SUSTAINABILITY
Award-winning ideas

Yesterday evening, the time had finally come again in Düsseldorf: the German Sustainability Award for forward-looking design was presented for the second time. The members of the jury this year included Prof. Michael Braungart, founder of the EPEA, the product designer Stefan Diez, the renowned design journalist Thomas Edelmann and Raphael Gielgen, trend scout at Vitra. The team selected a total of 25 finalists who have developed forward-looking products to integrate sustainable design into our everyday lives.The award went to the "DiFOLD" Origami Bottle: based on the Japanese art of paper folding, it can be folded to a very compact size when not in use. It is also made of bio-based TPC plastic, which is completely recyclable, free of harmful substances and easy to clean. The manufacturer BRITA was allowed to accept a prize for the 3-way kitchen tap, which supplies filtered water directly from the tap via an exchangeable cartridge under the sink. Used cartridges are recycled by the company in its own facility. Thanks to a separate pipe integrated into the tap, it is possible to choose between filtered and unfiltered water.

In the field of construction, Schönthaler, among others, was pleased to receive an award for the development of hemp-lime bricks, which are pressed from the rapidly renewable raw material hemp and natural lime and are thus CO2-neutral. The bricks offer insulating properties, so that no further insulation is required. The material also creates a pleasant indoor climate due to its air-purifying and air-regulating properties. If deconstruction is necessary, the hemp bricks can be completely shredded and formed into new bricks.

The winners also included the "Startec Frame Fix" from Häfele, which enables the installation of door frames without construction foam and other chemicals.
chemicals. Only mechanically fixed, it remains adjustable at all times and can be adjusted and readjusted after installation. Since all parts are made of galvanised sheet steel, they can either be reused or recycled after removal. For the further development of mobility, meanwhile, Alstom impressed with "Coradia iLint" - the world's first passenger train powered by electric energy from a hydrogen fuel cell, thus enabling emission-free rail transport. The energy is generated in a fuel cell on board and temporarily stored in lithium-ion batteries. This type of energy conversion only produces water. Although the production of hydrogen initially requires a lot of electricity, the more of it comes from regenerative sources, the "greener" the drive becomes, according to the manufacturer.

The "Solar Pergola" shading system from Solavinea, which is equipped with an integrated photovoltaic system, was awarded a prize in the home technology category. The special feature is the rotatable slats equipped with solar panels that can be optimally aligned with the sun. This allows the intensity of the shading to be precisely adjusted or the energy yield to be optimised. The energy generated is stored in batteries or fed into the grid. In the Vision category, the "Cerberus" project by Arthur Worbes, Bernhard Büttner and Ony Yan at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences shows how the efficient and ecological cultivation of natural resources can be made possible. Instead of cultivating the algae on disposable synthetic fibre nets, the team uses buoys with adjustable spokes for "Cerberus", which are harvested by special vehicles. Compared to nets, the buoys increase the cultivation area by almost 90 percent. The buoys also allow for maintenance and repair, while discarded nets have to be disposed of. "Design is a central factor of change: sustainable design makes important contributions to the transformation to a sustainable society. It provides answers to all the major challenges of our time and changes the way people live," says the initiator of the award, Stefan Schulze-Hausmann.

This year, the Honorary Award of the German Sustainability Award went to Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, one of the world's most respected climate researchers. (am)

Civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering
Häfele SE & co KG - STARTEC FRAME FIX
Schönthaler Bausteinwerk GmbH - Hemp-limestones
Vertiko GmbH - Vertiko Living Wall Outdoor

Clothing and textiles
Airpaq UG - Sustainable backpacks and accessories petit cochon Manufaktur GmbH - Children's clothing that grows with the child

Communication
dm-drogerie markt - Pro Climate: Environmentally neutral products from dm
neunmalklug verlag GbR - Cradle to Cradle picture book "Marta & Piet"

Cosmetics and care
Organic Label GmbH - Levy & Frey - Body care in powder form
OYESS Beauty GmbH - OYESS Lip Care

Mixed group
design for human nature - tegut...teo market
Amparo GmbH - The Amparo System
StrassenBLUES e.V. - Corona-StrassenHlLFE

Furniture Installation
Solavinea GmbH - The Solar Pergola

Mobility
Deutsche Bahn Station & Service AG - DB Rad+ App
Urwahn Engineering GmbH - Urwahn Bikes Platzhirsch
VELLO GmbH - VELLO Bike+
Alstom Transport Deutschland GmbH - Coradia iLint fuel cell train
Schmitz Cargobull AG - Schmitz Cargobull EcoGeneration

Tableware and cutlery
Pleta - pure nature dishes - pure nature dishes

Water
BRITA GmbH - BRITA 3-way kitchen tap with filter mypure
DiFOLD - DiFOLD Origami Bottle

Visions
Designit Germany GmbH - VeloHUB
Gardena GmbH - GARDENA EcoLine
Jack Wolfskin - WOLFTRAIL 28 RECCO
Arthur Worbes, Bernhard Büttner, Ony Yan - Cerberus