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Winners of the Second Award (2002)
| Dr. Michael Otto and |
José Maria Figueres Olsen
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Dr. Michael Otto
Dr. Michael Otto, one of the two joint-winners of this year's Sustainability
Award, is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the globally active
trading and service enterprise, Otto in Hamburg. In his role with the
company, Michael Otto has established high standards with regard to
corporate responsibility, as well as social and ecological matters.
For Michael Otto, it was the Club of Rome as well as the 1972 book “Limits
to Growth” that were the catalysts behind his moves towards sustainability
for the firm. The first concrete measures in the field of ecology were
taken way back in the 1980s.
And as early as 1974, for instance, the company began using mailing
cartons from recycled materials. Further examples of how Otto puts sustainability
into practice include onsite environmental measures and the ecological
optimization of product ranges, such as the supply of textiles from
controlled biological cotton. Processing over 500 t of bio-cotton, Otto
leads the German market. Otto catalogues also contain furniture made
with wood from sustainable forests. In addition, Otto has set itself
the target of keeping CO2 emissions as low as possible during transportation.
The key strategy behind this is switching transportation to rail, sea
and inland waterways and consistent exploitation of the latest technologies.
José Maria Figueres Olsen
The second winner of the Sustainability Leadership Award is José
Maria Figueres. The former president of Costa Rica, whose period in
office lasted from 1994 to 1998, made major strides to ensuring that
his country and its industry are better equipped for a globalised economy.
His efforts in the sustainability field were primarily aimed at a transparent,
sustainable platform, strong macroeconomic indicators and major investment
in human development programs. In addition, Figueres concentrated heavily
on environmental protection. One consequence of these endeavors is that
companies from Costa Rica have entered into closer cooperation with
US companies in a bid to promote technology-based investment in their
home country.
After stepping down as president, Figueres set up the Costa Rica Foundation
for Sustainable Development. This foundation sponsors a raft of projects
which promote initiatives for technological applications aimed at improving
the quality of life in Latin America. Figueres only recently became
Managing Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF publishes
the Global Competitiveness Report and organizes the annually held Davos
Forum.
 
About the Award
Sustainability Leaders & Pioneers
Nomination Process
Selection Commitee Members
Award Sponsors
Previous Award Winners
Media
Contact
Important Dates
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