ZU sustainably
"Sustainability is not a future issue for us, but a shared responsibility right here and now. At Zeppelin University, we are aiming to set an example and are striving to achieve climate neutrality by 2035. To do this, we need everyone: students, staff and lecturers. Contribute your ideas and help us make ZU a (more) sustainable place. It is not without reason that we have defined sustainability as a key theme in our 5 year strategy. We will continue to develop it further. Find out more about the various sustainability figures and projects here in an interactive format. I hope you enjoy it." Prof. Dr. Anja Achtziger, President (acting chairwoman)
This is the fourth time we are reporting on our efforts to make Zeppelin University (ZU) sustainable and become climate neutral by 2035. We have updated our figures (as of 2024, unless otherwise stated). And in the background you can see our university beach, the beach of good hope.
You can browse through the chapters or, if you find out more specifically, you can jump to the individual chapters via the menu.
| ZU Mobile: Mobility and fleet | ZU Energy: Energy consumption and saving | ZU Procurement: Procurement, Waste, Ressources | ZU Together: Transfer and our netwerks
Who is involved and how? We continue with our sustainability goals and the participating stakeholders.
ZU supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and strives to follow them as a guiding principle for its actions and decisions.
current university strategy (Struktur- und Entwicklungsplan)
A university does not become sustainable automatically. We focus on our own sustainability projects and the concrete reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions. We are guided by the 17 United Nations' Development Goals (SDGs). The following goals are addressed here:
This is how ZU gets sustainable: | We strive to achieve climate neutrality by 2035. We therefore aim to continuously reduce our CO2 emissions (SDG 12, SDG 13). We are focussing on our own reductions and not on certificates or offsetting projects.
| We accelerate the key issue sustainability in research and teaching. New chairs, new teaching programmes and events organised by the sustainability management are just some aspects (SDG 4).
| We are available as a sustainable innovation lab and are happy to work with partners to share our knowledge locally and beyond (SDG 11, 17). More on this later (or here, if you can't wait).
Who is working with sustainability at Zeppelin University? Our Sustainability Management is the focal point within and outside of ZU, and is reporting to the CEO. The sustainability management is in charge of operational sustainability projects and all relevant data. And then we report on it. Right here on this website.
Sustainability also plays a role in research and teaching, e.g.
| at the Institute for Sustainable Economy, which brings together several chairs of economics,
| at the ZF Centre for Sustainability Research,
| in several research projects
Our Equal Opportunities Officers is responsible for gender equality and diversity at ZU. The Academic Board and the Management Board have adopted the ZU Gender Equality Plan.
The student commitment to sustainability is concentrated in the Green Office which we call Zukunftsbüro (Future Office).
How are ZU's greenhouse gas emissions developing?
Since 2019, the first reporting year, ZU's greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 11% (see chart below, dotted line estimate). Emissions will continue to decline in 2024, although the number and emissions of business flights have increased compared to the previous year. Emissions from heating and waste were roughly at the previous year's level.
Most of our emissions are caused by heating (60 %), followed by business flights (34 %). Waste (5 %) and fuel for the vehicle fleet (1 %) play a minor role.
Now let's take a closer look at the different subjects. We start with mobility which is followed by energy thereafter.
- Image: ZU/Fabian Sennekamp
Mobility
Trains instead of short-haul flights, job tickets, job bikes and a cargo bike. ZU is making a difference. Find out everything you need to know about mobility here.
We care about travelling sustainably.
A university without international exchange? This we can't image having over 80 international partnerships with other universities. Short-haul flights, even though you would be just as fast by train? This makes no sense, does it? That's why we consistently use public transport for business trips and don't allow short-haul flights since 2021.
We defined a flight exclusion zone based on the travel time from centre to centre (journey by train is equally fast or at not approx. 1.5 hours slower than by plane).
And this is having an impact: emissions from our business flights have been reduced by 40% compared to 2019. We calculate each business flight based on distance and scientifically determined emission factors using a calculator provided by the German Federal Environment Agency.
Is my exchange semester available sustainably?
Of course it is! ZU participates in EU's Erasmus+ programme. Our students, lecturers and employees can easily visit or study at our partner universities. Our International Office can advise you on the options. Those travelling by train, bus or bicycle can receive a subsidy. We also provide tips on travelling sustainably in ZUniverse, our intranet.
- Video: ZU/Katharina Elisa Davids
We care about our vehicles.
Small and electric: that's our vehicle fleet. We currently have four vehicles in place which are all powered by electricity apart from one. Until summer 2025, we had a hybrid company car, but its lease has since expired. For technical reasons, we can only report the charging electricity consumed at the SeeCampus.
And what about fuel? The maintenance equipment (e.g. lawn tractor) powered by fuel hardly makes a difference. Overall, fuel consumption accounts for only 1 % of the ZU emissions.
- Image: ZU/Michael Scheyer
We care about your mobility.
Sustainable mobility? It doesn't refer only to our vehicle fleet. Our employees can purchase the Deutschland-Ticket at a reduced rate as a job ticket. Similarly, our students can purchase the discounted Deutschland-Ticket Jugend BW. Our Seecampus can be reached via the ZU Seemooser Horn stop and the Manzell railway station. The ZF Campus is served by the Hochschulen stop.
ZU employees have been able to lease a job bike since 2019. And to make cycling even more fun, we participate in the City Cycling event every year with a ZU team. During this event, we collect all the kilometres cycled within three weeks.
And if anyone runs out of air, we have a publicly accessible bike repair station on the ZF Campus.
At the end of 2024, we installed new, lockable bicycle garages at the SeeCampus, which were funded by the federal government. There is a charging station for pedelecs at the ZF Campus.
External providers offer e-scooters, pedelecs (dott) and car-sharing cars (Stadtwerk am See) in Friedrichshafen. There are stations at both campuses of Zeppelin University.
- Image: ZU/Michael Scheyer
Having energy
How we save, generate and purchase energy. That's what it's all about now.
We care about green energy.
Sometimes you obviously need to recharge the batteries. We have been doing this since 2019 with green electricity from a regional supplier (SDG 7).
We have been generating our own solar power since November 2023. We consume the electricity generated at both locations ourselves. The amount currently produced is displayed on the home page of our intranet, ZUniverse.
generated solar energy at ZF Campus in MWh (as of March 2026)
At ZF Campus, we have a 25 kWp photovoltaic system installed (generated energy see counter above). At the Seecampus, ZU has been leasing a 32 kWp photovoltaic system from our landlord Luftschiffbau Zeppelin since 2024.
generated solar energy at See Campus in MWh (as of March 2026)
- Image: ZU/Fabian Sennekamp
We care about saving energy.
Every kilowatt hour saved is our favourite. But don't worry, candlelight in the office is not permitted here due to fire safety regulations.
We have implemented various energy-saving measures:
| Optimisation of building services (ventilation, cooling system, pumps, etc.) | Conversion of corridor and entrance lighting at the ZF Campus to LED, and in some cases also at the SeeCampus | We have installed a switchable power strip at every office workstation. Goodbye standby mode!
How is energy consumption developing?
The various energy-saving measures implemented are reflected in a 30 % lower electricity consumption compared to 2019. Also compared to 2023, it decreased.
What happens when it's time to call it a day?
The light in many corridors switches off automatically thanks to motion detectors when you have walked through. Our power sockets are also switched off: we have installed a multiple socket outlet that can be switched off at every office desk.
Only one institution is always on duty: our library is open 24 hours a day for university members.
What happens when it's Christmas?
We play around with our abbreviation ZU which means closed in German. On christmas the university remains closed. For several years now, we have been closing our buildings between Christmas Eve and Epiphany on 6 January (public holiday) and turning down the heating.
Too warm? Too cold?
At the ZF Campus, a building core activation system ensures a low flow temperature of just 21° C in the heating system. In the older part of the ZF Campus, the room temperature is automatically controlled depending on whether a person is in the room or not.
How is ZU heated?
At the ZF Campus, we are connected to the local heating network at Fallenbrunnen (a combined heat and power plant of the regional supplier Stadtwerk am See). At the SeeCampus, we obtain gas through our landlord.
effective area at our two locations Seecampus and ZF Campus
Comparing apples with oranges makes no sense. We therefore correct our heat consumption with a climate factor using data from the German Weather Service for Friedrichshafen.
Our absolute heat consumption in 2024 has decreased compared to 2019. Adjusted to weather conditions, consumption in 2024 is roughly the same as in the previous year.
Procurement
We care about good food.
Fresh, regional and delicious: Three words to describe our canteen, which is open to everyone. We are one of the few universities in Germany to run it ourselves. There is a vegan and vegetarian option every day.
We have a pre-order system in place so that as little food and energy as possible is wasted. The dishes are served exclusively on china.
Our chef Chris, who you can see here, had most kilometres on his clock for the ZU team in the 2025 City Cycling event.
We have been certified as Fairtrade University since 2019. The coffee beans we use are certified in Fairtrade and organic quality. Other products in the canteen are also Fairtrade labelled and organic. We buy our beverages in deposit bottles and mainly from the Allgäu region. We don't like disposable containers and cups.
Our hoodies, T-shirts and tote bags from the ZU shop are made from organic cotton and are certified according to the FairWair Foundation standard.
- Image: ZU/Michael Scheyer
We care about a clean university.
Just like at home: separating waste, conserving resources and producing as little waste as possible. We act as many people do at home. We use environmentally friendly detergents in the areas that we clean ourselves. These can be kept in a closed material cycle according to the circular economy principle (including detergents made from renewable raw materials, packaging made from recycled materials).
We installed drinking water dispensers at both locations many years ago. In this way, we avoid waste.
As for our own waste, we calculate the greenhouse gas emissions from the invoiced waste volumes using scientific emission factors.
This is how waste volumes have developed:
The amount of waste produced by ZU has decreased compared to 2019. This is mainly due to residual waste, which has decreased by approximately 45% compared to 2019. Glass and food waste remain roughly constant. We are unable to calculate the amount of packaging waste as it is not billed based on volume. We will now take a closer look at the issue of paper.
- Video: ZU/Michael Scheyer
We care about prints and paper.
Digital instead of print. Digital transformation is a key topic at ZU - and we really mean it. We have digitalised many processes in the administration such as invoices, the workflow of the travel expenses as well as the documents used in meetings. Moreover, of course, the sustainability report is no longer available on paper.
Since 2020, ZU has exclusively procured recycling copy paper with Blue Angel certification. It regularly participates in the Paper Atlas in the nationwide university competition (Rising Star of the year in 2022, ranked 5th in 2024, ranked 9th in 2025). Unfortunately, the results of the Paper Atlas are only published in German.
When we print materials such as brochures or business cards, we pay attention to regional added value.
What do we do when there is little change in print products?
We work with stickers and inserts so that we do not have to produce a new edition immediately.
We care about dumping your ex.
Who doesn't know it? There is that old mobile phone that is still in the drawer. You should have get rid of it a long time ago. At ZU, we have the solution: our sponsoring partner ELiProCoM provides us with two return bins for old smartphones, tablets and notebooks. Many thanks for that! The devices are refurbished or recycled. The bins are located in the canteen at both locations.
- Before image: ZU/Jim Papke
- After image: ZU/Jim Papke
Dr Fabian Sennekamp, Sustainability Management ZU, is happy to get rid of his mobile phone.
Long relationship: We use our own IT equipment as long as possible. We reduce local printers to a minimum and have abolished our landline telephone system as well as the fax machines. We now call directly through the computer. We rely on cloud-based applications.
- Image: ZU/Jim Papke
Doing together
Pioneering spirit is in the DNA of ZU. We offer ourselves as an innovation laboratory to work on sustainable solutions. So let's now look at the subject of transfer.
We work together with various stakeholders on sustainability. As we work closely with companies, we exchange ideas with them on how to become (even more) sustainable. We are also in dialogue with the city and county of Friedrichshafen. We take part in the European Mobility Week and in the City Cycling every year, for example.
A(n even more) sustainable campus
With the support of the Planning and Environment Department of the city of Friedrichshafen, we were able to plant additional native trees, perennials and shrubs at both locations. Thank you! By the way, we also have our own grapewines.
Learning sustainability
Of course, sustainability is complex. That's why our programmes offer an interdisciplinary focus on sustainability. Research and teaching are closely linked at our university.
Student research is an important part of our programmes. This means that students begin to explore their own scientific questions right from the start of their studies, including in the field of sustainability.
Sustainable events for everyone
Exciting topics, exciting guests. Mobility transition, climate change adaptation, climate-neutral shipping on Lake Constance - there have already been events on these various topics at ZU. Usually they are open to the public and always free of charge. Just take a look for yourself.
Sustainable news for everyone
Communication is key: We report on everything which is sustainable at ZU on our intranet ZUniverse, on our social media channels and in the press. We launched our new newsletter in September 2024 to link our activities even more closely with other stakeholders in the region. You can subscribe to it here (unfortunately the newsletter is in German only).
In our podcast ZU Sustainability Talks, we talk to interesting guests about everything related to sustainability. You can find it on all popular podcast platforms or right here. The podcast is in German, though.
Outlook
We are making ZU even more sustainable. We address the issue of sustainable procurement and are currently updating our guidelines to this end.
You've made it! Thank you for your interest in sustainable ZU. Do you have any questions or would you like to give feedback on our new format? Please feel free to contact ZU's Sustainability Management.
Published by the management of Zeppelin Universität gemeinnützige GmbH Am Seemooser Horn 20 D-88045 Friedrichshafen Germany
Editing and design: Dr. Fabian Sennekamp Many thanks to everybody who participates in making ZU sustainable!
- Image: ZU/Ilja Mess