© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000
December 6, 2000

BRUSSELS, Belgium, December 6, 2000 (ENS) - A company's whose technology allows medical images to be obtained without the use of chemicals was among those recognized as the best and brightest at the European Awards for the Environment 2000.

European Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström presented the awards Tuesday to four innovative firms in the field of sustainable development.

Each firm stood out from a list of 80 competitors in four fields - management, product, technology and international partnership.

"By taking steps to save resources both in manufacturing processes and in the use of products, these firms have shown that sustainable development and greater competitiveness go hand in hand," said Wallstrom.

"The use of instruments to conserve natural resources, including energy, water and raw materials, inevitably results in increases in competitiveness."

The winners were selected from 13 nominees by a European jury made up of 10 members chaired by Philippe Bodson, senator and honorary chairman of the Federation of Belgian Industry. Members of the jury were from academic, industrial, political and institutional circles in nine of the European Union's 15 member states.

The winners were:

Danish company Brødrene Hartman won the management award for sustainable development for developing a global lifecycle based management model.

The moulded pulp packaging company developed the model called STEP - Systematic Tool for Environmental Progress. It continuously assesses environmental performance while maintaining dialogue with industry and environmental stakeholders, disseminating information to a network of 150 companies.

The Belgian company Agva-Gevaert won the product award for sustainable development for developing a chemicals free medical imaging system.

Known as the "Drystar system," it allows medical images to be obtained using a heat-sensitive film. The quality of the images is the same as traditional medical imaging but more environmentally friendly.

The Austrian company Lenzing Lyocell won the technology award for sustainable development for "European development starting a new era in cellulose fibre production." This award is for research and innovation to develop less polluting and more economical production techniques.

The Austrian textile manufacturer developed an innovative technology for producing 100 percent cellulose based wood fiber. According to judges, this represents a milestone for the European textile industry.

The technology combines high tech production with outstanding environmental standards. Through the process wood consumption is considerably reduced compared with cotton and the solvent used is 99.6 percent recyclable.

The British company ENTEC won the international partnership award for sustainable development for its support for environmental management and assessment projects in Egypt.

This award is for a successful alliance between a European Union organization and organizations based in a developing country.

On behalf of the UK, ENTEC developed a support project on environmental management and assessment with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency.

The objective was to strengthen Egypt's capacity in environmental management and provide tangible evidence of the benefits of improved environmental practices. Many significant benefits were recorded, including a considerable reduction in waste discharged into the Nile.

Wallström said that the next edition, due to be held in 2002, will feature more awards to attract more types of European firms. Error: Unable to read footer file.