The presentation at <link http: www.marriott.com hotels travel zrhbr-renaissance-zurich-tower-hotel external-link external link in current>Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel was the crowning glory in the anniversary year of the "most senior" educational project by the myclimate foundation. Since 2006, apprentices and trainees in companies or at vocational schools have been able to implement their own projects, thereby gaining valuable practical experience and generating added value. In the training year 2016/17, a total of 185 projects were submitted – more than in any other year previously. Twelve teams were placed on a shortlist beforehand, three in each of the four project categories: "Energy", "Sensitisation", "Innovation" and "Planning".
The winning teams The first prize in the Sensitisation category was awarded to Arthur Groebli, Mélissa Biondo and Melina Reymondin, interactive media designers in the third training year at <link http: edu.ge.ch cfpaa external-link external link in current>Centre de Formation Professionnelle Arts Genève. They impressed the jury with their project <link https: www.energie-klimawerkstatt.ch fr projects external-link external link in current>"Challenge Ecomen". For this, they installed three conspicuous recycling containers on the school grounds. Their goal was to considerably increase the quantity of cleanly separated refuse in just one week. In addition, they drafted an accompanying communication concept.
There was great excitement for Severine Hüsser, Gizem Koyuncu, Ilayda Cay, Raphael Hutter, Slavko Todorovic and Pascal Marty, prospective business managers for international transport logistics at <link https: ch.kuehne-nagel.com en_gb external-link external link in current>Kühne und Nagel AG, about the main prize in the Energy category. Their project <link https: www.energie-klimawerkstatt.ch fr projects external-link external link in current>"PET vs water dispensers" aims to banish PET bottles from use and to save approximately 7,700 kg of CO₂ per year through this change.
In the category Innovation, Micaela Gianini, Nora Mayer, Alexandra Howald and Sarah Grandjean, BMS trainees in the second training year at the Gewerblich Industrielle Berufsschule Bern (<link http: www.gibb.ch seiten default.aspx external-link external link in current>GIBB) were impressive. With <link https: www.energie-klimawerkstatt.ch fr projects external-link external link in current>"TAKE PART", they created an alternative to plastic cutlery at GIBB. They provided stainless steel cutlery in a box as an experiment, which is more energy-efficient as cutlery, through its repeated use.
"Replacing paper mail with a simple email", Ivan Pizzimento, Mattieu Gachet and Pascal Reymond describe their planning project <link https: www.energie-klimawerkstatt.ch fr projects external-link external link in current>"A step towards digitalisation, a step towards ecology", for which they were awarded first place. The polytechnicians and automation engineers in the third training year at <link http: www.wago.ch fr external-link external link in current>Wago Contact SA in Domdidier in the canton of Fribourg calculated a saving of 18,000 sheets of paper, 6,000 envelopes, and thereby 166 kg of CO₂ and costs of around CHF 6,250 per year.
The previously selected audience's favourites from <link http: www.emvs.ch external-link external link in current>L'Ecole des métiers du Valais (EMVs), four electronics engineers in the first training year, were pleased about Swisstools for their project <link https: www.energie-klimawerkstatt.ch fr projects external-link external link in current>"Solar charger for mobile phones".
The project year and the awards ceremony 2017 were made possible by the main programme partners <link https: www.suisseenergie.ch fr-ch home.aspx external-link external link in current>SuisseÉnergie, <link https: www.griesser.ch en home external-link external link in current>Griesser Storen, <link https: www.axa.ch en private-customers.html external-link external link in current>AXA Winterthur and the host, <link http: www.sv-group.ch de geschaeftsbereiche hotels external-link external link in current>SV Hotel.
The Energy and Climate Laboratory exhibition on ten years of projects in Swiss vocational training
The touring exhibition to celebrate ten years of the Energy and Climate Laboratory provided the framework for the occasion. The modular exhibition with a welcoming address by the President of the Confederation, Doris Leuthard, which has been touring Switzerland since March, was designed in cooperation with <link http: www.medienformfarbe.ch external-link external link in current>Berufsschule für Gestaltung from Zurich. All of the 679 projects ever carried out by trainees are presented here.
In addition to the exhibition, the twenty-minute interview with Patrick Kutschera, Pascal Strässle and Marc Heim provided a further highlight in the programme of the awards ceremony. During this they answered questions on the need for specialists for the Swiss economy in future. The questions were collected in advance from the trainees.
The Energy and Climate Laboratory
The goal of the <link https: www.energie-klimawerkstatt.ch fr.html external-link external link in current>Energy and Climate Laboratory is to accumulate knowledge on the environment and the efficient use of energy and to combine commitment with technological skill, innovative spirit and design expertise. The workshop participants' task is to develop products and projects that reduce CO₂, promote energy efficiency or raise awareness among the general public about everyday actions to prevent climate change. The myclimate Energy and Climate Laboratory is a national project competition for all those in education or training.
To date, 864 projects from more than 8,100 trainees have been submitted. This Switzerland-wide project would be impossible without professional and financial support from various sources. Since 2015, <link https: www.suisseenergie.ch fr-ch home.aspx external-link external link in current>SuisseÉnergie has not only provided input in terms of content, but also acts as the primary partner and the inspiration for the name.
The following companies, among others, have provided sponsorship over the past ten years: Griesser Storen, AXA Winterthur, SV Hotel, <link http: www.sbbcargo.com fr home.html external-link external link in current>SBB Cargo, <link http: www.stiftung-mercator.ch de external-link external link in current>Stiftung Mercator, <link https: www.sbfi.admin.ch sbfi en external-link external link in current>the State Secretariat for Education and Innovation, <link https: www.cembra.ch en external-link external link in current>Cembra Money Bank, <link https: www.swisscom.ch en residential.html external-link external link in current>Swisscom, <link http: new.abb.com ch fr external-link external link in current>ABB and <link https: group.emmi.com en external-link external link in current>Emmi.