Swiss Ethics Award: Three projects honored
The jury of the Swiss Ethics Award has announced the winners of this year's edition. Dialogue, visibility, value chain were the three keywords that took center stage at the award ceremony on May 14, 2019.
The Swiss Ethics Award, organized by the School of Engineering and Economics of the Canton of Vaud (HEIG-VD) and launched for the first time in 2005, is an independent prize to promote ethics, sustainable development and social responsibility projects by companies or public organizations. The aim is that such measures become natural and obvious to everyone. For this purpose, concrete projects are awarded which encourage others to further develop or imitate them.
The winners of this 14th edition are Association rollaid, Magic Tomato and Too Good to Go; their commitment in the fields of ethics, social responsibility and sustainable development was thus honored. The trophy was solemnly handed over to them on May 14, 2019 by Mrs. Cesla Amarelle, Cantonal Councillor of Vaud, Head of the Department of Education, Youth and Culture. Johan Rochel, co-director of the Lab for Innovation Ethics, ethix, gave a short presentation on "Digital transformation: an ethics of transition". The award winners in detail:
Association rollaid - Workshop Rollaid
The aim of the rollaid association is the social and professional integration of young people who work in a recycling workshop where they repair wheelchairs and other items for people with disabilities. Discarded wheelchairs and other accessories for people with disabilities are collected from all over Switzerland and repaired in the workshop in Interlaken. Repairing requires varied craftsmanship specifically suited to the needs of participants in this vocational integration program. The repaired items are delivered to organizations that provide assistance to disabled people in economically disadvantaged countries. For teenagers and young adults, it is good to know that their work is helping people in difficult life situations. In this way, they experience that their commitment is meaningful and valuable.
MagicTomato - online market for fresh and local products
MagicTomato has built a sustainable online food distribution system. The products (vegetables, meat, fish, etc.) come from local producers (100% not industrial), are fresh and are delivered directly to the home within a few hours. This system makes it possible to reduce the environmental impact caused by transport, since the delivery is made by electric cars and cargo bikes and customers no longer have to go to supermarkets. Food waste and plastic packaging are reduced to a minimum and distribution turnover is generated locally. The main goal is to have a positive impact on the company's entire value chain while motivating consumers to use this sustainable solution.
Too Good To Go - Working together against food waste
Too Good To Go has launched a protest movement against food waste, whose first tool is an app that connects restaurants and consumers: Restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, bakeries, etc. sell their unsold food at low prices to individuals by means of "miracle bags". The same individuals can pick up the bags directly from Too Good To Go partners, if possible with their own containers. The goal is to create a community of people who care about the environment and want to contribute to the fight against waste. And so the result is a win-win-win: delicious food at a reduced price, less waste for the businesses, and resource conservation for the environment!
Swiss Ethics Award as a special competition
Unlike other competitions of the same kind, the specificity of this prize is that it is organized by the School of Engineering and Economics of the Canton of Vaud (HEIG-VD), thus ensuring the independence of the organization and awarding of the prize. The Swiss Ethics Prize is also considered an educational project. Each year, students of economics participate in the organization of the event. This task is part of the curriculum. "This idea was part of the original concept! It was about highlighting the students' skills in ethical dossiers and approach. The idea was to propose, under the supervision of a professor, courses of action that would encourage the independence and critical faculties of students to duly appreciate any action, regardless of the field it comes from," said Pierre Zumwald, past president of the jury.
More information: www.prixethique.ch
