy. The ZINQ Futurium includes our research and development centre with over 1,300 square metres of floor space, including two alloy-on-demand piece galvanising pilot lines and an automation and robotics centre. In addition, we operate the most modern laboratory in the piece galvanising industry on a further 180 square metres. Here, our interdisciplinary team develops new processes and applications related to the core process of piece galvanising – for greater energy efficiency and sustainability.

Transparency for resource and climate protection

For a sustainable economy, transparency must be created for resource and climate protection so that companies can transform themselves along entire supply chains.

With its Product Circularity Data Sheet (PCDS) for the products duroZINQ, ecoZINQ, microZINQ and colorZINQ, ZINQ provides essential information regarding the circularity of the delivered preliminary product. This includes, among other things, information on the ingredients, the proportion of recycled materials and the reparability, dismantlability and recyclability. In addition, we record all negative and positive environmental impacts of our products throughout their entire life cycle in the form of a complete, product-related environmental footprint (link). We verify the carbon footprint in environmental product declarations in accordance with EN 15804, which are audited and validated by a third party.

All companies must participate in order to fully document the environmental impact throughout the entire life cycle of products. ZINQ has already introduced a digital circular product passport. With this, we want to show how companies can use circular business models to make entire supply and value chains climate-neutral and thus convert their products and production processes to a circular economy.

Sustainable Cities and Communities

ZINQ is actively driving the transformation towards a circular construction industry. As an innovation partner of the International Building Exhibition 2027 in Stuttgart, ZINQ is providing strong impetus for the use of steel and zinc in circular construction. In order to establish circular construction with steel and zinc in the long term, strategic partnerships are being formed to promote and raise awareness of the use of building materials in circular quality.

One example of this is the cooperation with the world’s leading steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal, with which ZINQ is taking another step towards a circular construction industry. The combination of XCarb® steel and ecoZINQ® surface treatment is intended to bring a CO₂-optimised solution certified according to Cradle to Cradle standards to the market in order to promote the use of circular-quality building materials in the construction industry – transparent and traceable from manufacture to use to recycling.

Sustainable consumption and production

Since 2010, all products have been developed according to the triple requirement of zero waste, zero carbon and zero pollution and manufactured in such a way that they can be completely recycled in biological and technical cycles. The ReZINQ project (link) not only recycles all zinc-containing process by-products so that they can be used as recycled zinc, but also, in conjunction with a voluntary take-back commitment, all galvanised steel products at the end of their useful life.