Steinecker GmbH, a subsidiary of Krones, has reason to celebrate after being honoured with the 2025 German Sustainability Award (GSA) in the Products category, an award being presented for the first time this year to recognise standout projects offering sustainable solutions. Steinecker submitted its biomass conversion concept Phoenix BMC for the transformation field Climate and won first place.
The principle behind Phoenix BMC is as simple as it is ingenious: Where brewery residuals have commonly been used as animal feed, Steinecker has put the concept of resource recovery on a broader footing, revolutionising it to effectively turn organic waste from the brewing process into a source of valuable substances and thus leveraging far more potential even than if it were just used for energy generation in a biogas plant.
Steinecker has been working on the Phoenix BMC concept since 2022, and the results speak for themselves. But that’s not the only reason why the German Sustainability Award is a great honour for the Steinecker team.
Said Dr. Ralph Schneid, head of product development: “Unfortunately, many measures aimed at reducing energy consumption and improving a company’s carbon footprint are very expensive and therefore not attractive to many investors. That’s why, when developing the Phoenix system, we put the upcycling of materials that would otherwise be waste front and centre, firmly rooting the circular economy right in the brewery. The concept was a huge success and we’re very proud to have received the GSA for it.”
Parent company Krones also ranked among the top three GSA finalists in the ‘Machinery manufacturing companies’ category.
Added Martina Birk, Head of Sustainability: “The nomination alone – and then making it into the final round – is an enormous testament to our efforts and shows that Krones is among the leaders in sustainability. This distinction validates our ongoing efforts to develop and implement innovative and sustainable solutions. We are proud to be making a positive contribution to society and for the environment and will continue to work unwaveringly on our vision for sustainability.” For more visit krones.com
