Federal Ecodesign Award for outstanding ecological and aesthetic products and services | Umweltbundesamt

Federal Environment Minister Hendricks said: "We aim to advance ecological product design with the Federal Ecodesign Award. Sustainable consumption doesn't start at the moment of purchase, it starts at the design stage. Most of the environmental impact of a product – sometimes up to 80% – is determined by its design. Consumers will only opt for the ecological alternative on a large scale once it is more durable, better and more attractive than the conventional rival. Our aim is to make sustainable consumption part of everyday life. Having the choice of a more sustainable alternative must become a matter of course for consumers, and something which is affordable for everyone."

Eight projects were honoured with the Federal Ecodesign Award 2015:

Category "Product“

• Engel GmbH for its GOTS-certified wool and silk athletic wear, machine washable thanks to a chlorine-free wool fabric and no added chemicals
• hinterher.com for a bicycle trainer that can be easily transformed into a handcart or a luggage cart
• Sunlumo Technology GmbH for a low-cost solar collector made without aluminium and copper for heat supply in emerging and developing countries.
• FREITAG lab. ag for their collection of durable casual wear made of European bast fibres with an especially favourable life-cycle inventory

Category "Service“

• Robert Bosch GmbH/CoremanNet for an international logistics network for used automobile parts

Category "Concept"

Team Radbahn Berlin for a plan to realise a 9 kilometre-long canopied bicycle path in Berlin

Category "Young Talents"

• Carolin Schulze, University of Art and Design Halle, for an alternative to meat consumption: "Bugs Bunny" renders insect meat in a new form
• Armin Warnecke, Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts And Design, for a logistics system for container ship traffic

The environmental and design experts of the jury nominated 33 projects from a total of 288 entries in the competition categories Product, Service, Concept and Young Talent. Eight of those nominees have become winners of the German Federal Ecodesign Award 2015.

The Federal Ministry of Environment and the UBA, in cooperation with International Design Center Berlin (IDZ), have awarded the prize every year since 2012.