Sustainability in the Automotive Industry: International Milestone: ISRINGHAUSEN brings the ZNU Standard to France
ISRINGHAUSEN GmbH & Co. KG is a globally leading specialist in innovative seating systems and technical springs. For over 100 years, the company has been developing and producing high-quality commercial vehicle seats at its headquarters in Lemgo near Bielefeld and at additional locations worldwide. As part of the AUNDE Group, ISRINGHAUSEN complements the portfolio with complex interior solutions and benefits from synergies within the group — particularly in the area of sustainability through the ZNU Standard.
The implementation process of the ZNU Standard initially began at the parent company AUNDE, making it the first company in the German automotive industry to adopt the system, before ISRINGHAUSEN independently took it on. A key driver of this process was Carsten Mathmann, who has been heading the sustainability division for two years.
From Quality Manager to Sustainability Manager
Even in his personal life, Carsten Mathmann was engaged with upcycling and sustainable living: restoring old furniture instead of throwing it away, growing vegetables, collecting rainwater, and providing financial support for projects such as "The Ocean Cleanup." Combined with his many years of experience in quality management, this made him an ideal candidate to implement a sustainability process at ISRINGHAUSEN. With his move into the sustainability division in 2023 came his first contact with the ZNU Standard. As a quality manager, he particularly appreciated that the standard examines a large number of company areas simultaneously and takes a close look at them. According to Mathmann, this integrated approach is a decisive lever.
"When we decided that ISRINGHAUSEN would get certified, my first thought was that this would finally be a standard that examines many company areas simultaneously and takes a close look at them."
Pulling Together as a Group: Implementing Sustainability Jointly
For the AUNDE Group, anchoring sustainability was a clear strategic decision. The group-wide ambition to achieve more in the area of sustainability was the starting point for the decision to introduce the ZNU Standard for Sustainable Business. The goal was to establish a uniform understanding of sustainability and successful sustainability management across the entire group, and to "pull together" in the future. Accordingly, all business units, including ISRINGHAUSEN, were expected to follow this step.
The group-wide knowledge gained through the ZNU Standard certification of the parent company AUNDE Group could be specifically leveraged for the implementation at headquarters in 2024. The key sustainability topics were developed across the group through a combination of risk and opportunity analyses, hotspot analyses, and stakeholder analyses. A shared materiality matrix was created, clearly presenting the topics in which the company has the greatest impact. Mathmann emphasizes this group-wide exchange as an important success factor in establishing the standard.
"The AUNDE Group has made its decision: We want to continue driving the area of sustainability proactively and achieve certification."
International Milestone: First International Location Successfully Certified
Following the initial certification of the main headquarters in Lemgo in 2024/25, ISRINGHAUSEN's first international location was included in the certification process in 2026: Merkwiller in France. Despite national differences in corporate culture and legislation, the implementation went smoothly. The French plant already had a high level of standards in place, which facilitated the implementation, as Mathmann emphasizes. The decisive factor was the clear approach that had already been implemented at ISRINGHAUSEN: creating understanding and involving employees.
"There are of course definitely differences from country to country when it comes to regulations or legislation. […] But since many of these regulations are EU regulations, most of it was not unfamiliar."
From Training to Lived Sustainability
A key lever for success was a consistent raising of awareness among employees. Through workshops, discussion rounds, and training sessions, sustainability was not only conveyed as a theoretical concept, but made tangible as a concrete part of everyday working life. Mathmann describes the initial situation aptly: in their private lives, sustainability was a familiar concept to many, but less so in a professional context. Therefore, in the first step, it was of enormous importance to establish a shared understanding.
The training formats were designed so that colleagues could see themselves reflected in them and actively participate in co-creation processes. To achieve this, the team went directly into production and asked people: What do you understand by sustainability? The answers were initially almost exclusively personal in nature. Only when the follow-up question "And in a professional context?" was asked did the decisive moment of realization come: most people became aware that it is not just about turning off the lights, but about social, economic, and ecological issues directly related to their work. This realization broke down the initial hesitation and ensured that many employees subsequently wanted to participate proactively.
A further result of the new structures: ISRINGHAUSEN developed an internal guideline for product development that bindingly anchors resource conservation, materials management, and recycling — and was very well received by employees.
"That was a huge topic, because while many people were familiar with sustainability in their private lives, they found it harder to imagine what it meant in a professional context."
Sustainability that Works: Successes and Measurable Progress with the ZNU Standard
The implementation of the ZNU Standard has strengthened global collaboration within the group and increased sustainability-related visibility among stakeholders. According to Mathmann, the ZNU Standard has above all improved external visibility: progress can now be communicated more precisely and presented more transparently to stakeholders. Ratings and customer inquiries can be addressed more effectively, as processes and progress are transparently documented. Carsten Mathmann was particularly pleased by the response of a major customer, who recognized ISRINGHAUSEN's commitment at a sustainability supplier summit and offered the company a platform to present its activities. Mathmann underlines that internal efforts, when communicated transparently to the outside world, can improve external perception and competitive positioning.
"You can definitely tell that not only what we do internally, but also this external work, actually making our activities known, is definitely bearing fruit."
What Would Things Look Like Without the ZNU Standard?
When asked what sustainability management at ISRINGHAUSEN would look like without the ZNU Standard, Mathmann reflects thoughtfully: the company would probably be working on similar topics, but each individual topic would be an isolated major project. What the standard has created is a shared structure that distributes tasks across various departments and ensures that everything runs more smoothly. For example, a customer inquiry today is handled jointly by sustainability, development, and procurement, rather than remaining in a silo. The standard has turned a cross-cutting topic into a genuine cross-cutting process.
Tips for Other Sustainability Managers
1. Consistently involve employees: Sustainability must be something that can be experienced and actively shaped.
2. Establish a clear project structure: A dedicated project team and a solid project plan are essential.
3. Distribute responsibility across all areas: Sustainability does not work as a siloed task. It requires active participation from development, procurement, production, and management.
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