Bundespreis Ecodesign prize is awarded

Ms Heinen-Esser and Mr Flasbarth present prizes in four categories

The trophies are waiting for the winners.
Source: UBA

The Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU) and the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) awarded the second annual Bundespreis Ecodesign prize today. The 12 prize winners were publicly announced and celebrated at the awards ceremony which was held at the Federal Ministry for Environment in Berlin. Winning entries in the four prize categories 'product', 'service', 'concept' and 'young design' included environmentally friendly mobility and energy schemes, fully recyclable clothing collections, a wood hybrid building system, and an electric wheel hub drive for commercial vehicles.

Ms Ursula Heinen-Esser, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Environment, underscored the significance of sustainable production and consumption, saying, "With a world population of more than seven billion and greater consumer demand it has become a challenge to use our resources more consciously. Sustainable consumption may help in this regard. This contest shows that even environmentally friendly products can also be very convincing in terms of their design."

At the awards ceremony the President of the Federal Environment Agency, Jochen Flasbarth, said, "Good design, usability, aesthetics, and environmental friendliness are the characteristics of outstanding, sustainable products. The Bundespreis Ecodesign prize is becoming a platform for product design that will benefit everyone: manufacturers, designers, consumers and, not least of all, the environment."

The jury for the Bundespreis Ecodesign had nominated and selected winners from among some 200 contest entries. Prof. Günter Horntrich, Jury Chairman and Professor for Design and Ecology at Köln International School of Design, pointed out, "The impressive range and quality of the entries show that more and more designers and businesses are becoming aware of their responsibility to design the goods and services of our everyday lives in an environmentally sound way.“
The original prize-winning projects can be seen starting February 2014. The first stop of the Bundespreis Ecodesign touring exhibition is Ludwigsburg. The exhibition will be travelling to other cities and towns in Germany. The next round of the Bundespreis Ecodesign award starts as soon as January 2014.

The Federal Ministry for Environment and the Federal Environment Agency began awarding the Bundespreis Ecodesign every year since 2012 in collaboration with IDZ Internationales Design Zentrum Berlin. The initiative is supported by a project advisory council.

Jury

Werner Aisslinger (designer)
Dr. Kirsten Brodde (author, eco-fashion expert)
Jochen Flasbarth (President, UBA)
Prof. Dr. Rainer Grießhammer (Director, Öko-Institut)
Ursula Heinen-Esser (Parliamentary State Secretary at BMU)
Prof. Günter Horntrich (designer, Professor for Design and Ecology at KISD)
Prof. Dr. Erik Spiekermann (communications designer, typographer and author)
Nicola Stattmann (designer, materials expert)

Advisory Council

Dorothea Hess, Alliance of German Designers (AGD)
Anne Farken, BMW Group DesignworksUSA
Prof. Matthias Held and Sabine Lenk, German Society for Design Theory and Research (DGTF)
Lutz Dietzold, German Design Council
Prof. Philipp Oswalt and Katja Klaus, Bauhaus Dessau Foundation
Prof. Susanne Schwarz-Raacke (product design), Prof. Heike Selmer (fashion design) and Prof. Dr. Zane Berzina (textile and surface design), Berlin Weissensee School of Art (KHB)
Karin-Simone Fuhs, ecosign/Akademie für Gestaltung
Dr. Dietlinde Quack, Öko-Institut
Thomas Wodtke and Hendrik Roch, Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology UMSICHT
Stephan Rabl, Association of German Retail Trade (HDE)
Dr. Dominik Klepper, German Brands Association
Johanna Kardel, Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv)