Berlin, Germany, June 14, 2022. A sustainable future can only be achieved by joint action. Innovation drivers from all over the world will come together under the banner of #TogetherWeChange at the Greentech Festival, at the old Airport Berlin Tegel (TXL), from June 22 to 24. New technologies for a climate-friendly world are the focus of the event, which was co-founded by the former racing driver Nico Rosberg. More than 150 exhibitors from 20 countries will be showing their products designed for the future in all areas of life. The consulting company Drees & Sommer SE is creating a large exhibition space – the Urban Sustainability Hub – in which 18 companies, among which Würth, MANN+HUMMEL and HeidelbergCement, will together present a whole range of solutions for climate-adapted cities and buildings, from air filters and lighting to recyclable cement.
According to a recent study, the efforts currently being made to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius are not sufficient. One thing is certain: time is running out – and we can only reverse global warming together. At the Greentech Festival – the world’s biggest sustainable technology event – many prestigious companies, green startups, politicians and celebrities come together and make #togetherwechange into an agenda. Steffen Szeidl, Executive Board Member of Drees & Sommer SE, explains: “After more than two years of the pandemic, exhibitions and major events face the challenge of reinventing themselves and adapting their business models. Digital or hybrid meetings which suit modern needs – and which are much more than just a meeting – are in demand. How that works will be demonstrated by the Berlin Greentech Festival. The creative festival format ensures that the agenda, the consistent focus on sustainability, the innovative dialog through all channels, and the experience factor all come together. Our aim is to make our built environment a little more sustainable. Along with our partners, we will show which environmentally sound technologies, services and products will become increasingly important in the future.’
Where Progressive Thinkers and Changemakers Come Together
The Urban Sustainability Hub of Drees & Sommer is an excellent example of how joint initiatives for a ‘green’ future can be initiated. “As a market-leading construction materials company, we have a particular responsibility to the environment. By 2050 at the latest we plan to achieve net zero emissions as a Group. At product level, we place particular emphasis on the widespread introduction of increasingly low-carbon cement and concrete in addition to the use of recycled materials,” says Stefan Heger, Director Circular Economy at HeidelbergCement in Germany. By 2030, HeidelbergCement plans to increase its sales of sustainable products to 50 percent of its total group turnover. In Germany, HeidelbergCement has already expanded its sustainable concrete range under the EcoCrete brand. EcoCrete offers new and significantly lower-carbon concrete, which allows carbon emissions to be reduced by up to 66 percent.
A Healthy Planet Is Our Goal
“Clean air and clean water are a human right, and our products make an important contribution to protecting them,“ comments Jan-Eric Raschke, Director Public Affairs at MANN+HUMMEL, a global leader in filtration technology. One way in which the company, headquartered in the German city of Ludwigsburg, does this is by developing intelligent filtration technologies for water and air. MANN+HUMMEL presents these products on the Urban Sustainability Hub: “Our filtration and separation solutions clean the air in interior spaces and around high-traffic areas, make water drinkable, and purify wastewater. This improves the quality of life of people all around the world. At the Greentech Festival we enable a wide audience to experience our innovative technologies, which are fundamental to the future of our planet,“ says the Public Affairs expert from MANN+HUMMEL.
Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG, the international market leader in the development, manufacturing and distribution of assembly and attachment materials, is moving away from the linear economy. In the future, it will not only use circular production processes, but also combine individual construction elements intelligently to create a high degree of prefabrication, thereby greatly reducing the number of journeys made for transportation as well as the tonnage of packaging waste. And at the end of the value-added process, raw materials are integrated into a cycle again. Hans Peter Trehkopf, General Manager Business Unit and Head of Construction Project Management at Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG explained: “This ensures that resources are conserved and waste minimized. For instance, we are working on digital product passports which will show the materials used in products as well as their origin. This should make it possible to verify at any time that they are being produced in a way that is fair to people and the environment.“ A selection of these future-proof products can be found in the bright red Bauloc station of the Urban Sustainability Hub. This includes a prefabricated module for technical building services equipment, developed with Drees & Sommer. The innovative and recyclable technical building services module enables considerable time and cost savings to be made on the building site, so ensuring a considerable increase in productivity for assembly work.
Inspiration and Information on the Plaza
Micro-sessions and compact talks by experts on the topics of smart city and sustainable construction and operation of real estate will be held on June 23 and 24 at the adjoining Smart City Plaza of Drees & Sommer and Urban Beta. Here interested people can get insights about the urban mining concept, circular economy and the Cradle to Cradle principle, modular construction, smart cities of the future and green logistics. Speakers include the Cradle to Cradle pioneers of EPEA GmbH – Part of Drees & Sommer and the developers of the revolutionary Madaster materials database. Highlights will be the GREEN AWARDS ceremony at the opening event on June 22 and the Green Beats of Mousse T. on June 23 and 24, as well as the exhibitions of green technologies and products.
Media accreditation
https://greentechfestival.com/press-accreditation/