IFAT: Nominees in the GreenTec Awards Announced
Preparations for the IFAT Gala Night on Sunday, May 4th, are entering the next round. At this event, on the evening before the start of IFAT (May 5–9, 2014), the winners of the GreenTec Awards will be announced and presented with their prizes.
Over 200 projects were entered for the award, which is Europe´s biggest environmental and business accolade, and the jury has now selected its favorites. The results of public online voting are also now available – this year roughly 100,000 votes were submitted from around the world.
Organizer and host delighted with the response
Marco Voigt, the initiator of the GreenTec Awards, is pleased that "together with our partners we have been able to mobilize so many people around the world – we have received votes from across Europe, and also from Russia and China." Eugen Egetenmeir, Managing Director of Messe München, the host of this year´s Gala Night, is delighted: "This high level of international interest shows that around the globe innovative environmental technologies are becoming ever more important. The projects submitted are also evidence of the dynamic, solutions-oriented approach this sector is taking towards problems."
Nominees from across the sector
The spectrum of this year´s hopefuls is very broad: Among the nominees are names like Continental Reifen, Danfoss and Lichtblick in cooperation with Borussia Dortmund, international start-ups such as akvolution, Tado and Pectcof, research institutions, e.g. Fraunhofer IMS and the Technical University of Dresden, as well as young inventors with projects focusing on bee-keeping on balconies, organic drinking straws and veggie hotels. For a full list of the nominees, go to: www.greentec-awards.com/en/competition/nominees-2014.html
Jury session in February
The jury met in a closed session on February 25, 2014, in the Hotel Regent Berlin to decide on this year´s winners. The 60-strong jury includes representatives from well-known association and societies, as well as entrepreneurs, VIPs and presenters. This year, for the first time, the entire selection process for the GreenTec Awards is being certified by the technical inspection authorities, TÜV Nord.
Commenting on his début on the panel of judges, Dr. Markus Beukenberg, Chief Technical Officer of Wilo SE, said: "What made a very positive impression on me were the lively, sometimes controversial discussions we had. My colleagues probed deeply in their search for agreement, they certainly did not take the job lightly, quite the opposite in fact. We really did struggle to reach a decision."
Source: Messe München GmbH
