Green Globe today announced recertification of atelier damböck near Munich, Germany. The internationally-acclaimed, full-service fair stand construction company was one of the first in its industry to be awarded the Green Globe Certificate for its sustainability achievements.

For more than 30 years, atelier damböck has been operating with the goal of reconciling environmental protection, creative design, and high-end exhibition construction. The office building from 2002 was designed under the premise of sustainable energy usage, with workplaces with maximum amount of natural light, centrally-controlled lighting, and a remarkable heating system: 90 percent of the heat energy required is provided by pellet heating – fueled by the pellets the company creates itself from waste wood.

In 2011, atelier damböck achieved another milestone and implemented a solar panel complex on the rooftop of the office building, which is one of the region’s biggest non-commercial solar plants.

Green Globe Certification’s CEO, Guido Bauer, said, “Atelier damböck’s achievements, creativity, and commitment should be applauded as one of its kind. One of the recent ecological improvements is a water biotope, a living space for plants and animals, measuring 100 square meters on the company premises. The company also has holding tanks to collect rainwater used to irrigate lawns and plants and to clean the vehicle fleet. Harmful substances are filtered off so they don’t find their way into the sewage system or groundwater. And the company aims to avoid waste whenever possible through paper saving and recycling, responsible handling and recycling of raw materials, a modular approach when planning exhibition stands, which allows use individual building elements more often, and strong reusable packaging crates.”

Atelier damböck has set a target to reduce its CO2 emission by 30 percent within the next 10 years and actively lower CO2 by optimizing logistical processes, which can be directly monitored. Clients are advised on the use of environmentally-neutral materials such as water-based paints, materials with a long life-span, and materials that can be reused – such as old wall elements that can be converted into transport crates. Since 2009, atelier damböck also provides climate-neutral fair stands within its www.greenstands.eu initiative .

Andreas Damböck, atelier damböck’s CEO, explained: “Making exhibition structures more sustainable is not just a question of thinking about isolated measures here and there. With www.greenstands.eu , our approach is to examine all of the stages of the entire value-added chain, and from there to derive customized solutions for our clients that give their exhibition appearance a better overall ecological balance. Climate protection is not contradictory to economic interests – it’s an opportunity to act responsibly for almost any enterprise.”

“From our experience, the fair construction sector so far shows little environmental consciousness,” added Mr. Damböck, “We want to change that and raise awareness in this industry.”

Which is why the company’s own trade fair stand at the EuroShop 2011 was both provocative and unique in concept and implementation: leftover waste materials from previous fair stand constructions were reused in a fresh context with novel functions for its stand, for example, waste was used as wall elements and decorative eye-catchers along with a stair case made from recycled chipboard.