In 2024, industrial and service sectors in Germany generated €117.5 billion in revenue from goods and services related to environmental protection. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Thursday, this revenue figure represents a 1.9 percent decrease compared to the previous year. This marks the first time in six years that revenues in the environmental goods and services sector have seen a decline.
The number of “Green Jobs”-employment in businesses producing and providing environmental protection goods and services-remained nearly stable year-over-year, recording only a drop of 300 employees to approximately 404,900 full-time equivalents. Meanwhile, the overall investment by industry (excluding the construction sector) dedicated to environmental protection in 2024 totaled €21.8 billion.
Climate protection was the most lucrative environmental area, generating €73.0 billion in sales in 2024, a 2.8 percent increase from the previous year. Significant contributions to climate preservation came from measures utilizing renewable energy, amounting to €36.2 billion, and measures aimed at boosting energy efficiency and saving energy, which totaled €34.1 billion. Within renewable energy, onshore wind power was the strongest revenue segment, generating €14.8 billion. For increasing energy efficiency and saving energy, energy-efficient drive and control technology (excluding electromobility) led the sector with €11.0 billion.
Besides climate protection, wastewater management and air purification were the next strongest environmental areas. Air purification generated €19.6 billion in 2024, a 15.7 percent decrease year-on-year. Notably, two sectors strongly linked to the automotive industry showed particular declines. Electromobility, which had generated the highest air purification revenue, saw a 11.5 percent drop (€1.3 billion), marking the first such decrease since the indicator was introduced in 2019. Similarly, revenue from catalytic exhaust gas purification fell by 25.4 percent (€1.9 billion) in 2024.
In the wastewater management sector, €11.3 billion was earned, a slight increase of 1.1 percent or about €122,000 compared to the previous year. The most profitable segment-the production and installation of sewer systems-remained flat at €6.4 billion.
Within the manufacturing sector, environmental-related revenues amounted to €84.8 billion, representing about three-quarters (72.1 percent) of the total. Machinery manufacturing remained the most important area with €27.3 billion in environmental revenue, followed by the production of automobiles and auto parts, which generated €12.0 billion. Additionally, the construction sector contributed €15.2 billion, and the service sector contributed €13.1 billion.
The manufacturing sector was dominant not only in environmental revenue but also in employment. Approximately two-thirds (63.5 percent, or 257,200 people) of all environmental protection workers in 2024 were employed in manufacturing, for example, in the production of renewable energy facilities. Nearly one-fifth (20.9 percent, or 84,500 people) were employed in construction, such as in building insulation. The service sector, which includes tasks like planning and project development for renewable energy in architectural and engineering offices, accounted for 13.7 percent (55,500) of all “Green Jobs.”
Regarding investments, industry dedicated €21.2 billion to environmental protection in 2024. These figures include technical plants and machinery used for environmental protection. Over half of these investments, totaling €11.9 billion (56.1 percent), went to climate protection, predominantly toward renewable energy usage (€8.3 billion). Climate protection investments also included energy efficiency measures (€2.1 billion) and greenhouse gas emission prevention/reduction (€1.5 billion). Following climate protection, wastewater and waste management received the highest share of physical investments, with industry investing €7.2 billion (33.9 percent) in the sector, including €4.4 billion for reducing water volume and freight.
Further €1.4 billion (6.7 percent) of physical investments were allocated to air purification, including €609 million for electromobility-such as purchasing electric or hybrid vehicles and corresponding charging infrastructure.
In addition to physical investments, companies gave €516 million for newly rented and leased environmental facilities, such as renting photovoltaic systems. An additional €101 million of the environmental investments were put into intangible assets, such as specialized software used for corporate environmental and sustainability management, including software for greenhouse gas or waste management. The provision and waste management sector, which accounted for 15.4 billion euros, made the largest share of environmental protection investments in physical assets, surpassing two-thirds (72.7 percent) of all sectors.
