DBU — Deutsche Bundess­tif­tung Umwelt (Ger­man Fed­er­al Envir­on­ment­al Foundation)

The DBU pro­motes solu­tion-ori­ented pro­jects for the pro­tec­tion of the environment

• par­tic­u­larly by small and medi­um-sized enter­prises (SMEs)
• 12 fund­ing top­ics plus open-top­ic funding
• in the fields of envir­on­ment­al tech­no­logy, research and com­mu­nic­a­tion, nature con­ser­va­tion and cul­tur­al her­it­age protection
• For com­pan­ies, asso­ci­ations, etc.: gen­er­ally 50% fund­ing of pro­ject costs
• For uni­ver­sit­ies, etc.: up to 100% fund­ing of pro­ject expenses
• Applic­a­tions can be sub­mit­ted on an ongo­ing basis
• 2‑stage applic­a­tion pro­cess (first a brief out­line, then the applic­a­tion) possible
• Indi­vidu­al and col­lab­or­at­ive pro­jects possible

Fund­ing topics

1. Instru­ments and com­pet­en­cies for sus­tain­ab­il­ity assess­ment and strength­en­ing sus­tain­ab­il­ity aware­ness and action
2. Sus­tain­able nutri­tion and sus­tain­able food management
3. Devel­op­ment, design and accept­ance of envir­on­ment­ally friendly con­sumer goods
4. Cli­mate-friendly and resource-effi­cient construction
5. Energy- and resource-effi­cient neigh­bour­hood devel­op­ment and renewal
6. Renew­able energy, energy sav­ing and efficiency
7. Resource effi­ciency through innov­at­ive pro­duc­tion pro­cesses, mater­i­als and sur­face technologies
8. Recyc­ling and effi­cient use of envir­on­ment­ally crit­ic­al metals and min­er­al residues
9. Reduc­tion of emis­sions of react­ive nitro­gen com­pounds into envir­on­ment­al compartments
10. Integ­rated con­cepts and meas­ures for the pro­tec­tion and man­age­ment of ground­wa­ter and sur­face waters
11. Nature con­ser­va­tion and sus­tain­able use of nature in pro­duct­ive land­scapes and pro­tec­ted areas
12. Pre­ser­va­tion and pro­tec­tion of nation­ally valu­able cul­tur­al assets from harm­ful envir­on­ment­al influences

Open-top­ic fund­ing – eli­gible for fund­ing are:

• Research, devel­op­ment and innov­a­tion in the field of envir­on­ment­ally friendly and health-friendly pro­cesses and products;
• the exchange of know­ledge about the envir­on­ment between sci­ence, industry and oth­er pub­lic or private bod­ies, as well as pro­jects to com­mu­nic­ate know­ledge about the environment;
• the pre­ser­va­tion and res­tor­a­tion of the nation­al nat­ur­al heritage.

Fur­ther fund­ing ini­ti­at­ives and priorities:

• Edu­ca­tion for Sus­tain­able Devel­op­ment – Sus­tain­ab­il­ity Dilemmas
• Pesti­cide Avoidance
• DBU­cir­conomy – the DBU ini­ti­at­ive for the eco­nomy and soci­ety of the future
• Green Start-up Programme