Hans-Josef Endres appointed as advisor for the Sustainability Award
At the 20th SPE Automotive Award, a new Special Award will be presented for the first time in summer 2021: the Sustainability Award. With Professor Hans-Josef Endres, SPE Central Europe has now been able to appoint an expert in the circular economy and sustainability assessment in the plastics industry as an advisor. Together with those responsible at SPE Central Europe, he will develop the evaluation criteria.
Proposed at the jury meeting in January 2020, it will be presented for the first time in 2021 at the SPE Automotive Award: the Sustainability Award. It will be awarded to the component among all submissions that demonstrates the best overall environmental performance. With this, SPE Central Europe aims to bring the idea of sustainability into focus for all submitters and thus further promote environmentally and resource-efficient developments.
But what exactly characterizes a sustainable plastic component for vehicle construction? Which aspects must therefore be taken into account in the evaluation? The topic of sustainability, which at first glance sounds clear and simple, turns out to be very diverse. SPE Central Europe has therefore secured expert support to develop the concept for the Sustainability Award: Professor Hans-Josef Endres, Head of the Institute of Circular Economy and Plastics Engineering at Leibniz University Hannover, will support the Board in this. In addition, he will contribute his expertise as an additional juror in the evaluation of the submitted parts next spring.
Key criteria for the Sustainability Award will include how components, technologies and processes for component production perform in terms of an improved overall environmental balance. This includes both sustainable process solutions and circular concepts, as well as the use of environmentally friendly materials such as bio-based materials, recyclates or more sustainable lightweight solutions, including an improved CO2 footprint. Naturally, design-for-recycling approaches and the recovery strategy at the end of the product life will also be considered.
Photo of Hans-Josef Endres: © Christian Wyrwa
