The Living Standards Award 2024

In the afternoon of 14 May 2024, Austrian Standards presented the Living Standards Award to this year’s winners at the 4GAMECHANGERS Festival held at Marx Halle Vienna. The award highlighted innovative solutions, ideas with export potential and future technologies succeeding with standards and, for the first time, also included the new category “StandardsForEducation”. The ten winners of the award also received digital congratulations, for example, from Federal Ministers Martin Kocher and Martin Polaschek, as well as Vienna’s Mayor Michael Ludwig.

Standards as game-changers

Austrian Standards is proud to showcase its innovative winners during the well-known 4GAMECHANGERS Festival. The Austrian organization for standardization and innovation promotes organizations and research projects that actively develop standards, apply them or disseminate them in a learning environment. “Our award winners show how standards enable their success. In our global, digital world, standards are a frequently underestimated resource as their condensed knowledge can facilitate work processes and, as a result, save time because you do not have to reinvent the wheel when you use recognized solutions laid down in a standard – that is efficiency at a collective level,” says Valerie Höllinger, CEO and Managing Director of Austrian Standards, to explain the significance and effectiveness of standardization.

Living Standards Award with the new category “StandardsForEducation”

Standards do not only provide solutions for topical social and economic challenges, but they also facilitate access to new international markets and are drivers of innovation. In education, too, standards are essential as practice-oriented knowledge. Hence, the coveted prize was also awarded in the new category “StandardsForEducation” for the first time. Austrian Standards International President Anton Ofner considers the new category to be an important signal: “China sees standardization as a geopolitical instrument. They have realized that interoperability is of enormous significance for international compatibility, especially for exporting countries. As a result, university courses in the field of standardization are offered there. In Austria, we clearly need to catch up in this area. Standards have to be better integrated in curricula!”

Living Standards Award 2024 – the ten award-winners

“It is particularly nice when previous laureates address new award-winners as Mayor Michael Ludwig did. He himself is one of the first winners of the Living Standards Award that was launched in 2015. At that time, Mayor Ludwig was city councillor for housing construction and was among the first to receive the award for his project “Viennese Standards Management” that explicitly aimed at contributing to standards in order to ensure economical and efficient construction projects,” states Höllinger.

Here you will find links to the video gallery of the award-winners as well as to the statements of those that sent congratulations. Media representatives are welcome to use sound bites without a further approval process. The picture gallery of the event can be found at the end of the text.

The winners of the Living Standards Award 2024 are:

1. BergWind Energy | category “Future Energy”:
   The Upper Austrian startup offers customized wind energy solutions for ski resorts, enterprises and agriculture, thereby promoting sustainable energy efficiency and environmental protection.
2. BirdShades Innovations GmbH | category “Future Environment”:
   The Graz-based company makes a significant contribution to the protection of fauna with its transparent window film preventing bird collisions.
3. CIRCE Biotechnologie GmbH | category “Future Nutrition”:
   The Viennese firm produces alternative proteins for animal feeds by using innovative gas fermentation technology to reduce waste streams.
4. Holloid GmbH | category “Future Quality Assurance”:
   The Viennese startup develops holographic imaging solutions for the pharmaceutical, chemical and food industry to allow for effective production monitoring.
5. Kompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH | category “Future Wood Industry”:
   The research centre based in Linz develops sustainable binders for wood products that have a low health risk factor and contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions.
6. MATR by Circularful GmbH | category “Future Circular Economy”:
   With its MATR mattress, the Viennese startup promotes waste avoidance in the mattress sector and offers an ecological solution for the hotel industry.
7. XREye | category “Future Simulating Vision”:
   The XREye research project, managed by Katharina Krösl of TU Wien, develops a modern eye-tracking technology simulating vision impairment in virtual and augmented reality and thereby supports accessibility in architecture and design.

Category “StandardsForEducation”

1. IMC Krems | Alfred Radauer: This university of applied sciences offers bachelor and master programmes and raises awareness of standards and standardization among students.
2. HTL Linzer Technikum | Rainer Baumschlager: This secondary technical school based in Linz integrates standards into classes and ensures that students are aware of the importance of standards.
3. FH Wien der WKW | Melanie Klinger: Ms Klinger’s master thesis in the field of law analyses the application of standards in residential property management and proposes specific improvements in line with current case law and legislation.

Printable photos can be downloaded from the photo gallery at:

https://www.apa-fotoservice.at/galerie/37030

Photo credits: APA / Krisztian Juhasz

Inquiries & Contact:

Mirjana Verena Mully

Head of Communications

+43 1 213 00-301

+43 676 897124301

m.mully@austrian-standards.at

About Austrian Standards

Austrian Standards is the Austrian organization for standardization & innovation and forms part of an international network of partners from 167 countries. The central objective: providing support to finding solutions for society’s challenges, enabling more innovations and raising the competitiveness and export potential of the Austrian and European economy. Standards are developed by practitioners in European and international cooperation. In Austria alone, more than 4,700 experts participate from around 2,800 different organizations, disciplines and sectors (business, research, administration and NGOs). Austrian Standards networks those experts and, through its membership in international standardization organizations such as ISO, CEN and ETSI, offers access to a worldwide network. Based on digital solutions, Austrian Standards also ensures easy access to standards from all over the world. Specialized literature, congresses and seminars support practical application; certification services confirm compliance with standards. Austrian Standards has around 130 employees. www.austrian-standards.at