Presentation of the International busplaner Sustainability Award 2024 at BUS2BUS

For the sixth time since 2013 the trade magazine busplaner presented the International busplaner Sustainability Award. At the evening award ceremony at BUS2BUS in Berlin, the winners were honoured in 11 categories and the presentation took place of three special awards. These had previously been decided upon by a panel of judges comprising Anja Ludwig (KRAVAG), Horst Windeisen (TRANSDEV), as well as Robert Domina and Claus Bünnagel (both HUSS-VERLAG).

Rainer Langhammer, managing director of HUSS-VERLAG, and Claus Bünnagel, chief editor of busplaner, hosted the event. Representatives of BUS2BUS and HUSS-VERLAG and the panel member Anja Ludwig took turns to present the winners with their awards.

Previously, the competition had received a large number of entries focusing on innovative products and services with a potential for making a long-term impact on the bus industry in the years to come, particularly where protecting the environment and conserving resources are concerned. As with the readers’ competition for the busplaner Innovation Award in 2022 and 2023, participation in the International busplaner Sustainability Award 2024 was higher than ever, with a record number of entries submitted in the individual categories.

“That is something we are very proud of. It shows that companies are continuing to take sustainability very seriously despite the many political and economic crises and the federal government’s cutting of electromobility funding“, said Rainer Langhammer, managing director of HUSS-VERLAG.

The winners of the International busplaner Sustainability Award 2024 were from many fields. Despite multiple entries being allowed in separate categories and manufacturers making use of this option, with the help of a detailed points system the panel of judges finally picked 11 different winners in the 11 categories.

The categories for 12-metre and 18-metre long electric buses were once again hotly contested and received a large number of entries. In the end, Daimler Truck AG with its Mercedes-Benz eCitaro fuel cell and VDL with its Citea LF-181 came out on top. In the E-midibus and E-minibus category the winner was MAN with its Lion’s City 10 E. Tremonia Mobility with its Sprinter City 75 (Conventional minibuses and midibuses), Scania with its i6 Super HDH LBG (Coaches and overland buses) as well as IVECO BUS with its E-Way H2 (fuel cell buses) made up the winners in the remaining vehicle categories.

In the Vehicle components and Interiors categories there were numerous fascinating entries, whose consistently high quality made the judges’ task a difficult one. In the end, forward-looking products such as the electric CeTrax 2 dual drive system by ZF, the Ecological Mobile CO2 System 2.0 by Konvekta, and the AI cloud camera by Dittmeier Versicherungsmakler GmbH made the running.

Among the tourism-themed candidates and projects suggested by the busplaner editorial department the winners were Avanti Busreisen (Bus tour operators), the LÉGÈRE HOTELGROUP (Hotels) and the Leipzig Zoo (Destinations and discovery worlds).

The winners of the 6th International busplaner Sustainability Award 2024:

• Electric buses: 12
  Daimler Truck AG – Mercedes-Benz eCitaro fuel cell
• Electric buses: 18 m
  VDL Bus & Coach – VDL Citea LF-181
• Electric buses: minibuses and midibuses
  MAN Truck & Bus – MAN Lion’s City 10 E
• Vehicle interiors
  Konvekta AG – Ecological Mobile CO2 System 2.0 a climate network for electric buses
• Vehicle components
  ZF Friedrichshafen AG – CeTrax 2 electric dual drive system
• Fleet management and telematics
  Dittmeier Versicherungsmakler – eco-efficient AI cloud cameras protect people
• Infrastructure
  PaderSprinter – Procurement of an eCITARO fuel cell bus and installation of a hydrogen refuelling station
• Minibuses and midibuses
  Tremonia Mobility – Sprinter City 75
• Tyres and tyre management
  Continental Reifen Deutschland – Conti Urban tyre range featuring Sensor 2.0
• Coaches and overland buses
  Scania Deutschland – Scania i6 Super HDH LBG
• Fuel cell buses
  IVECO BUS – E-WAY H2

The judges at the 6th International busplaner Sustainability Award 2024 were:

• Claus Bünnagel Chief editor, busplaner, HUSS-VERLAG

• Robert Domina Director, Test + Technik, HUSS-VERLAG

• Anja Ludwig Director, KompetenzCenter Straßenverkehrsgewerbe und Logistik at KRAVAG-LOGISTIC Versicherungs-AG

• Horst Windeisen Regional Director Süd at TRANSDEV, head of the Wage Negotiations Committee, WBO, and CEO Omnibus-Verkehr Ruoff GmbH (OVR)

Rounding off the International busplaner Award 2024, the presentation took place of special awards in the categories ’Bus tour operators’, ’Hotel industry’ and ’Destinations and discovery worlds’The awards went to companies for their commitment, new products and concepts regarding sustainable tourism and eco projects.

The special award winners were:

• Bus tour operators
  Avanti Busreisen GmbH – Pioneers of sustainable travel
• Hotel industry
  LÉGÈRE HOTELGROUP – Reforestation projects / supplying green energy to hotels
• Destinations and discovery worlds
  Leipzig Zoo – Eco-management system / worldwide wildlife conservation programmes