Excellence Green Night Awards
On September 19, 2019, The View Lugano hosted the Excellence Green Night Awards, an annual prize that takes into consideration personalities, entrepreneurs, companies and associations that have distinguished themselves for their commitment to implementing sustainable economy projects to protect the environment, assigned to those who have successfully developed circular economy projects according to the United Nation’s approach to sustainable development.
The rooms of The View Lugano were turned, for a night, into a fascinating underwater environment, thanks to an exhibition dedicated to jellyfish set up with the Aquarium of Genoa Costa Edutainment.
The award, strongly desired by publisher Luigi Lauro, in collaboration with the University of Milan Bicocca, saw the participation of several supporters, including Banca Zarattini, Vector Wealth Management, Keller Zable, and Lugano Airport.
“I believe that each of us, with our own skills and with the tools available to us, must really work to ensure that the issue of sustainability does not remain only an idea”. “Our goal, with the creation of the Excellence Green Awards, is to reward innovation, ideas and projects that can really make a difference in terms of environmental protection”.
One of the prizes of this first edition of the awards was given to Sara Rosso, head of Planhotel Hospitality Group, with nearly 20 years’ experience in managing resorts and hotels in the Indian Ocean area. The prize, in particular, was awarded to the two Diamonds of the Maldives, Diamonds Athuruga and Diamonds Thudufushi, for their awareness of the need to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into their growth strategy, with a specific focus on waste reduction.
The two structures promote initiatives such as the Coral Project for the conservation and regeneration of the coral reef, the Olive Ridley Project and the Maldives Whale Shark Research Program, for the protection of sea turtles and whale sharks respectively.
“The Maldives archipelago”, explains Paolo Galli, director of the Marine Research and Education Center (MaRHE) of the University of Milan Bicocca, “has long been converted into the first green economy in the world, which means that it is entirely independent from fossil fuels. The Maldives, as a country, face the greatest risk from global warming and the consequent rise in sea levels. This is why the measures taken to defend the environment and the biodiversity of the coral reef have been significant”.
On the occasion of this important gala evening, representing the Maldives as the Maldivian Ambassador to Great Britain, Ms. Farah Faizal received the Award for the country’s commitment to the environment.
During the evening, other prizes were also awarded: to Luigi Colombo, founder of EcoSwiss, a platform for innovative and high-tech solutions for waste management in the health, tourism and food industries, and to Salvatore Palella, founder of Helbiz, a urban mobility company that has revolutionized the concept of personal transport through projects that make cities more livable, while minimizing environmental impact.
The winners were given a prize created by Master glassmaker Fabio Fornasier, made in the historic glassworks LU MURANO. This work of art represents a warning and at the same time a hope for the preservation of the seas.
