10th National German Sustainability Award
The German Sustainability Award Foundation has now for the tenth time presented this distinction for outstanding achievements in sustainability. Germany‘s most sustainable start-ups had been spotlighted on the previous day, in the form of the third Next Economy Award. The two-day congress convinced attendees with fascinating papers and discussions.
In addition, a special prize was also awarded to all prize-winners of the corporate and municipal competition to mark the anniversary. The Tenth National German Sustainability Awards were presented before an audience of 1200 invited guests in Düsseldorf on 8 December 2017. Outstanding sustainability achievements in industry, municipalities and research received awards in five competitions. The German Sustainability Award Foundation also honoured Her Majesty The Queen of the Belgians, the Scottish singer and activist, Annie Lennox, British behavioural researcher Jane Goodall and German singer and musician Marius Müller-Westernhagen with honorary awards for their social and ecological commitment.
This year‘s winners in the Corporate category included Deutsche Telekom, cleaning-agent manufacturer Sodasan and the „Grüne Punkt“ dual waste collection system. Hanover, Geestland and the Eifel municipality of Nettersheim achieved success in the Cities sector. The Anniversary Prize went, after an audience vote, to frozen-foods producer Frosta and the City of Pirmasens. wagnisART, a cooperative residential-construction project, won the German Sustainable Building Council award for „Sustainable Building“, while consumers selected GEPA Bio Café Orgánico as Germany‘s „most sustainable product“. Scientists from the CUTEC environmental-technology research centre in Clausthal-Zellerfeld won the 6th National German Sustainability Award for Research thanks to their contribution to the recovery of electricity and mineral resources from wastewater systems.
Celebrities from commerce, the municipalities, top-level politics, research and civil society all trod the sustainably produced red carpet on this evening. Those on the platform included NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet, Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer, Otto Waalkes, Dirk Steffens, Natalia Wörner and Sara Nuru. Musical highlights of this celebratory event were the performances by Annie Lennox, Marius Müller-Westernhagen and Max Giesinger. The initiator of the award, the ZDF TV station‘s science journalist, Stefan Schulze-Hausmann, compered.
The third Next Economy Award, Germany‘s prize of recognition for „green business founders“, had been presented in Düsseldorf on the previous evening. The German Sustainability Award Foundation, in cooperation with the federal ministry for economics and energy, rewarded four start-ups that are backing social and ecological sustainability.
Wijld manufactures T-shirts from wood, and received the award in the „Change“ category. The „Digitality“ category award went to the German Institute for Telemedicine and Health Promotion, which makes possible the telemedical care of the chronically ill. The award in the „People“ category was won by EinDollarBrille e.V. for its all-in solution for basic ophthalmic care. The „Technology“ category award was presented to Enerthing, a producer of solar film, which replaces disposable batteries. Those presenting the prizes included Philipp Lahm, Sara Nuru and Parliamentary Secretary of State Dirk Wiese.
This year‘s NEA honorary awards went to the innovator and adventurer, Dr. Bertrand Piccard, and musician and entertainer, Jan Delay. Piccard received the honorary award for pioneering new innovative ideas and solutions. His „Solar Impulse“ project, above all, set a path for the potential for the use of renewable energy sources. Jan Delay was honoured for his consistent resolution not only to clearly address social problems, but also to help in finding solutions. Delay also provided the musical highlight of the evening.
The 10th German Sustainability Day, Germany‘s best attended national sustainability congress, also celebrated a round-number anniversary in a two-day congress agenda on 7 and 8 December 2017. Some 130 speakers, including Prof. Dr. Mojib Latif (meteorologist and climate researcher, and President of the German Association Club of Rome), Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE (behavioural researcher and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute), Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner (Director of the German Development Institute), Dr. Bertrand Piccard (scientist and adventurer), Dr. Karsten Sach (head of the „Climate Protection, Europe and International“ department at the federal environment ministry), Prof. Dr. Stefan Schaltegger (Head of the Centre for Sustainability Management), Dirk Steffens (journalist and moderator), Ashok Sridharan (Lord Mayor of the Federal City of Bonn), Harald Welzer (sociologist and social psychologist) all convened in Düsseldorf, along with 2,000 participants and guests. The Bertelsmann Foundation‘s municipal congress was another „guest“, meeting under the motto of „Municipality 2030 – sustainable and digital“.
The Sustainability Award app had been developed in cooperation with Düsseldorf‘s digital agency, appcom, for the congress event and for the award presentations in the evening. In addition to information about the German Sustainability Award and „compensation for the trip (to the event)“, visitors could also use this application to vote for a company and a town or city for the anniversary award. A VW e-up! electric car was the prize in a lottery held for all the guests attending this tenth gala.
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