Sustainable Design as a Lever of Transformation
25 role models of sustainable design were honored in Düsseldorf with the 2nd German Sustainability Award Design. The award-winning products, services, and systems range from textiles and electrical engineering to sustainable cosmetics.
“Sustainable design has perhaps the greatest leverage for transformation,” says initiator Stefan Schulze-Hausmann. Designers “make significant decisions about materials, production, logistics and recycling – and, above all, they enable us consumers to make our own contributions.” The 81 finalists included companies, agencies, designers, students, and start-ups that are considered pioneers in sustainable design solutions. The most innovative ideas cover areas as diverse as furniture and furnishings, clothing and textiles, electromobility, tableware and cutlery, water, electrical engineering and construction, cosmetics and grooming, as well as communications. 25 finalists left the stage at the Maritim Hotel Düsseldorf as winners of the DNP Design after the jury of experts had made its decision.
Examples of the diversity of the award-winning solutions: the Brita 3-way kitchen faucet that delivers filtered water directly from the tap and thus contributes to the reduction of plastic bottles, the start-up Pléta – pure nature dishes with a naturally degradable alternative to disposable plastic tableware, or a thoroughly “green” children’s book by the publisher neunmalklug. Among the finalists in the visions category was Gardena EcoLine; the plastic elements of the products in the new Gardena EcoLine range consist of at least 65 percent recycled material.
The German Sustainability Award is the national award for excellence in sustainability in business, communities, and research. With eight competitions (including the Next Economy Award for “green founders”) and over 1,000 applicants, the award is the most comprehensive of its kind in Europe. The award is presented by the German Sustainability Award Foundation in cooperation with the German federal government, leading municipal associations, business associations, civil society organizations, and research institutions. The setting for the award ceremony is the German Sustainability Day in Düsseldorf.
