The German Environmental Prize (German: Deutscher Umweltpreis) is a government-sponsored award for protecting the environment. Worth €500,000, it is one of the most valuable environmental awards in Europe.[1]
The sponsor German Federal Environmental Foundation (German: {{ill|Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt|de, DBU) is based in Osnabrück; the prize has been awarded by the President of Germany since 1993.[2] The prize is awarded for "commitment and achievements that make a decisive and exemplary contribution to the protection and preservation of our environment now and in the future".[3]
Source:[4]
| Year | Winner | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1993[5] | Works on the first worldwide refrigerators without FCKW and FKW | |
| Wolfgang Haber | Popularisation of environmental issues | |
| 1994[6] | Paul Crutzen and Frank Arnold | Works on ozone depletion |
| Verein Ökospeicher and the city of Wulkow | Environmentally friendly works in non urban regions | |
| Umweltinitiativen der Wirtschaft in Ostwestfalen | Implementation of higher environment standards | |
| 1995[7] | Georg Winter | Environmentally friendly management |
| Klaus Günther | Environmentally friendly management | |
| 1996[8] | Maciej Nowicki | Founder of the Polish Environment Foundation |
| Wilkhahn Wilkening & Hahne GmbH & Co. | Icon in environment controlling | |
| 1997[9] | Michael Otto | Environment management system by Otto GmbH |
| Material and energy flows in forests | ||
| Integral Energietechnik GmbH | Work on environmentally friendly Refrigerants | |
| 1998[10] | Lennart Bengtsson, Hartmut Graßl, Klaus Hasselmann (Workgroup Klimaforschung by Max Planck Institute for Meteorology) | Global and regional climate modelling |
| Works in Photovoltaics | ||
| 1999[11] | Oecology in textiles and clothing | |
| Wilhelm Barthlott | Lotus effect by Surface | |
| 2000[12] | Environment and material flow management in Hospitals | |
| Aloys Wobben | Work on Wind turbines | |
| 2001[13] | Work on Precision Farming | |
| , | Work on oecology management concepts for breweries | |
| Wolfgang Feist | Work on Passivhaus concepts | |
| 2002[14] | Peter Lüth | Biological pest control using microorganisms |
| Klaus Töpfer | International engagement on environmental issues | |
| 2003[15] | Work on Bionik | |
| Hermann Josef Schulte | Work on environmentally friendly exhaust gas technology for automotive engineering | |
| 2004[16] | Work on a new Gasket principle for the chemistry industry | |
| Pioneer of white biotechnology | ||
| Hannelore Schmidt | Life Work | |
| 2005[17] | Founder of in Nieklitz | |
| Joachim Luther | Use of Solar energy | |
| Heinz Sielmann | Life's Work | |
| 2006[18] | Technology transfer for water cleaning in developing countries | |
| Work on Global warming | ||
| 2007[19] | Engagement for environment and climate | |
| Carl Schmitt and Jürgen Köhler (both) | Work on Environmentally friendly refrigerants | |
| Hans Joachim Schellnhuber | Work on climate | |
| 2008[20] | Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker | Environmental politician and counsellor for UNO |
| Work on Biocatalysis by ground organisms | ||
| 2009 | Carsten Bührer | |
| Bo Barker Jørgensen | ||
| 2010 | / | |
| Mikhail Gorbachev | ||
| 2011 | Jürgen Schmidt | |
| Joachim Alfred and Joachim Georg Wünning | ||
| 2012 | and Hansjörg Lerchenmüller | |
| Günther Kramer | ||
| 2013 | ||
| Ursula Sladek | ||
| 2014[21] | Energy efficiency expert | |
| Gunther Krieg | Scientist and founder of UNISENSOR | |
| Honorary award | ||
| 2015[22] | Mojib Latif | Outstanding research communication (climate researcher) |
| Johan Rockström | Founding director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre | |
| Michael Succow | Honorary award for exceptional personality in nature conservation | |
| 2016[23] | Bas van Abel[24] | Founder and CEO of company Fairphone for being a pioneer for more resource efficiency in the smartphone industry[25] |
| and | Betonrecycling | |
| 2017[26] | German Green Belt | |
| Johannes Oswald and | ||
| Tony de Brum | Honorary award | |
| 2018[27] | Antje Boetius | |
| Leipzig Waste Water Experts | ||
| 2019[28] | ||
| Reinhard Schneider | ||
| 2020[29] [30] | Ottmar Edenhofer | |
| (née Trappmann) and [31] | ||
| Martin Sorg | Honorary award for biodiversity | |
| 2021[32] [33] | Katrin Böhning-Gaese[34] [35] | |
| 2022[36] [37] | Friedrich Mewis und Dirk Lehmann (engineers) | "Becker Mewis Duct" |
| (biologist) | Engagement for biodiversity and rainforests | |
| and | Honorary awards | |
| 2023[38] | Friederike Otto | |