Sustainability, community, respect for the environment, development of Southern Italy and innovation. These are the key points of the national Adriano Olivetti Award awarded today, in Rome, to businesses and schools during a ceremony at the Sala degli Arazzi of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy. The initiative, promoted by the Cosenza Chamber of Commerce and the Adriano Olivetti Foundation, in collaboration with Unioncamere, saw the participation of over 100 companies with innovative projects in various thematic areas: employee well-being, corporate welfare, sustainability, culture and research, training, local development. On the other hand, 34 schools took part in the courses linked to the PCTO, an essential condition for participation in the tender, carrying out 47 projects on the importance and value of doing business responsibly in the current context. From the synergy between the Cosenza Chamber of Commerce and the Adriano Olivetti Foundation, last April the “Adriano Olivetti ideas workshop” room was created at the institution, created to stimulate ideas, discussion and innovation between collaborators and employees. For businesses, the winner is Renner Italia with the “Nuovo Welfare Abitativo” project. Several companies received a Mention: Ema Health with the «Red» project for the Innovation category; Arabat with the project «Sustainable battery recycling» for the Change category; Farm cooperative of the Piana agricultural society with the project «The Fattoria della Piana ecosystem» for the Effectiveness category; Manini Prefabbricati with the «Manini Academy of Earthquake Engineering» project for the Transferability category. Honorable mention instead for Italgas Reti with the «Click to be green» project. For schools, the winning project is “Our dream, your dream” from the Galanti high school in Campobasso. Special mentions go to the project «The Impossible Interview» by Ites J. Barozzi of Modena; to the «Bread that is worth it» project of the ISS Cigna Baruffi Garelli of Cuneo; to the project «Can Olivetti ethics and business get along?» of the Ite Bachelet of Ferrara.
Algieri: “The world changes, companies make sustainability”
«Today is a moment of reflection because the business world in Italy, despite the bureaucracy, moves forward. Companies are doing sustainability on their own and have demonstrated it with this award. The real world is changing so much, it’s not possible to stay still.” This was stated by the president of the Cosenza Chamber of Commerce, Klaus Algieri, during the award ceremony of the national Adriano Olivetti Award. The initiative is promoted by the Cosenza Chamber of Commerce and the Adriano Olivetti Foundation, in collaboration with Unioncamere «The collaboration with the Olivetti Foundation has been going on for a few years. We inaugurated the “Olivetti Room” inside the Chamber of Commerce with the idea and vision of Olivetti: to form a group and break down many barriers, with companies that must not only think about profits but also about the territories in which they operate, about society. Adriano Olivetti had already anticipated the 2030 Agenda for sustainability in the 1950s.” “I thank Minister Adolfo Urso who hosted us here, in the ministry which is our home. We have seen today how the schools have already within sustainability and carry it forward, as do businesses, in particular SMEs”, he concluded.
Minister Urso: “An enlightening social enterprise model from Olivetti”
«This first edition of the Olivetti Award – underlined the Minister of Economic Development Adolfo Urso – was successful with many companies and schools from all over Italy participating, promoted by a Calabrian Chamber of Commerce, from our South, which highlighted the extraordinary, enlightening and pioneering value of Adriano Olivetti. He built a model of social enterprise which, like these companies that participated in the award, also took charge of the training and housing of its workers.” . «An example – he continued – of social enterprise which is exactly that provided for in our Constitutional Charter, the foundation of our Republic. It’s very good that this comes from the South.”