Energietal Toggenburg and its 12 communities have ambitious plans: by 2034, the energy consumed in the valley will be produced using renewable energy sources. The Energietal Toggenburg support association is already working hard towards achieving this goal. With the project “Sustainable Energy Education” (NEB -Nachhaltige Energiebildung), it has introduced hands-on energy education for the next generation in the schools in Wattwil Krinau and Mosnang.
In his latest book, “Globi und die Energie”, Globi shows the children why the climate is changing and what they can do to counteract it. The idea behind the Globi book came from the support association itself, which was also involved in implementing its content. The second cornerstone of the NEB project involves visits to the so-called energy places. At the waterfall in Steintal or the hydraulic power station in Dreien near Mosnang, the children learn everything about sustainable energy. “This allows us to develop the basis for responsible actions with children and teenagers, which in turn will also help us to realize our vision of self-sufficient energy in the valley”, said Thomas Grob, president of the school board of the Wattwil Krinau school community. With this project, the Energietal Toggenburg have really earned the prize money of CHF 50,000 which comes with winning the main prize in the 3rd call to action of the Zurich Climate Prize .
Special start-up prize: The uglier, the better
The start-up “Zum guten Heinrich” utilizes products that the supermarkets would normally throw away: mis-shapen fruit and vegetables. The young entrepreneurs use these to provide vegetarian and vegan catering menus for companies and private events in the region of Zurich. “In this way, we are making a contribution towards reducing the waste of resources and showing people that imperfect-looking fruit and vegetables are perfectly usable and also tasty”, said Lukas Bühler, co-founder of the start-up. With its “No Waste” idea, the jury awarded “Zum guten Heinrich” the special prize for start-ups with award money totaling CHF 25,000.
Category prizes
The category prizes, each of which comes with CHF 25,000 award money, went to:
A total of 300 projects submitted for the Zurich Climate Prize
Joachim Masur, CEO of Zurich Switzerland, says: “The wide variety of different projects sent to us this year is truly fascinating. This confirms yet again that we at Zurich Switzerland, are on the right path with the Climate Prize.”
Since the first invitation to enter in 2009, around 300 projects have been submitted. The prize, which includes prize money totaling CHF 150,000, awards projects that make a contribution towards climate protection. The jury headed by em. ETH professor René Schwarzenbach makes independent decisions about the prize winners. One main prize and three category prizes are awarded, as well as a special prize for start-ups. The winners were announced on November 8, 2016, at the Umwelt Arena in Spreitenbach.
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