Entering the Final Round

A single online shop for local retailers, children’s bicycles made from deodorant cans, electrically driven airplanes and a climate-neutral hotel. This year again the nominations were rich in ideas, innovation and creativity. The jury had the difficult task of selecting the winners from the three nominees per category.

High up in the Humboldt Box in Berlin with a fantastic view over the city and its cathedral, the jury met in February to vote on the winners of the GreenTec Awards. Before this meeting, the nominees had previously been selected in a jury process and a global open vote held online, which attracted around 100,000 registered votes. Then in Berlin, in a secret poll, the GreenTec Awards jury members made their choice of the final winners. A special feature of this interdisciplinary jury is the mix of business experts and prominent individuals.

Each of the nominated projects was explained to the jury members in a presentation. One new aspect this year was that the nominated start-up companies had the opportunity of presenting their projects in person, in a two-minute pitch. “That really impressed me,” said Dr. Dirk Stenkamp, a long-term member of the GreenTec Awards jury and a Board Member of the technical inspection authorities, TÜV NORD. “These young people did a very professional job.”

Christoph Körfer, Press Spokesman and Deputy Head of Broadcasting at ProSieben, underlined the innovations strength evident in the GreenTec Awards: “The nominations for the GreenTec Awards 2016 show that sustainability in the way we live and the way we manufacture is no longer a niche theme. I am impressed how both start-ups and established companies are striving with their ideas towards a better, more sustainable future. Personally, I find it fascinating that a supplier to the automotive industry has come up with a car part that can reduce fuel consumption by up to six percent. If that really works, it would be a mini revolution. And we need a lot of them.”

Dr. Christopher Hebling from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, a long-term supporter of the GreenTec Awards and the jury chairman, emphasized the great commitment and interest shown by the jury members. He sums up: “All those involved want the best submission to win and we are fighting to ensure this. In each of the categories we will have a very worthy winner—of that there is no doubt.”