Green Business Award honours five companies with ‘Excellence’ rating

The Green Business Award will be presented for the fourth time in Bern at the end of September 2022. Of 39 nominated companies, the best five have now been awarded the ‘Excellence’ rating and are still in the running for the prestigious prize. Now they will pitch to the jury, led by jury president Doris Leuthard, for a place in the final.

The Green Business Award, organised by Green Business Switzerland, is presented annually to innovative Swiss companies that combine economic success with ecological impact. Green Business Switzerland is backed by Economiesuisse, Swissmem, the WWF and other national business and environmental organisations. 39 companies were nominated for the award at the beginning of April;  five have now been awarded the title of ‘Excellence’ by the jury and are competing for a place in the top three.

Meat substitute, gigantic storage power plant

The following five companies have been given the Excellence award: Energy Vault, Kyburz Switzerland, neustark, Planted Foods and reCIRCLE.

Energy Vault has developed a storage power plant that can store surplus natural energy and release it when needed – for example, when the wind is not blowing or the sun is not shining. This is effected through the use of concrete blocks, which are raised when the green energy is flowing and lowered when the wind is calm, releasing the stored energy. The electricity can either be consumed directly or fed into the grid. The company’s market capitalisation on the New York Stock Exchange is around 1.4 billion Swiss francs. Energy Vault has major customers worldwide, and the advisory board includes none other than Oscar winner and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio.

Planted Foods tailor and optimise the texture of their products with a wide variety of plant proteins, based on in-depth study of the physical and chemical properties and interactions of the raw materials. Using this process technology, they are able to recreate the texture of meat almost perfectly. The company offers the most convincing and tastiest meat substitute to date – without the use of unhealthy additives. As meat is a major CO₂ driver, Planted Foods has a correspondingly large potential for making a difference.

Concrete for CO₂ storage, battery recycling processes and take-away packaging waste reduction

The Zurich-based company Kyburz Switzerland receives the Excellence award for its MultiLife concept, which makes small e-vehicles recyclable, as well as for the development of a new battery recycling process. This recovers over 91% of the raw materials used in the production of rechargeable batteries without the use of chemicals. The novel process enables the closing of the material loop and saves a total of over 71% grey energy. ‘With this global success story, they have become pioneers of the circular economy,’ says Cédric Habermacher, Director of Green Business Switzerland.

The neustark company removes CO₂ from the atmosphere and stores it permanently in concrete. The material enriched in this way enables the cement content in fresh concrete to be reduced to the regulatory minimum. This not only binds carbon dioxide, but also reduces new emissions in the production process. The company was able to win over important partners such as Holcim, and has a theoretical market potential of over 100 billion Swiss francs by 2050.

reCIRCLE replaces disposable take-away catering packaging with high-quality, washable, microwaveable, tight-fitting containers with lids. The products are Swiss made, consist of durable plastic and are completely recyclable for hundreds of uses. This environmentally friendly solution faces an uphill struggle against the convenience factor. According to the Federal Office for the Environment, the CO₂ savings potential amounts to 1.4 million tonnes per year.

The five winners of the Excellence accolade will present their solutions to the Green Business Award jury in Lucerne on 6 July. The 16-member jury, which includes jury president Doris Leuthard, Solar Impulse founder Bertrand Piccard, Swiss Post CEO Roberto Cirillo, business journalist Patrizia Laeri and digitalswitzerland president Sascha Zahnd, will then decide which three companies will be the finalists. The winner will be announced on 23 September 2022 at the Swiss Sustainability Forum in Bern.

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^{Green Business Award}

^{Since 2019, the "Green Business Award" has annually honoured the most innovative Swiss companies that combine economic success with ecological impact. In the first phase, around 20 partner organisations - consisting of environmental associations and business organisations - nominate up to three of the best solutions in their sectorto compete for the award. A preliminary jury then awards the “Green Business Excellence” label to the five best solutions. These five companies go on to presents themselves with a pitch to the main jury. The main jury, chaired by former Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, is made up of 16 personalities, including Bertrand Piccard (Solar Impulse), Roberto Cirillo (CEO of Swiss Post) and business journalist Patrizia Laeri. Three of the five "Excellence Label" winners will be selected as finalists for the "Green Business Award" and one company will receive the coveted prize at the Swiss Sustainability Forum on 23 September 2022. Swiss Post supports the award as presenting partner and pioneer for sustainability in its sector.}

^{Green Business Switzerland}

^{Green Business Switzerland focuses on the positive connection between entrepreneurial success and sustainable action. If we want to preserve our planet for future generations, business must be part of the solution. This requires a change in awareness and role models to guide decision-makers. Green Business Switzerland is committed to this with various formats. The forward-looking cooperation of key players from business and environmental protection is backed by the FOEN, economiesuisse, öbu, Pusch, the Schweizerische Umweltstiftung, Scienceindustries, Swissmem, Swiss Textiles and WWF Switzerland, among others.}