In accordance with the foundation’s mission and guiding principles, the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) promotes innovative, exemplary and solution-oriented projects for the protection of the environment with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. It is one of the largest foundations in Europe; since it began its work in 1991 (founded in 1990), it has supported more than 11,100 projects with a funding volume of around 2.08 billion euros.