From the record number of over 400 submissions, around 150 entries made it through the pre-selection process carried out by the advisory board of the German Ecodesign Award and the German Environment Agency. The interdisciplinary jury selected 22 outstanding projects that are now in the running for the coveted award. At the award ceremony on 2 December 2024, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke will personally present the awards – a highlight that underlines the importance of the award.
Since 2012, the German Ecodesign Award has honoured outstanding ideas and solutions in the field of ecological design and is considered the most prestigious national design award in Germany. The competition is held annually by the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the German Environment Agency in cooperation with the International Design Center Berlin.
Dr Bettina Hoffmann MdB, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMUV) and jury member said: “The record number of submissions shows that sustainable design has long been an essential part of the design of products and services. The German Ecodesign Award was a pioneer in this development and has steadily made its way into the mainstream. It supports the transformation of consumption and production towards a circular economy.”
Dr Bettina Rechenberg, Head of Department III “Sustainable Products and Production, Circular Economy” at the German Environment Agency ( UBA ) and jury member commented: “The German Ecodesign Award has been running for 13 years now, and every year I’m thrilled and inspired by the diversity and breadth of design approaches for a sustainable future.”
All projects submitted to the jury session will be on display in an exhibition at the Metropolenhaus Berlin. The opening reception will take place on 19 September 2024 at 6 p.m. From 20 to 24 September 2024, the exhibition will be open to the public daily from 12 noon to 4 pm. Further details and an online gallery with all nominees can be found on the website of the German Ecodesign Award.
The nominated projects in detail:
Young talent category
- Break-up Lab | Sophia Reißenweber (Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle)
- Entopolis - A Serious Game | Anne Carolin Klosson (ecosign / Academy for Design, Cologne)
- Soft Spot | Franziska Baumgartner (Academy of Fine Arts, Munich)
- City Gold: Pressed Clay Bricks (Stadtgold: Gepresste Lehmsteine) | Micha Kretschmann & Christian Gäth (Technische Universität Berlin)
- Water Forest (Wasserwald) | Lea Bernhard (Offenbach University of Art and Design)
Concept category
Service category
- Rezip Zipper Repair Station | CISUTAC, PCH Innovations (Registered office: Berlin)
- SPOT | Packaging Cockpit GmbH (Registered office: Vienna), PreZero Dual GmbH (Registered office: Neckarsulm)
- Tork PaperCircle® | Essity Professional Hygiene Germany GmbH (Registered office: Mannheim)
Product category
The 2024 German Ecodesign award jury
- Werner Aisslinger (Product Designer)
- Ina Budde (Co-founder and Managing Director of circular.fashion)
- Matthias Held (Product Designer, Professor at the Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Design)
- Dr. Claudia Perren (Architect, Director of the Basel Academy of Art and Design)
- Siddharth Prakash (Head of the Circular Economy and Global Value Chains Group in the Product and Material Flows Division at the Öko-Institut in Freiburg)
- Paula Raché (Communication Designer and works with Material Stories on exhibitions, publications and interdisciplinary workshops)
- Bettina Rechenberg (Head of Department III “Sustainable Products and Production, Circular Economy” at the German Environment Agency (UBA)
- Ingo Strube (Division TI3 “Sustainable Consumption, Product-Related Environmental Protection” at the BMUV) standing in for Dr. Bettina Hoffmann MdB (Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMUV)
- Michael Volkmer (Founder of the creative agency Scholz & Volkmer)
