Berlin/Osnabrueck. The medic professor Dr. Franz Daschner (Freiburg) and the Aurich entrepreneur Aloys Wobben will be receiving the German Environmental Award on October, 15 in Potsdam. The Federal German Environment Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, Osnabrück) will thus be honouring the 48-year-old "model entrepreneur" Aloys Wobben for building up an enterprise out of nothing in 15 years, creating more than 2,300 jobs and contributing decisively to the technical development of wind energy plants. His technology served as a prime example for the world market. According to the foundation, professor Dr. Daschner (60) helped the modern environmental protection on the road to success while facing considerable resistance. His Institute for Environmental Medicine and Clinic Hygiene at Freiburg University Clinic advised 100 hospitals with more than 20,000 beds in questions of cost saving and environmentally friendly hospital hygiene. Europe's best endowed environmental award with prize money of one million deutschmarks will be presented by Federal President, Johannes Rau.

Before a group of journalists in Berlin, Fritz Brickwedde, Secretary of the Federal German Environment Foundation described Daschner, a native Regensburger, as an "valiant example for the cause of environmental protection by bringing hospital hygiene from many years of a shadowy existence to the awareness of other medical disciplines." This was all the more important as almost 50% of the buying volume of hospitals consisted of medical products. The amount of materials, energy and water per hospital patient was ten times higher than in the household area.

Franz Daschner, paediatrician and professor at the Freiburg University Clinic since 1976, showed logical commitment to integral solutions for environmental problems. In doing so he considered the whole clinic apparatus from buying, kitchen, laundry, energy supply to the use of detergents and disinfectants, disposal and avoidance of hazardous waste, cleaning of beds, avoidance of disposable materials in favour of re-usable ones and composting of biological waste. Apart from a reduction of ecological damage his commitment led to a cost saving in health service while preserving international hygiene standards. Brickwedde: "The name of Daschner stands for environmental protection in hospital. His work opened up completely new horizons to medics and economists and convinced them that active environmental protection was essential in their rather typical medium-sized enterprises."

Brickwedde confirmed the technological development force and entrepreneurial performance of ENERCON's founder and owner Aloys Wobben. In only 15 years the academically trained engineer established the world-wide leading company for wind energy plant manufacturing. He founded his enterprise in the mid-eighties at a time when wind energy was still in its technological infancy and no working wind energy market existed in Germany. Brickwedde: "On rational examination there was no favourable prospect for any entrepreneurial success." Nevertheless Aloys Wobben hold to his vision about the technology's development potential and thanks to his pioneering spirit and his knowledge about the finite nature of fossil energies he became the most successful German employer on the field of regenerative energies.

The present number of ENERCON employees amounted to 1,500 in Germany and to more than 2,300 world-wide. In 1999 the group, consisting of 11 companies, achieved a turnover of approximately 865 million deutschmarks and manufactured up to know a total of 3,200 wind energy plants with an output of 1,850 megawatt. ENERCON was the leading German manufacturer of wind energy plants and in the fourth place world-wide. All important parts come from its own development and manufacturing. The company's innovative power became obvious when launching a wind energy plant without mechanical gear as the first enterprise in the world. Running the plants without hydraulic system could no longer do any harm to the environment by improper use of hydraulic- or gear oil. Brickwedde: "Wobben smoothed the path for the wind energy to a world-wide acceptance and use. He is an example in showing that economy and ecology don't conflict with each other.