Sustainability Prize 2025: The most innovative projects in the raw material industry!

Sustainability Prize 2025: The most innovative projects in the raw material industry!

On May 22, 2025, the solemn event for the awarding of the 2025 sustainability award took place in the sofi rooms in Vienna. This award emphasizes outstanding projects in the raw material industry and emphasizes their importance for environmentally conscious and responsible business. The moderator Kristina Inhof led through the evening, while Federal Minister Mag. Norbert Tettschnig was able to underline the relevance of raw material companies in his keynote. Johann Eder, CEO of the Raw Materials Forum, also spoke about the increasingly necessary environmentally conscious corporate management.

The sustainability prize is awarded every three years and rewarded companies for their special activities in the areas of ecology, economy, social affairs, communication and for the first time for the special prize "Small Company - Big Innovator". The projects submitted often exceeded the legal requirements in terms of climate and environmental protection, animal welfare and social engagement, which the jury convinced.

award winners of the 2025 sustainability price

In the ecology category, Lungauer Sand- und Kieswerk Lassacher GmbH & Co KG received the award for the project "Saxicola Rubetra- a new habitat for the lignite". Leube Zement GmbH was awarded in the communication category for its project "Citizens' Advisory Board Gartenau - Environmental Mediation: Recipe for Success Dialog". In the economy category, Rhomberg Bau GmbH won with the project "The End of the Depony: The new wet preparation system of Rhomberg Bau GmbH in the Rheintal Center resources". In the social issue category, Kärntner Omya GmbH was able to prevail with the project "Digital Mine - Safe and attractive jobs in the raw material industry". The special prize "Small Company - Big Innovator" went to Rögner Sand & Kies GmbH for the "floating electrically operated piercette excavator".

The forum mineral raw materials represents 113 members who win around 35 million tons of mineral raw materials annually. In Austria there are around 950 active sand and gravel pits as well as around 350 quarries that cover around 100 million tons of mineral raw materials per year and employ around 15,000 employees.

innovation in the field of construction industry

innovation is also evident in other areas of the construction industry, as the example of Kone shows. The company recently introduced the first completely CO2-neutral elevators in the industry. These elevators are not only emission -free when manufacturing and assembly, but also during maintenance. Kone relies on a combination of reduction and compensation of CO2 emissions and promotes the reusability of waste.

comprehensive measures such as the conversion of the vehicle fleet to e-mobility and a targeted production method with renewable electricity support the goal of working worldwide by 2030. Kone is already pursuing a high recycling share of 94 percent and striving to obtain materials from sustainable economy suppliers.

market analysis and challenges

The current developments on the European market indicate that the prices for emission certificates fluctuate sharply. Factors such as the introduction of national CO2 markets in other countries and the geopolitical situation in Europe have an impact on the EU CO2 Prize. In the future, the prices for EU carbon emission certificates should continue to remain high, although short-term fluctuations can be expected. The EU pursues the goal of drastically reducing carbon emissions by 2050, which will also have an impact on the pricing policy of emission trade.

Analysts predict that the prices for EU certificates in 2023 could be an average of 81 euros per tonne CO₂, with an increase to 94 euros in 2024. The political ambitions in the EU shape long-term price development, so that falling prices are unlikely as long as no fundamental political changes are made.