The twelfth German Sustainability Awards were presented this week in Düsseldorf (Germany). The award recognises sustainability achievements in businesses, by municipalities, and in research. ICLEI Europe sat on the independent expert jury.

The winners of the award for Cities and Towns, who had been previously announced, all approach climate and biodiversity protection in a participatory manner. The winners in the categories of city, medium-sized city, and small city or town are: Osnabrück, Aschaffenburg, and Bad Berleburg, respectively.

Winners were announced live in Düsseldorf for the categories: Company, Architecture, Research, Global Partnerships, and Next Economy. These included ICLEI Members and organisations located in Member Cities. The project Elevate by Sozialhelden e.V. in Berlin won in the Research category; Typhoon Tofu in Member Freiburg won in the sustainable company category; and ICLEI Member Bremen and the GLS Bank, together with partners in Durban (South Africa), won for their Global Partnership.

ICLEI Members have been prominent among past winners. Overall, 57 percent of past winners in the “large city” category are ICLEI Members, as well as all of last year’s large city finalists: Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Münster (that ultimately won).

For more information on the German Sustainability Award (“Deutsche Nachhaltigkeitspreis”), click here.