Sustainability Report 2016 / 2017

Ecology Sustainability at Mainz Site Ecological Building Besides the products, the headquarters building at Werner & Mertz in Mainz meets the highest ecological standards. The building satisfies all international requirements for environmen- tally-friendly and sustainable construction. In September 2012 Werner & Mertz received LEED Platinum, which is currently the most demanding sustainability certification for buildings. The evaluation system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, stands for “Leadership in Environmental & Energy Design”. The categories in a building’s rating are sustainable site, water effi- ciency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation in design. The assessment is based on a fixed point system in four progressive quality levels with platinum at the top. The core of the building is its holistic energy concept. The 16 wind power turbines, photovoltaic cells and geothermal groundwater system generate 20 percent more energy than the building needs for current operation. Solar-generated electricity from the rooftop powers two electric Smart cars in the company’s fleet. The heating and cooling system is doubly effective. It is fed with water from our own well. The water flows into the new demineralization plant on our premises and then into Production, where it is used a second time. Yet another way to preserve resources. 32 “ We incorporate as many ecological aspects and ele­ ments as possible to promote greater sustainability. ” Ecology