• Global warming is considered to be the greatest social challenge for one in three German citizens

• Germans are willing to change their behavior and pay more for sustainably manufactured products

• E.ON: CO₂ pricing would be provide a tangible incentive for industry to reduce CO₂ emissions

According to a recent survey conducted by research institute puls on behalf of E.ON, one in three Germans (32.9 percent) believe that climate change is the greatest social challenge at present. German citizens are even more concerned about the climate than about pollution (23.6 percent), poverty (26.3 percent) or war, which currently only worries 17.2 percent of the population.

Moreover, 77 percent of German citizens are prepared to change their own behavior in areas such as transportation, food, living environment or shopping, or have already done so. Almost a third (33.5 percent) of people in Germany are prepared to pay up to 10 percent more for climate-friendly products, while another third (39.3 percent) would pay up to 5 percent more for sustainable products.

“Our survey shows that the German population is prepared to contribute to reducing climate-damaging greenhouse gases. E.ON has been advocating increased CO₂ pricing for some time in order to provide a renewed incentive to promote and implement climate-friendly forms of energy. In addition, our energy solutions support companies, cities and end customers in sustainably reducing their CO₂ emissions,” states Johannes Teyssen, CEO of E.ON SE.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by E.ON Group Management and other information currently available to E.ON. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. E.ON SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to align them to future events or developments.

Yesterday evening, the winners of the 2018 European Cleaning Awards were announced — and Essity won two prestigious awards for ‘Best Practice-Sustainability’ and ‘Technological Innovation of the Year’.

The professional cleaning sector employs millions of people across Europe and plays a vital role in hygiene, well-being, image and job satisfaction The Award aims to recognize and reward standards of excellence in all areas and at all levels of employee policy, client relationships, sustainability, innovation and driving up industry standards.

The company´s commitments and activities on well-being, more from less and circularity were named best in class by the jury. And Tork EasyCube was chosen as winner because the new IoT platform, customer insights and proven customer value makes Tork EasyCube as an Innovation that just keeps innovating

“These two awards show how our sustainability approach for the Tork brand is enabling customers to secure their own goals on circularity, waste and well-being of their staff and customers. Our ambition to be leading with IoT tools in professional hygiene is also only able if we keep showing customer value, customer success and constantly updating our offer.” Says Don Lewis, President for Professional Hygiene at Essity

Tork PaperCircle, available in some countries across Europe, enables customers to decrease their environmental footprint and work circular by collecting and recycling used paper hand towels locally into new tissue products. The result cuts the carbon footprint by 40 percent compared to current waste handling options*.

Unlike other solutions that are still in beta mode, Tork EasyCube currently has more than 100 customers – across high-traffic venues ranging from amusement parks and shopping malls to airports and office buildings. Using aggregated data and insights from these customers Essity can clearly demonstrate results such as 24 percent less cleaning rounds needed, 20 percent less hours spent whilst increasing the quality of cleaning and employee satisfaction.

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About the European Cleaning and Hygiene Award 2018

As the only pan-European publication serving the cleaning sector, European Cleaning Journal (ECJ) has as its main objective the promotion of the highest in professional standards by acknowledging and honoring the industry’s phenomenal work with the European Cleaning & Hygiene Awards.

* The results of a life cycle analysis (LCA) in 2017, verified by IVL, Swedish Environmental Research Institute Ltd, where the avoided processes have been taken into account.

An international conference on “Cooperation for Sustainable Agriculture” organized by BASF, one of the largest chemical companies in the world was held on 19 November 2018 in the building of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The event, whose theme was the future of agriculture, created an excellent forum for dialogue between the global leaders of BASF Plant Protection Division and the experts of the Hungarian state administration.

Farming has become more complex than ever before. The unpredictability of weather, the difficulties in pest and weed control, market price fluctuations, scarcity of natural resources, and over-population of the Earth are a major challenge for agriculture. These challenges encourage BASF to continue its committed work to develop innovative solutions and to help farmers meet the world’s growing demand for food.

Christoph Hofmann, head of Agricultural Solutions division at BASF Hungária Kft. emphasized at the beginning of the event that the conference wanted to become a platform where different stakeholders (the government, producers, industry) could discuss the questions of the future of agriculture. The holistic approach to sustainability is indispensable when we talk about agriculture. Agriculture can only become sustainable if environmental, social and economic aspects are equally incorporated into the decision-making process.

In his opening speech, the chief patron of the event, Dr. Zsolt Feldman, Minister of State for Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that one of the keys to achieving an economically viable, efficient agricultural production managing its resources sustainably can be precision farming and digitalization.

This year, Robert Zsigo, Minister of State for Food Chain Supervision also attended the conference, presenting the main elements and current issues of the Food Chain Safety Strategy. He expressed his positive thoughts on the fact, that sustainability is not just important to the states, but industrial operators have also recognized its importance.

Dr Thomas Narbeshuber, managing director of BASF Hungária Kft. and BASF’s Central and Eastern European leader stated: innovation has made BASF a leading chemical company and today BASF has unique resources and opportunities in the chemical industry. In addition to the topic of innovation and digitalization, BASF’s new strategy and the importance of Visegrad cooperation was also addressed: