OSNABRÜCK, Germany, October 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Fairphone founder Bas van Abel (Amsterdam), recycling experts Prof. Dr.-Ing. Angelika Mettke (Cottbus) and Walter Feeß (Kirchheim/Teck) are awarded the German Environmental Prize

To send a clear signal regarding the protection and sustainable use of natural raw materials, so that the basis of life on the planet Earth is preserved, for future generations as well as our own : this is one of the major goals which the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) aims to achieve with the presentation of its 2016 German Environmental Prize. "Representative research indicates that we are already pushing the earth's environment past the limits of what it can take," warns DBU General Secretary Dr. Heinrich Bottermann. Every year, the so-called "World Overshoot Day" is reached earlier in the year. On this day, all resources have been used up which the Earth can replace in that year. Bottermann: "We need creative pioneers who can show us how we can achieve a transformation." The Environmental Prize recipients are such pioneers: on October 30th in Würzburg, German President Joachim Gauck will personally hand to the entrepreneur Bas van Abel (39, of Amsterdam), the scientist Prof. Dr.-Ing. Angelika Mettke (64, of Cottbus), and the entrepreneur Walter Feeß (62, of Kirchheim/Teck) the largest independent environmental prize in Europe. The prize is endowed with a total financial award of € 500,000.00.

Notice to editorial personnel: complete speeches recognizing prize recipients, resumés of recipients, O-tones and photos for free publication at http://www.dbu.de

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SOURCE German Federal Environmental Foundation