The German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) is celebrating its birthday: on 1 March 1991 it began its work in Osnabrück, and after a quarter of a century, more than 9,000 innovative and environment-saving projects have been carried out with some 1.6 billion euros and much self-provided expert knowledge. The foundation capital from the federal government, which originated in the privatization yield from Salzgitter AG, grew in that same period from the original approximately 1.28 to today’s more than 2.1 billion euros. Thus the DBU has put more money into the supported work than the amount with which it was, at that time, entrusted – and in spite of that, has augmented its assets by over 800 million euros. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary, DBU aktuell spoke with the Board Chairperson of the DBU, Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter.
DBUaktuell: An anniversary is always a good time to take stock: what do you consider to have been the DBU’s decisive contribution to environmental protection in the past 25 years?
DBU Board Chairperson Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter: The Foundation has been – in a well-designed complement to undertakings by civil society and government – structure-forming in many areas, some examples of which are: support for innovation in small- and medium-sized business, the central role played in the securing of the nation’s natural inheritance, protection of cultural assets, and the development of a number of model environmental education centers. Without the DBU we would not have had many of these beneficial environmental effects here. I also think the broad range of subject areas and competence is fascinating. I know of no comparable non-governmental institution which simultaneously supports innovations in technology, research, nature protection and educational projects with this kind of competence. In light of the complex, interdisciplinary challenges involved with environmental protection, this diversity is a fine thing!
