For the fourth time the European Association of Event Centres awarded the EVVC Awards in the categories of “Corporate Social Responsibility / Ecology”, “Corporate Social Responsibility / Society & Social Issues” and “Best Own Events” on the evening of 19th April 2010 at its annual meeting in Düsseldorf. In the category “CSR / Ecology”, the prize went to the Congress Centrum Stadtgarten Schwäbisch Gmünd. The Culture and Congress Centre FILharmonie Filderstadt won the award in the category “CSR / Society & Social Issues” and the Lübeck Musik- und Kongresshallen GmbH won the EVVC Award 2010 for “Best own event”.


EVVC Award 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility/ Ecology

The winner in this category is the Congress Centrum Stadtgarten Schwäbisch Gmünd with its project “Licht für die Zukunft (Light for the future)”: in order to keep the maintenance costs for the room lighting as well as the acquisition and renovation costs as low as possible, while at the same time reducing CO² emissions substantially and permanently, all the lighting in the hall was converted to LED. The existing casings were kept to save on any conversion costs for the hall ceiling. A total of 210 units of 250 W halogen E 24 lamps were replaced by 210 LED lights in the same case. Assuming the electricity prices will remain similar the conversion will mathematically save about 300,000 Euros and 780 tonnes of CO² emissions during the next 10 years. Professor Dr. Gerd Schwandner, spokesman of the jury: “the exchange / use of LED lamps in the same casings is highly technically innovative. The concept boasts spectacular cost effectiveness. Additional effects are caused by a reduced cooling load and the minimum maintenance requirements - exemplary!”

Further Nominees for the prize were the Messe und Congress Centrum Halle Münsterland with its concept “Project Green - Environmental awareness in the Messe und Congress Centrum Halle Münsterland” and darmstadtium/ Wissenschafts- und Kongresszentrum Darmstadt GmbH & Co. KG for its use of renewable energies in convention centre.

A Special Jury Prize in the category Corporate Social Responsibility / Ecology was given to the Zentrum für Umweltkommunikation (ZUK) der Deutschen Bundesstiftung Umwelt in Osnabrück as a benchmark for an ecological overall concept. Despite being several years old, the ZUK is still the reference object for an ecological overall concept with excellent ecological balance and sustainability while having a very favourable cost-benefit ratio,” says Schwandner.

 
EVVC Award 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility/ Society & Social Issues

The EVVC Award 2010 in the category Corporate Social Responsibility / Society and Social Issues went to the Kultur- und Kongress Zentrum FILharmonie Filderstadt for its sponsorship of the Karl-Schubert Werkstätten Filderstadt KSW (sheltered, caring, educational and manufacturing workshops for so-called disabled persons). As part of the sponsorship, the KSW presents its sales products (toys, instruments, office supplies, gift items) in showcases at the FILharmonie. The staff of the FILharmonie takes care of the sales. Also, free theatre performances of the KSW are held in the FILharmonie while the technical support (also during the rehearsals) is given by the in-house event technology trainee who in turn will present the project as his final apprenticeship thesis.
In addition, the workshops are able to organize their staff meetings and, in the medium term, a workshop exhibition at a reduced price in the philharmonic hall and are currently developing a project called “Zen-stone garden” for a larger outside area of the hall.

Professor Dr. Gerd Schwandner: “The collaboration of the centre with the Karl Schubert workshops is exemplary. This co-operation “at eye level” refers to a very wide range of services and presentation opportunities for the workshops. Through this, a reduction of prejudice and a sense of normalcy in dealing with people with disabilities are achieved. Without further ado, the model is transferable to other houses.”

The Bregenz Festspiel- und Kongresshaus GmbH was also nominated for the award due to their support of the primary school Altach in the project “social learning”.



EVVC Award 2010 Best Own Event

The EVVC Award 2010 for Best Own Event was won by the Lübecker Musik- und Kongresshallen GmbH for “Rocktower / Metalfestival” in April 2009.
Within the context of the self-image of the MuK as a Philharmonic that is a place of cultural diversity, a key step in the objective of further opening the house culturally and socially and making it the central location for special cultural events in the region was achieved with the implementation of the Metalfestival. The aim is to shape the event hall as a place of tolerance and mutual acceptance of different cultural directions. “Tolerance itself is, in our understanding, an expression of culture”, it says in the application.
Professor Dr. Gerd Schwandner: “A centre with a “civic program” shows courage and opens itself to a new target group by organizing an in-door Heavy Metal festival. Even if or just because the style “metal” often polarizes and is typically an outdoor festival event, it is possible to develop a new market - and “nothing else matters” (Metallica).”

The nominees for the EVVC Award 2010 Best Own event are the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal GmbH with the “1. International Organ Competition”, the Messe und Congress Centrum Halle Münsterland GmbH with “DogLive, Münster’s dog show and event” as well as the darmstadtium / Wissenschafts- und Kongresszentrum Darmstadt GmbH with their “day of the associations”.