Press Release

ZEISS publishes first Group Sustainability Report after fiscal year 2016/17

31 January 2018

  • Sustainable action and long-term value added are firmly anchored in the company’s mission statement and are part and parcel of everyday life
  • ZEISS kicks off 2018 in Oberkochen by focusing on “Rethinking education”
Oberkochen, Germany | 31 January 2018 | Corporate News
  
In terms of value added, the past fiscal year has seen 46 percent fewer CO2 emissions, around 8,400 patents worldwide and more than EUR 540,000 for approximately 120 funded projects – ZEISS can now present all these facts and figures in its first-ever Group-wide sustainability report.
  
With the report on fiscal year 2016/17, the world’s leader in the optics and optoelectronics industries documents how it defines responsible behavior in a dynamic, ever-changing economic and societal environment and takes action with a view to lasting business success.
  
The report certified by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) illustrates the principles guiding the company’s operations, what objectives it has set itself and what measures it is taking in five fields of action (integrity and compliance; products and the value chain; the environment; employees; societal and social engagement). In the report, ZEISS acknowledges its commitment to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that were adopted by the United Nations in December 2015.
  
“ZEISS’s success is a result of sustainable, responsible action that is founded on our strategy, our brand and our values. Thus, responsibility toward society, individual customers, partners, employees and the environment is at the core of the corporate identity we live by,” says President and CEO Prof. Dr. Michael Kaschke. “We can proudly look back on more than 170 years of tradition characterized by ever more sustainable value added. Only by continuing to see our responsibility holistically can we ensure ZEISS remains successful.”

ZEISS kicks off 2018 in Oberkochen – “Rethinking education”

One example of ZEISS’s future-oriented commitment to sustainability is an initiative that will be launched on 7 February 2018 with the kick-off event at the ZEISS Forum in Oberkochen.

It aims to network partners from science and industry. Fully in keeping with SDG 4 (Quality Education) and in line with the slogan “Rethinking education”, the event sees schoolkids, trainees, students and newly formed start-ups present their ideas about how we can rethink and shape education in innovative ways. They will present new approaches such as e-learning and self-determined learning. The best ideas will be honored with prizes as part of the event.

Contributions from different business initiatives will present ways in which we can break down the barriers of traditional education systems. Philosopher Richard David Precht, one of Germany’s leading lights who has published works on education, will be presenting his thoughts in a speech and will then discuss these with Dr. Kaschke.

“ZEISS is assuming societal responsibility and would like to play an even greater role in addressing educational topics together with its partners. After all, only through close networks will it be possible to overcome the challenges associated with future-oriented education, both regionally and globally.”


* Correction from 31 January 2018: This press release differs from the initial release.

  

Further information:

Press contact Jörg Nitschke

Head of Corporate Brand, Communications and Public Affairs
ZEISS Group

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the optics and optoelectronics industries. The ZEISS Group develops, produces and distributes measuring technology, microscopes, medical technology, eyeglass lenses, camera and cinema lenses, binoculars and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. With its solutions, the company constantly advances the world of optics and helps shape technological progress. ZEISS is divided up into the four segments Research & Quality Technology, Medical Technology, Vision Care/Consumer Products and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. The ZEISS Group is represented in more than 40 countries and has over 50 sales and service locations, more than 30 manufacturing sites and about 25 research and development centers around the globe.

In fiscal year 2016/17 the company generated revenue approximating €5.3 billion with around 27,000 employees. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. Carl Zeiss AG is the strategic management holding company that manages the ZEISS Group. The company is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation).

Further information at www.zeiss.com


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