ZINQ receives the German Environmental Award 2025

The German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) is awarding the German Environmental Award 2025 to Dr Birgitt Bendiek and Lars Baumgürtel for their circular business model Planet ZINQ. This means that one of Europe’s most prestigious environmental awards is going to Gelsenkirchen this year. The prize, which is awarded annually by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) and is endowed with a total of 500,000 euros, has been recognising achievements that contribute to protecting the environment or will lead to significant relief in the future for more than 30 years.

What is the German Environmental Award?

The German Environmental Award has been presented annually by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) for more than 30 years and is endowed with a total of €500,000. This makes it not only one of the most prestigious awards, but also one of the most highly endowed environmental awards in Europe. The award is aimed at individuals and teams whose products, process improvements, research results or lifetime achievements make a significant contribution to sustainable environmental protection.

In 2025, Lars Baumgürtel and Dr Birgitt Bendiek will be awarded the German Environmental Prize for the circular business model Planet ZINQ, as will Swiss climate researcher Prof. Dr Sonia Seneviratne. The prize will be presented by German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Chemnitz on 26 October.

What does ZINQ have to do with the German Environmental Award?

ZINQ is one of 75 climate protection companies in Germany. The industry-wide network has nominated Lars Baumgürtel and Dr Birgitt Bendiek, the leading minds behind the circular business model Planet ZINQ, for the German Environmental Award 2025 because their commitment ‘are role models for an entire industry and have been successfully promoting the climate-neutral circular economy for many years with Planet ZINQ.’

What exactly did ZINQ receive the German Environmental Award for?

Lars Baumgürtel and Dr Birgitt Bendiek received the award for the circular business model Planet ZINQ, as it serves as a blueprint for medium-sized industry and best practice for the implementation of a climate-neutral circular economy.

The German Federal Environmental Foundation awards the German Environmental Prize to pioneers whose achievements serve as role models and contribute to protecting the environment or will lead to significant relief in the future. The decisive criteria for the award were therefore the model character and innovative content of Planet ZINQ.

What is the model character of Planet ZINQ?

Planet ZINQ was developed from practical experience for practical application and pursues a holistic approach with modular fields of action based on established standards. It thus offers energy- and resource-intensive industries a tried-and-tested, universally applicable, prototypical and standards-compliant approach that takes into account the requirements of all parties involved in a value chain and can be jointly adapted by suppliers, manufacturers, customers and raw material processors.

What is innovative about Planet ZINQ?

ZINQ is the first company in the surface technology sector to develop and successfully implement a circular business model. The approach does not focus on short-term successes such as reducing CO₂ emissions as quickly as possible, but rather on gradually converting the entire business model to a circular economy. The goal is a climate-neutral circular economy with zero CO₂ emissions, zero waste and zero pollution (triple zero quality). The resulting requirement is enshrined in the EU‘s Green Deal and is achieved in the ‘Race to Triple Zero’ through the circular quality and ecological benefits of products. Planet ZINQ focuses on the product, as it reflects a company‘s ecological footprint. In line with the cradle-to-cradle concept, the product‘s footprint covers its entire life cycle, from development to manufacture, use and recycling.

That is why ZINQ‘s piece galvanised surfaces are designed for circularity: they are developed to be used for as long as possible and the materials are recyclable at the end of the product life cycle. At the same time, they are material-healthy, i.e. free of pollutants and microplastics that could harm the environment or make recycling difficult.

What will ZINQ do with the prize money?

The prize money will be invested in scientific research and innovative projects that con­tribute to achieving a climate-neutral circular economy. Planet ZINQ has kicked off the Race to Triple Zero, but the road to the goal is long and requires continuous optimisation of processes and products as well as partnerships. ZINQ cannot achieve this goal alone, which is why it needs the cooperation of business, science and politics. The projects supported by the prize money are intended to enable the implementation of an effective circular economy and, in particular, circular surface technology – in such a way that circular products such as ZINQ surfaces become competitive.

What significance does the German Environmental Award have for ZINQ?

The German Environmental Award shows that the commitment to a holistic approach such as Planet ZINQ and the long, continuous work on innovations for greater sustainability are worthwhile. The award is also an expression of appreciation for the work of ZINQ – and thus for each individual employee and for the cooperation partners who have accompanied ZINQ on this journey and continue to do so. ZINQ is a pioneer in circular transformation and has gained many partners along the way who want to walk this path together with ZINQ.

Thanks to the extensive media coverage it receives, the German Environmental Award raises awareness of ZINQ‘s work and innovative strength throughout Germany, thereby acting as a multiplier for the messages behind Planet ZINQ. The award provides the ideal framework for strengthening existing partnerships, gaining new ones and, at the same time, promoting understanding of our work.

What advantages does Planet ZINQ offer customers?

Our processes and products are continuously improved as part of Planet ZINQ. At the same time, we develop innovations for and with our customers at ZINQ Futurium. The aim is to create surfaces of the highest quality with high functional benefits (corrosion protection, appearance) and high ecological benefits (recyclable, climate-neutral surfaces with high energy and raw material efficiency). Our customers can benefit directly from these innovations.

Example: microZINQ. This high-performance surface combines technical performance with high raw material efficiency and saves up to 80% zinc compared to conventional piece gal­vanising. It also offers special properties for protecting components and, thanks to the higher passivity of the surface, is particularly suitable for applications with increased microclimatic requirements.

Example: ecoZINQ. The Low Carbon ZINQ programme (part of Planet ZINQ) has significantly reduced the carbon footprint of our piece galvanising surfaces through energy and resource efficiency. Among other things, through the use of CO₂-reduced primary zinc from renewable energies and increasingly low-CO₂ recycled zinc in primary quality, ecoZINQ generates 43% less CO₂ emissions than conventional hot-dip galvanised surfaces in accordance with DIN EN ISO 1461, making it the hot-dip galvanised surface with the lowest carbon footprint in our industry.

Since 2022, we have been demonstrating the ecological properties and circular quality of our products in a transparent and third-party validated manner via Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in accordance with DIN EN 15804. At the same time, we pass on CO₂ credits for emissions saved through our circular surfaces to our customers. These can be shown on every invoice. In this way, we create transparency for our customers and a basis for pricing the circular quality and ecological benefits of our surfaces.

How can customers benefit from Planet ZINQ?

All findings, products and processes from the development process surrounding Planet ZINQ are bundled by the group‘s technology developer, ZINQ Technologie, and passed on to customers via branded products and licences.

This allows them to benefit from award-winning expertise without having to invest time and resources in innovation and development themselves.

ZINQ is working consistently to drive forward the transformation to circular surface technology (Circular.Surface.Technology.) and to make the circular quality of products traceable along the entire value chain. To achieve this, we need partners who pursue the same goals and walk the path with us. One such partner is the world‘s leading steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal Steligence, with whom we have entered into a strategic partnership to promote circular, i.e. C2C-certified and CO₂-reduced steel products.