Press

147 submissions to the contest's four categories "Product", "Service", "Concept", and "Young Talent" were on display and evaluated yesterday at feldfünf, in the open space of the Metropolenhaus in Berlin. 28 projects were nominated by the environmental and design experts of the jury for this year's design award.

The German Environment Agency (UBA) reports positive environmental performance 30 years after German reunification. Air, water and soil much cleaner – climate change remains greatest challenge.

Zero-emission mobility should be possible for all. However, the current German transportation system penalises far too many population groups who, for example, suffer from a lack of accessibility or live on busy roads. During European Mobility Week from September 16-22, 93 towns and cities in Germany will show how mobility can be organised in a socially just manner.

A broad alliance from politics, economics and associations is campaigning for improved bio-waste collection with the "Biotonne Deutschland" action weeks. For three weeks starting today, local authorities in Germany will be promoting the separate collection of biowaste with local campaigns.

Today's transportation system in Germany shows numerous social injustices, says a position paper by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA). Low-income households in particular are disadvantaged, for example because they more frequently live on roads with higher traffic volumes and thus higher noise and air pollution levels - even though they often do not drive.

HD-quality video streaming produces different levels of greenhouse gas emissions depending on the transmission technology. The CO2 emissions generated by data processing in a data centre are relatively low, at 1.5 grams of CO2 per hour. However, the technology used to transmit data from the data centre to the user determines the climate compatibility of cloud services like video streaming.

An experimental study by the German Environment Agency (UBA) found no correlation between infrasound immissions at or below the perception threshold and acute reactions on the human body. However, the test persons classified the infrasound sounds as "somewhat" to "moderately" annoying.

The only recently revised international noise approval regulations for motor vehicles are not suitable for preventing extreme noise emissions in road traffic. This is according to a recent study for the German Environment Agency (UBA). Various brand-new motorcycles and sports cars that complied with the approval regulations were 20 dB or more louder during measurements outside the type test area o

Aerosols are a possible transmission path of the novel coronavirus. Aerosols spread quickly throughout the entire room, especially in closed indoor spaces. Regular ventilation by shock and cross ventilation or via ventilation systems in the rooms can significantly reduce the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2.

Rat poison that is used in municipal sewer systems is a source of emissions to surface water where it bioaccumulates in fish liver. These are the findings of a new research project done on behalf of the German Environment Agency (UBA). The active substances used in baits are not degraded completely in wastewater treatment plants and are thus channelled to rivers.

Renewable energies strengthened their position in the German electricity mix significantly in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period last year. In total, around 138 billion kilowatt hours of renewable electricity were generated in the first six months of 2020, around eight percent more than in the first half of 2019 (+ approximately 10 billion kWh).

Germany currently produces about half as much residual waste as 35 years ago, compared to the old federal states. This is shown by a current analysis of municipal residual waste in Germany for the German Environment Agency. The last such survey was conducted in 1985. Many more recyclable materials such as glass, paper and plastic are now collected separately.