Sustainable Switzerland names first 15 Sustainable Shapers
Sustainable Switzerland has recognized 15 people with its Sustainable Shapers award for the first time. The honorees at the NZZ Connect initiative’s sustainability conference included also Pirmin Jung from the canton of Lucerne. The accolade recognizes their contribution to sustainable development in Switzerland.
For the first time, Sustainable Switzerland has honored 15 people in three categories as Sustainable Shapers. The winners were named at the sustainability platform’s one-day sustainability forum in Bern on 2 September. They received the accolade from the NZZ Connect initiative for their exceptional commitment to social or environmental sustainability in Switzerland.
Albin Kälin is one of the winners in the Leadership & Transformation category. The founder and CEO of epeaswitzerland is considered one of the world's leading circular economy pioneers. Another is the co-CEO of swisscleantech, Christian Zeyer, who combines politics, business, and practice in the interests of climate protection. Hans-Dietrich Reckhaus, CEO of Reckhaus AG, also won. He transformed his insecticide company into a biodiversity protection pioneer after meeting Swiss conceptual artists Frank and Patrik Riklin, and is now also CEO of Insect-Respect. And Julia Carpenter, co-founder and CEO of the start-up apheros, a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH), is drastically reducing the power consumption of data centers with a novel cooling system.
Nathalie Agosti is one of five winners in the Knowledge & Opinion category. She is the founder and managing director of the consulting firm Outlive Advisory and positions issues such as mental health and equality as leadership tasks in business. Walter Stahel, who also received an award, founded the Institute for Product Longevity Research. He is a professor, author, and member of the Club of Rome, as well as a pioneer and trailblazer in the circular economy, and honorary president of the Next Generations association. Among the other award winners are Simone Nägeli, co-founder and co-director of the Acker Schweiz education network, Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder of the Global Footprint Network, and artist Ursula Biemann.
In the Vision & Innovation category, Aurélien Demaurex, CFO and co-founder of Ecorobotix, is one of the honorees. His ultra-precise ARA field sprayer uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to reduce pesticide use by up to 95 per cent. The jury also named Philipp Furler, co-founder and CEO of Synhelion, as a sustainable shaper. The ETH-spinoff company uses sunlight to generate the process heat required to produce synthetic fuels. Additionally, founder and CEO Pirmin Jung is setting new standards in timber construction with his PIRMIN JUNG Schweiz AG and projects such as the Haus des Holzes (House of Wood). Nicolas Rochat, another winner, founded Mover Plastic FreeSportswear, the first plastic-free sportswear brand, and is its CEO. Finally, Vincent Vida received the Sustainable Shaper award as founder and CEO of UpGrain. Founded in 2021, his start-up upcycles spent grain into nutrient-rich ingredients for the food industry.
