Featured photo: Prof. Dr. Peter Heck and governor Alexander Schweizer at the presentation of the certificate
The Zukunftsinitiative Rheinland-Pfalz (ZIRP) e.V. called on companies from Rhineland-Palatinate to apply for the title of “Future Company” for the seventh time. The association awards this title to Rhineland-Palatinate companies that combine digitalization and sustainability in an exemplary and innovative way.
At a festive award ceremony with more than 100 guests, governor Alexander Schweitzer, Deputy Chairman of the ZIRP, honored the SAREP (Sahara Renaissance Project) project on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 in the State Chancellery’s ballroom. This year, too, it was a very close race: In view of a record number of applications received, the jury had decided to award SAREP GmbH a Special Mention. The company received this award for its remarkable project, which uses the two megatrends of digitalization and sustainability for a convincing approach to bind CO2 emissions in the long term, one of the key challenges of our time.
SAREP is planning to green the Sahara belt in Mauritania using an agroforestry system irrigated by desalinated seawater. The aim is to strengthen the local economy and create jobs and training positions. The project was initiated by the Institute for Applied Material Flow Management (IfaS), an institute of Trier University of Applied Sciences at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld, and has since been implemented with great commitment. The integration of state-of-the-art technology, such as software-supported satellite image monitoring of CO2 emissions and a digital irrigation system, were decisive factors for the jury in awarding the project a commendation and thus providing further impetus.
In his acceptance speech, Prof. Dr. Heck, Managing Director of IfaS and head of the project, explained: “SAREP implements the vision for fair, social and efficient climate protection in a real business plan. This makes sustainability emanating from Rhineland-Palatinate measurable and tangible. I am very pleased that the jury recognized the dimension of this innovation in the area of sustainability and assessed it positively.”
In addition to Prof. Heck and the IfaS employees, the project partners and Trier University of Applied Sciences, who warmly congratulated the award, were of course also delighted with the award. Prof. Dr. Dorit Schumann, President of Trier University of Applied Sciences, congratulated Prof. Dr. Heck and wished him every success for the implementation: “SAREP will also enormously strengthen our regional and international strengths of the Environmental Campus and the university. Sustainability issues will be put into practice and will have the impact that is required due to current and future global climate protection.”
Finally, Zahnen Technik GmbH was honored as a “Future Company 2024” in the State Chancellery ballroom this year. The jury justified this by stating that Zahnen Technik GmbH is a forward-looking Rhineland-Palatinate company that wants to make the precious resource of water accessible to everyone using state-of-the-art technology. Prof. Dr. Klaus Helling from the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld is looking forward to intensifying the cooperation with the award winner Zahnen in the future, because water is a key element for a sustainable future, which is both the focus of the work of Zahnen Technik GmbH and is also addressed in many facets of teaching and research at the Environmental Campus.
© Fotos: Zukunftsinitiative Rheinland-Pfalz (ZIRP) e.V. | Fotograf: Uwe Simon de Lima