The carnival float Meerwert Helau from Mainz University of Applied Sciences has been nominated for the 2025 German Sustainability Award (DNP) in the ‘Products’ category in the ‘Society’ transformation field and is now a finalist in the competition. In 2025, the DNP will be honoring pioneering contributions to the transformation towards a sustainable future for the 18th time. The winners will be announced at the German Sustainability Award ceremony in Düsseldorf on December 5, 2025.
The most comprehensive award of its kind in Europe
The award has been presented by the German Sustainability Award Foundation (Stiftung Deutscher Nachhaltigkeitspreis e.V.) since 2008 and aims to motivate all key players to change, network them across borders, and encourage partnerships. With multiple competitions, the DNP is Europe’s largest and most comprehensive award for ecological and social commitment.
The German Sustainability Award is based on the goals of the 2030 Agenda, on key areas of transformation such as climate, nature, resources, supply chain, and society. The competitions focus on the fields where there is a particular urgency to act. They reflect the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the objectives of the German government’s sustainability strategy.
In 2025, the DNP will honor pioneers of sustainability in the categories of Companies, Products, Health, and Architecture. The Product Award provides a stage for targeted breakthroughs: products, services, systems, campaigns, and initiatives that achieve tangible progress in at least one of the five transformation fields.
Mainz University of Applied Sciences emphasizes sustainability and interaction on Rose Monday during Carnival
The student project Meerwert Helau is now a competition finalist in the ‘Products’ category in the ‘Society’ transformation field. Meerwert Helau was an interactive carnival float from Mainz University of Applied Sciences in the 2025 Mainz Rose Monday parade that drew attention to plastic pollution in the oceans. The float was powered by muscles alone and featured an octopus made from recycled plastic waste. Participants in custom-made costumes collected deposit bottles, with the total number displayed live. The proceeds from the bottles were donated to an organization that removes waste from bodies of water.
Sustainability Award of the city of Mainz
Meerwert Helau was awarded the “Helau für morgen – Preis des Oberbürgermeisters der Stadt Mainz für Nachhaltigkeit in der Fastnacht” (Helau for tomorrow – The Mayor of Mainz’s award for sustainability during Carnival) in June 2025. The city of Mainz is working on making the Rose Monday parade and carnival in general more sustainable and less wasteful. With this in mind, the Mayor of Mainz introduced the award this year.
German Ecodesign Award finalist
The carnival float from Mainz University of Applied Sciences was also a finalist in the German Ecodesign Award. As part of the competition, the Meerwert Helau project was displayed in Berlin from September 20 to 23, 2025. The German Ecodesign Award honors designers, companies, and students from Germany and Europe whose work makes an important contribution to the sustainable transformation of the economy and society. The competition has been held annually since 2012 by the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the German Environment Agency in cooperation with the International Design Center Berlin.
