Environmental protection is a high priority at ZALF. In our Environmental Policy we describe the way towards a more sustainable use of available natural resources. Our Environmental Statement, including an Environmental Program with concrete measures, provides information on all the steps we take to achieve these goals in the coming years. To this end, all ZALF sites will be continuously reviewed with regard to sustainability aspects and improvements will be implemented together with the employees. Objectives include the active protection and promotion of biodiversity on the company premises and ZALF test sites, the expansion of the share of renewable energies in electricity and heat generation as well as the reduction of waste, water consumption, the use of hazardous substances and traffic-related emissions. On its way to becoming a climate-neutral research institution, ZALF relies on the active involvement of all its employees.
Together, continuous improvements and an active environmental management system are to be integrated into everyday work, going beyond the requirements of environmental legislation. To this end, environmental audits are regularly carried out in accordance with the European EMAS Regulation. The initial audit took place in 2020 for the site in Müncheberg. With the formal handover of the EMAS certificate in December 2020, ZALF is the first institution of the Leibniz Association to introduce and implement a certified Environmental Management System according to the European EMAS standard. Both in the fall of 2021 and in the fall of 2022, the respective monitoring audits were successfully completed.
