28 and 29 November 2024

17th German Sustainability Award

Wanted: Flagships of sustainable building.

For the twelfth time, the German Sustainability Award Foundation, together with the German Sustainable Building Council - DGNB e.V., is looking for pioneers of the building revolution. Building owners, architects and users can now submit buildings that are already in operation in Germany. The properties must have a personalised use. The application phase ends on 31 May.

Competition for companies has started.

From now until 7 April, companies from all sectors and of all sizes can take part in this year's competition. The application is submitted in the form of a sustainability profile. The big picture will be revealed at the awards ceremony in Düsseldorf on 28 November 2024, when the 100 industry winners will receive their awards.

GSA Health: Apply now!

In 2024, the GSA, in cooperation with BARMER and the Healthy Earth - Healthy People Foundation (Stiftung Gesunde Erde - Gesunde Menschen), founded by Dr Eckart von Hirschhausen, will for the first time honour projects that are pioneering the sustainability transformation in the healthcare sector. Applications can be submitted online until 31 May. The winners will be honoured at the 17th German Sustainability Day on 29 November in Düsseldorf.

GSA again No. 1 among sustainability awards.

On 15 December 2023, the University of Hohenheim presented the follow-up study to its 2017 survey, from which the German Sustainability Award emerged as the best-known and most coveted award by companies. The new study on the "Changing significance of sustainability awards" - sponsored by the German Federal Environmental Foundation - also ranks the GSA as the best-known and one of the three most credible of 141 sustainability awards.

The Highlights of the 16th GSA.

The award ceremony for the 16th German Susatinability Award on 24 November in Düsseldorf was all about sport: for the first time, exemplary contributions to transformation in the sports sector were honoured with the new category and in the presence of numerous icons from the world of sport. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser was one of the guests on stage and presented prizes. The first International DNP and the Next Economy Award for green start-ups were also presented. Entertainment was provided by Zoe Wees and Culcha Candela.

Record attendance at the 16th GSD.

Around 2,900 visitors attended the two days of the 2023 congress and award ceremonies in Düsseldorf (increase compared to 2022: 45%); a total of 8,550 participants watched the live stream on the DNP.TV platform (increase compared to 2022: 42.5%). Congress highlights included the new TransMission formats, the final of the GSA Hackathon, the award ceremony for the 11th GSA Architecture and the NEA LAB with live pitches from the start-up finalists. For the first time, the GSA presented its own studies together with partners.

The big picture.

On Thursday evening at the MARITIM Hotel Düsseldorf, everything revolved around the "big picture" of transformation in Germany. The 16th German Corporate Sustainability Award ceremony brought together 1,200 CEOs and sustainability managers from the winning and finalist companies, representatives of the juries and guests from all relevant sectors to honour the pioneers.

Honorary awards for personal commitment.

In 2023, celebrities who use their reach to publicly campaign for social and environmental issues once again received honorary awards. CNN Anchor Christiane Amanpour, the US Grammy Award winner Macy Gray, Prof. Dr Klaus Töpfer, the Berlin cult band Culcha Candela, pop star Zoe Wees and Formula 1 legend Sebastian Vettel were honoured.

The Blue Carpet 2023.

This year, the initiator of the German Sustainability Award, Stefan Schulze-Hausmann, once again welcomed his guests to the award ceremonies on the Blue Carpet. On Thursday evening, in addition to the celebrity guests, the CEOs and sustainability managers of the 100 winners of the award for companies received the attention of the 130 journalists in attendance. On Friday evening, it was mainly world and European champions, Olympic champions and other representatives of the sporting world who gathered on the carpet.

All winners 2023 at a glance.

2023 was a year of disillusionment: global warming broke new records, the challenges of the climate crisis, overexploitation of resources, species extinction and social division intensified. Numerous companies, start-ups, architects and key players in the world of sport have nevertheless - or precisely because of this - submitted their bold and innovative contributions to sustainable change. The best were honored in Düsseldorf on 23 and 24 November 2023.

A symbol of sustainability.

With the seal of the GSA, nominees, finalists and winners can document their top position in the field of sustainability - towards customers, suppliers, media and the financial world. The GSA seal is a renowned external recognition, makes the pioneers recognizable and ensures a head start in the market. The GSA seal gives consumers orientation in their search for sustainable alternatives.
 

More than one billion media contacts.

An award is only as strong as the attention it receives. With around 16,500 reports and in cooperation with 32 media partners, the GSA 2023 achieved a gross media reach of 5,3 billion in Germany. Alongside intensive press work is cooperation with important media partners from the daily and trade press as well as online media. Special supplements and advertisements present the players around the GSA, generate reach and help to further increase the impact of the award.