Ingo Burgert and Tanja Zimmermann Win SDG Award 2020

(EMPA, September 03, 2020)

The Swiss Green Economic Forum presented wood researcher Ingo Burgert with the SDG Award 2020 for sustainability, while also paying tribute to Tanja Zimmermann, to recognize their efforts in the development of potential uses for the renewable resource wood as a bio-based high-performance material. In this context, the team of researchers from Empa and ETH Zurich succeeded in developing innovative technologies with which wood can be used as a sustainable alternative and supplement to other building materials, while simultaneously striving to make wood increasingly usable in recycling and refinement processes in the sense of a circular economy. Wood can therefore make a positive contribution to the current climate debate, not only thanks to its high availability and excellent mechanical properties, but also through climate-friendly production and recycling.