What is the idea behind the Umdasch Group’s Sustainability Prize? It is to promote projects that work towards a sustainability strategy and these projects are within the company itself. What started in 2020 is now an annual event. Employees are very enthusiastic and motivated.
Participation for the first Sustainability Prize was high: it was pleasing to receive 139 ideas from 18 different countries. Four finalists reached the last round after having been selected as part of a two-stage process – one preliminary jury and a final jury involving external judges. The projects were proof that sustainable thinking and acting are anchored in the company’s DNA.
Our colleagues from Mexico were impressive with “Doka Re”. They developed an app for construction sites to improve the service life of products and reduce wear. The second finalist “One box of Formwork” knew exactly what can give developing and emerging countries a helping hand. Not only the jury was impressed with the idea of a complete formwork set, including accessories, to produce a defined building in stamped clay. Colleagues from Form-on were the third finalists. Their capacity concept was designed to optimise the loads in trucks.
“Apart from the excellent winning project that has won implementation, the formation of the Green Teams has produced many other ideas. Many suggestions are about mobility, for example, and two teams have been formed from these: the Green Team Bike and Green Team Carsharing. We now want to work on tangible outcomes and create best practice in the company for sustainability in practice.”
And what about the fourth finalist? It was crowned the winner! CONCRESMART – the ambitious idea of our young colleagues Pavel Kasal, Johannes Kirchhofer and Georg Stolz – delighted the jury. This is because it was about what the whole world needs to reduce. Our carbon footprint. The idea focuses on cutting the amount of CO2 during the production and use of cement by influencing the curing process and thus lowering consumption.
As part of the Umdasch Group, we at Doka aim to not only be economically successful, but also fulfill our ecological and social responsibilities as well as our responsibility as an employer. Therefore, we regularly set impulses within and outside our company and drive international initiatives that make our common working and living environment more sustainable.
The winning team is now in the middle of the implementation phase. Everyone in the company is talking about the winning project and it is supported accordingly and a unified effort is made to drive it forward. Work is also being carried out on other promising approaches. Special Green Teams have been formed to get these projects up and running more quickly.
One prize is awarded and the next one is already on the horizon. The initiators of the Umdash Group’s Sustainability Prize send their warm congratulations all prize winners and are looking forward to the next awards.
Doka and Umdasch Group are committed to sustainable development.
This is why we subscribe to initiatives that are aligned with the United Nations’ “Sustainable Development Goals”.