{"id":208634,"date":"2026-10-25T13:37:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dbu.de\/news\/steinmeier-we-must-question-the-way-we-live-and-do-business\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T13:51:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T12:51:31","slug":"steinmeier-we-must-question-the-way-we-live-and-do-business","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.dbu.de\/en\/news\/steinmeier-we-must-question-the-way-we-live-and-do-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Steinmeier: We must question the way we live and do business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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At a formal ceremony in Aachen today (Sunday), the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) awarded this year\u2019s German Environmental Prize, worth a total of 500,000 euros. The prizes were presented by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (centre) to the Hamburg-based environmental lawyer Dr Roda Verheyen (front left) and membrane filter engineer Dr Klaus Vossenkaul (front right). The photograph also shows (at the back, from left) Kai Niebert, Chair of the DBU Board of Trustees, Alexander Bonde, Secretary-General of the DBU, and Mona Neubaur, Deputy Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Osnabr\u00fcck\/Aachen. Federal President<\/a> Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls <\/strong>for a rethinking of the way we live and conduct business \u201cin order to leave our children and grandchildren a planet worth living on.\u201d However, he noted, this is not a task that can be accomplished by a single country or individual, but rather a shared responsibility \u201cas a global community, as a whole society.\u201d Speaking today (Sunday) at the ceremony for the presentation of the German Environmental Award<\/a> by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) at the Eurogress Aachen<\/a>, the head of state also urged everyone to seize every opportunity to prepare \u201cto the best of our ability for the consequences of global warming.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bonde: Preserving and Strengthening Natural Resources in Our Own Best Interest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DBU German Environmental Prize, with a total prize fund of 500,000 euros, is one of the most highly endowed environmental awards in Europe and will be awarded this year in equal shares to engineer Dr. Klaus Vossenkaul and <\/strong>Hamburg-based environmental lawyer Dr. Roda Verheyen<\/strong>. Vossenkaul is being honored for his innovative advancements in membrane filter technology for wastewater treatment in sewage treatment plants, while Verheyen is being recognized for her work in enforcing legal requirements for greater environmental and climate justice. In his speech at the ceremony, Steinmeier said that, given concerns about stability and security, \u201cfor many people right now, thoughts of environmental and climate protection have taken a back seat.\u201d Nevertheless, even if it sounds paradoxical, \u201cwe are feeling the gravity of the situation quite literally\u2014we Europeans, too. Our planet\u2019s temperature curve is clearly on the rise.\u201d Climate change is hitting Europe \u201cparticularly hard\u2014our continent is warming more than twice as fast as all others.\u201d According to the Federal President, regardless of day-to-day political events, the only response to this can be to do everything in our power to combat global warming, \u201cby reducing greenhouse gases and, above all, protecting the natural resources that help stabilize our climate: soils and forests, wetlands and oceans.\u201d DBU Secretary General Alexander Bonde<\/strong> added: \u201cWe must preserve and strengthen these natural foundations of life in our own best interest. That is why the German Federal Environmental Foundation and its subsidiary, DBU Naturerbe<\/a>, support precisely such projects. And with the Marine Nature Conservation Fund<\/a>, the DBU has a powerful tool at its disposal to better protect the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.\u201d Steinmeier reaffirmed that there are opportunities to prepare for the consequences of climate change. \u201cAnd that is exactly what makes the German Environmental Prize so valuable: it instills in us a healthy dose of drive and hope. We are not powerless in the face of all this.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technological Progress and the Evolution of the Law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to Verheyen and Vossenkaul, the Federal President said he was pleased \u201cthat today we are honoring two individuals who have made outstanding contributions both to technological progress and to the advancement of the law.\u201d As a lawyer, Verheyen \u201chas shown many people ways to fight for their interests when it comes to human-induced climate change and its consequences.\u201d Steinmeier addressed Verheyen directly: \u201cYou have stood by them and made their voices heard in their disputes with corporations and governments to secure what you call \u2018our right to a future\u2019 for all of us.\u201d The Federal President recalled Verheyen\u2019s \u201ccrucial role in ensuring that the Federal Constitutional Court issued its ruling on climate neutrality by 2045.\u201d According to Steinmeier, the ruling \u201cextended the fundamental rights and freedoms to be protected today to include those of future generations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive must be transposed into national law by July 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Membrane filtration engineer Vossenkaul, in turn, is an \u201coutstanding technological pioneer,\u201d according to Steinmeier. With a touch of humor, he added that it\u2019s almost impossible to give a laudatory speech in Aachen without mentioning Karl. In this case, however, he wasn\u2019t referring to Charlemagne, but to the European Union\u2019s<\/a> (EU) Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive<\/a>, also known as KARL for short. It is intended to ensure, through additional processes, that microplastics harmful to health, dangerous germs and pathogens, as well as pharmaceutical residues, are filtered out of wastewater. EU member states have until July 2027 to transpose the directive into national law. Technical innovations form the basis for this. Vossenkaul\u2019s advanced membrane technology is contributing to this effort. According to Steinmeier, this technology is far ahead of the KARL era because the hollow-fiber membrane filters help with the retrofitting and upgrading of wastewater treatment plants, \u201cwhile saving space, energy, and thus costs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal President: The German Environmental Prize has grown dearer to my heart with each passing year<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steinmeier used the speech to reflect on his personal experience. He has presented the DBU\u2019s German Environmental Award every year since 2017, although in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, he was only able to participate via video message. \u201cThis award has grown dearer to my heart with each passing year,\u201d said the Federal President. He added that he had always \u201clooked forward to the award ceremony with curiosity and excitement\u201d and enjoyed \u201cgetting to know people with dedication and innovative ideas.\u201d That is why it fills him \u201cwith a touch of wistfulness that today is the last time I will be able to present it.\u201d Steinmeier\u2019s term in office ends next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n