This year's Blue Angel Prize distinguishes companies which have supported the cause of the Blue Angel ecolabel in an extraordinary way and whose products bearing the ecolabel are exemplary in their contribution to climate protection, for example because they are especially energy-efficient, avoid emissions to soil, water and air to the greatest extent possible or are exceptionally long-lasting.
President Maria Krautzberger of the German Environment Agency praised the three nominated companies by saying, "It is not always easy for consumers to find environmentally friendly products in the consumer jungle. I hope that more companies will follow their example and offer products with the Blue Angel label. This enables consumers to make a conscious decision for the benefit of man and the environment."
Blue Angel Prize
Every year since 2012 the prize has been awarded to companies which support the cause of the Blue Angel ecolabel in an extraordinary way and which are particularly successful in environmental protection. The prize is offered by the Environmental Label Jury, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, the Federal Environment Agency and the RAL gGmbH in collaboration with the German Sustainability Award. The winner was selected by the jury of the Sustainability Award from among three nominations.
Award winner Telekom and nominees
The prize winner Telekom Deutschland GmbH was nominated for the Blue Angel Prize for the second time. The telecommunications service provider has had the Blue Angel on its cordless DECT telephones since 2013. Their IP cordless speedphones have carried the label since the IFA consumer electronics fair in 2015.
The most important feature of Blue Angel cordless phones is energy savings. The ecolabel also emphasises resource conservation and what materials are consumed in order to ensure a greater degree of recycling. The rechargeable batteries required for the phones to receive the ecolabel guarantee their long service life. The preventive limitation of electromagnetic radiation is another key objective of the Blue Angel for this product. The transmission signal between the base and station must be nearly cut off when in stand-by mode.
About 95% of cordless phones from Telekom now have the Blue Angel label, making the company a pioneer and significant multiplier for climate action. The other nominees were the car-sharing provider "Cambio" and the computer centre operation "IT-Dienstleistungszentrum Berlin", which were recognised for the commitment to the Blue Angel.
The Blue Angel
The Blue Angel is currently awarded for some 12,000 products by 1,500 companies in about 120 different product categories. All the products and the criteria on which the award is based can be looked at on the www.blauer-engel.de website. Independence and credibility is guaranteed by the Environmental Label Jury, the Federal Ministry for Environment, the German Environment Agency and RAL GmbH. Members of the Environmental Label Jury represent the Federation of German Industries (BDI), BUND/Friends of the Earth Germany, the German Trade Union Confederation, the Main Association of German Retail Trade (HDE), NABU Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv), German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH), Stiftung Warentest, media, churches, science, the German Association of Towns and Cities, and the German federal states.
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