Press Releases 2007

August 30, 2007

New impetus for Germany
The winners of the first Bilfinger Berger Awards have been selected
Herbert Bodner and Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer have presented the results in Berlin

The winners of the first Bilfinger Berger Awards are from England, Australia and Germany. Experts from around the world were called upon to submit best practice solutions in the complex web of interaction between society, business and government. The Prognos-Institut and a four-person jury have together reviewed a total of 58 studies from 17 countries and evaluated their exemplary character for Germany. A resulting position paper places concrete demands on policy makers. Today, Herbert Bodner, Chairman of the Executive Board at Bilfinger Berger AG, and jury Chairman Klaus Töpfer presented the results of the Awards, with prizes totaling €70,000.

With this award, Bilfinger Berger AG would like to promote the transfer of knowledge across borders and to explore the question of how solutions which have proven successful in one country can be transferred to other countries. “We are convinced that the international exchange of knowledge can make a decisive contribution to meeting the challenges currently being faced by our society”, explained Herbert Bodner, Chairman of the Executive Board at Bilfinger Berger AG. “We are therefore exploring the question of what Germany can learn from the rest of the world and whether internationally proven solutions can be implemented here.”

Answers were provided by Christian Böllhoff, General Manager of Prognos AG and a member of the jury who presented a position paper based on the submissions to the competition. The paper highlights the potential of individual studies and investigates the degree to which the solutions they describe can be transferred to Germany. Many of the submissions deal with aspects of urban development, so this issue has been made the focus of this year’s Bilfinger Berger Award.

On the basis of five theses, the results of the studies were translated into requirements for sustainable urban development in Germany. In accordance with these requirements, an integrative, prosperous, creative and progressive city needs to:

• be less focused on purely economic factors and more on cultural projects, which increase attractiveness and serve as innovation drivers.
• meet the ever-increasing need for mobility with environmentally stable transportation concepts.
• follow a participatory strategy that includes communities, business and especially the citizens who are affected in the planning and execution process.
• forge alliances with partners and pursue joint success rather than having the legal safeguarding of own interests as a primary goal.
• consider administrative organs as efficient service providers that see citizens as customers.

From among all of the studies submitted, the jury under the chairmanship of Professor Töpfer chose the three winners:

• Cordelia Polinna was awarded first prize. With her study of “Idea Stores” in London’s Tower Hamlets district, the urban planner from Berlin pointed out new directions in urban development.
• Second prize was awarded to Andrew Chew for his study on the theme “Alliancing”. The lawyer from Sydney describes a model of contract design commonly used in Australia that prevents legal disputes between client and contractor.
• Dr. Georgina Santos, lecturer at Oxford University, received third prize for her study on the London City toll. The implementation of the toll successfully reduced traffic in the city and provided a boost for public transportation.

In Berlin on October 8, 2007, representatives from the worlds of politics, business and public administration will discuss the degree to which the solutions can be transferred to Germany. The winners will receive their prizes during this symposium, titled “Mobility, Creativity and Partnership. Impetus for the City of the Future”.

More information is available at www.award.bilfingerberger.com