For her bachelor thesis "Calculation of flood areas for the stream in Heppenheim and evaluation of the results in comparison to an existing heavy rainfall hazard map", Ameli Brecht received the sponsorship award from the sponsorship association of the Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management at the Technical University (TU) Darmstadt. Ms. Brecht started her studies at TU Darmstadt in October 2017. Following her 12-week internship in 2020 at DAHLEM, Ms. Brecht wrote her bachelor thesis, which was supervised by DAHLEM employees. Since then, she has been working as a student trainee in project implementation: "The internship at DAHLEM showed me how varied and exciting everyday life at an engineering office can be. I am therefore happy to be able to continue my work here and especially grateful for the great colleagues.“

There were 6,283 running enthusiasts who finished the Essen 2022 corporate run in beautiful weather. This is already the 10^th Essen corporate run for the DAHLEM running community. In glorious running weather, the Essen 2022 corporate run was on the agenda for over 8,800 registered participants on Wednesday, 22^nd June. The runners covered a five-kilometre course, from Huyssenallee at the Philharmonie to the Tummelwiese at the Grugabad. And once again the motto was: “With each other - for each other”. A highly motivated DAHLEM team went to the start again. "Taking part and reaching the finishing line is our motto". From 7:00 p.m. the starting line was filled with running enthusiasts on Huyssenallee. The distance could be covered running or walking. It is not about the competition between the companies, here everyone comes together to enjoy the sporting event with a lot of fun and the highest level of commitment.

Climate change and global warming will continue to increase according to the IPCC report. Heavy rainfall with major flooding and high water have been showing this very clearly for years. To protect against extreme heavy rainfall, heavy rainfall hazard maps are created in the course of hazard analyses. For this purpose, the state of Baden-Württemberg (LUBW) developed a standard reference procedure that assesses the quality requirements of engineering offices with regard to hazard analyses and heavy rain hazard maps, which are described in the guideline for municipal heavy rain risk management. For successful participation in the standard reference procedure, LUBW issues a quality certificate, which is a prerequisite for submitting bids to municipalities. DAHLEM has been active in heavy rainfall risk management for more than 15 years and again received certification for its participation in the standard reference procedure "Determination of heavy rainfall hazard maps". The standard reference already acquired with the software GeoCPM has now been successfully completed again with the innovative software Visdom, so that at DAHLEM two simulation models for heavy rainfall assessments according to the guideline are available - tailored and optimized to the requirements of our clients.

Since May 2021, DAHLEM has started supporting KUER.NRW as a specialist. KUER.NRW is a funding programme implemented by pro Ruhrgebiet e.V. and Business Angels Netzwerk Deutschland (BAND) on behalf of the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection of the State of NRW. KUER supports "green startups" in North Rhine-Westphalia, founders and startups having an innovative product, process or service idea with market potential in the KUER sectors of climate, environment, energy and resource conservation. Specially accredited KUER mentors, specialists, industry experts and angel investors accompany them through all phases of their startup - from idea generation and the preparation of the business plan to company creation, market launch and financing, tailored to their specific individual needs.

www.kuer.nrw

The rising number of extreme weather events increases the risk of flooding, also on company premises and in buildings. Rising costs and fees place an additional burden on companies. It is therefore worth investing in intelligent water management: How can stormwater be collected and used as process water? How can water be infiltrated instead of being discharged into the sewer system? A variety of often easy-to-implement measures prevent damage and save costs. These and other questions were discussed at an online cooperation event organized by Business Metropole Ruhr GmbH and the Emscher Association for Water Management/Lipper Association (Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband). Business Metropole Ruhr markets the Ruhr region as a business location and, among other things, supports companies with future-oriented, environmentally-friendly technologies. Professor Dr. Peter Höppe, former head of GEO Risks Research/Corporate Climate Centre Munich, opened the discussion round with his lecture "Too much and too little water - climate change aggravates the extremes", which was accompanied by representatives of the business community and local authorities and during which more than 100 live participants were able to ask questions to the speakers. Holger Ackermann, the responsible person  for water management from DAHLEM, was a participant in the four-person panel. In his view, climate adaptation measures are not an expression of ideology, but of foresight and common sense.

Link to the event (start of discussion from minute 30') 

https://youtu.be/jT7i-uGCsOw

On January 1, 2021, DAHLEM received the ÖKOPROFIT® Company 2021 award. Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser, Mayor Kufen of Essen and around 50 participants met in Zoom as the ÖKOPROFIT® awards were presented virtually for the first time in all of Germany. As a participant in the project, DAHLEM has been implementing numerous in-house measures since 2018 to protect the environment while cutting costs: Reducing electricity and water consumption, introducing e-mobility with cars and bicycles, and much more. The ÖKOPROFIT® Essen-Ruhrgebiet project (Ecological Project for Integrated Environmental Technology) was launched in 2002 by the City of Essen to help companies and institutions establish a feasible environmental management system. "For us, the measures implemented achieved a great record of success. It's good to realize that you can implement many measures for the environment with little effort and at the same time increase the acceptance of environmental protection," says Dipl.-Ing. Markus Küppers enthusiastically.

Our ÖKOPROFIT team, from left to fight: Dr.-Ing. Jan-Gregor Dahlem, Sarah Lukai, M.Sc. and Dipl.-Ing. Markus Küppers

DAHLEM has won the 2^nd prize at the Essen Environmental Award 2020 "Essen - hums and buzzes, Essen - is insect-friendly", with the transformation of a 200m² lawn into a flowering meadow (download folder as PDF, german). The prize was awarded for the 13^th time by the City of Essen. The award is given to sustainable projects that contribute to the topics of insect-friendliness, species and biotope protection, improvement of the living environment and environmental protection. Our flowering meadow was created in a joint effort by employees and their relatives. As a species-rich flowering meadow, on which many species can be found now, it delights us with the "the buzz of life" all year round. And it also offers us a lot: relaxation, happiness, variety and joy. 

It was the second major meeting of the BIM2WATER competence initiative, which pools the experience and knowledge of 10 medium-sized planning offices on the BIM methodology for digital planning, construction and operation in water management. DAHLEM is one of the cooperation partners supporting stakeholders in the water industry with the BIM methodology in a targeted and demand-optimized way. The background of the coalition is that the general and individual requirements of the BIM methodology are not yet at a level that allows an easy start. Before corresponding activities could be undertaken and while still in the introduction phase, the possibilities and prerequisites must be competently recorded and evaluated by the respective participants. Afterwards, an individual action strategy must be elaborated. For this purpose, among other things, basic building blocks for a uniform and thus economical approach are developed for all participants. Within the scope of the BIM implementation, the client is supported in the partially necessary adaptation of these basic modules to individual needs and prerequisites.

In July 2018, DAHLEM founded a new office in Berlin, initially with three employees. To date, the DAHLEM team there has more than doubled in size and further new appointments are planned. The office space is also growing. The growth in staff has been accommodated by moving within the building, from the side wing to the main building, where more space is available. With the establishment of the branch office in Berlin, DAHLEM is consistently implementing its strategy of being present in promising markets. The growing customer base speaks for itself: The high potential of the Berlin market is particularly evident in the strong demand for innovative water management solutions.

Since January 1, 2020, Dr.-Ing. Jan-Gregor Dahlem, company owner of DAHLEM Beratende Ingenieure GmbH & Co. Wasserwirtschaft KG, has become the new business owner of Dr.-Ing. F. Schmidt-Bregas Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH based in Wiesbaden. The takeover of the company took place, among other things, due to the search for a succession solution for Dipl.-Ing. Martin Schmidt-Bregas. For the time being, the engineering company will continue to operate under its familiar name and will continue to be managed by Martin Schmidt-Bregas. This will secure the company's continued existence, performance and jobs in the long term. In 2021, the company will be carefully integrated into DAHLEM's corporate culture and mission statement, a process expected to be completed by 2022. Projects that have already been carried out jointly are seen as a major plus for the upcoming integration process. Jan-Gregor Dahlem is pleased with this step: "The company is an exceptional asset for us, on both professional and human level."

Since the start of the woman's promotion programme ChanceMINT.NRW of the University of Duisburg-Essen, female students have been visiting DAHLEM Engineering Office. The female students at the Department of Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Energy Systems are preparing for a career path that is highly male influenced. This year seven female students, together with two project coordinators, got an idea of the practical daily work process here. Jana Sommer, who designs sewage engineering systems as an engineer at DAHLEM, looked after the group and talked about her professional work routine. "It brings me great joy to inspire the female students for the versatile and interesting job of an engineer at an engineering office". In October 2013, the University of Duisburg-Essen started the program ChanceMINT.NRW for female students of natural sciences and engineering disciplines. The programme offers them the opportunity to gain networking and future-oriented practical experience in numerous workshops. Corporate advisors allow female students in the first three semesters to prepare for their professional entry and future career. Gregor Dahlem is involved in the programme as a corporate advisor: "Our employees are our most important asset. In order to promote young engineers at an early stage, we are glad to get involved with ChanceMINT.NRW."
 

Creating a flower meadow together: under the expert guidance of a landscape gardener, Young and old prepare the area for the new flower Meadow on the garden plot of DAHLEM. The employee´families were also invited. The kids had particularly a lot of fun energetically removing the turf, raking and sowing the seeds. With a smile, Jan-Gregor Dahlem tells us that his five-year-old son remembers this experience so well that he still speaks of the flower Meadow at kindergarten. The intense commitment to nature was subsequently with a hearty snack.