At the 2026 ÖGUT Environmental Awards, the project “CS4Region – Invasive Plants, New Opportunities: Innovative Circular Value Creation for Climate Protection, Carbon Sequestration and Soil Resilience” was awarded the Special Prize by LEBENSART magazine—
Turning an environmental problem into a resource
Invasive plants such as Japanese knotweed or Canadian goldenrod displace native species and pose major challenges to ecosystems. Until now, due to their rapid spread, the resulting cuttings could often neither be composted nor stored uncontrolled. This is precisely where the project comes in: in collaboration with the University of Sopron, the team led by project manager Michael Peinsipp is developing an innovative process to convert these problematic plants into high-quality biochar.
What convinced the jury
The project perfectly embodies the core principle of the circular economy. It combines several ecological and economic objectives at once:
- Climate protection & soil resilience: The biochar produced stores carbon over the long term and sustainably strengthens the soil.
- Regional value creation: Costly prunings are transformed into a valuable resource that can be utilised regionally.
- Biodiversity: Targeted management helps to protect native species from being displaced.
