German team ‘solAround’ Wins
HP’s Responsible Business Ideas Contest
Brussels - June 15 – Junior Achievement-Young Enterprise (JA-YE) Europe and HP Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA) today announced the winners of the HP Responsible Business Ideas Contest. This contest awards students across Europe for business ideas that best combine business practice with social and environmental responsibility.
The German team ‘solAround’ took the first place with their innovative concept to promote the uptake of renewable energy in their community. The secondary school students from the town of Peine in Northern Germany developed an online portal to bring together people interested in investing in solar power systems with those interested in renting out their roofs. The members of ‘solAround’ also focused on raising awareness raising and education by organising the first Solar Fair in Peine developing a strategic card game on solar energy and publishing the ‘SolarNews’ magazine.
“We wanted to draw people`s attention to renewable energies, to provide them with suggestions on where to use solar energy and to make it easier for them to invest in this climate-friendly and renewable energy resource,” says Jan Mahn, the director of the student company. “Our goal was to develop high quality services and products for a sustainable future.”
“Learning to be entrepreneurs of the future should go hand in hand with a growing awareness of corporate responsibility,” said Gabriele Zedlmayer, vice president of Corporate Marketing and Global Citizenship, HP EMEA and member of the board of JA-YE. “There should be no trade-off between achieving business performance and meeting environmental and social goals. The student ideas put forward in this online contest showed not only a great business sense, but also a desire to achieve something tangible for their community by turning it into a more sustainable place to live.”
“We want young people to experience how rewarding entrepreneurship can be and that business can thrive in a responsible way. Young people need proper training and education to be ready for the world of work and personal experience of entrepreneurship so that they can make proactive career choices in the future,” said Caroline Jenner, CEO of JA-YE Europe.
There were more than 300 student company teams from ten European countries that participated in the HP Responsible Business Idea contest this academic year. The highlight of the competition, the HP Responsible Business Award, will be presented during the JA-YE Europe Company of the Year Competition in Rotterdam on 4th July to the JA-YE student company with the most comprehensive approach to social and environmental responsibility.
The top ten teams were:-
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SolAround, Germany
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Peace Tree, Israel
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Watt, Portugal
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Better Windows, Russia
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Petra Systems, Poland
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Equalite, Slovakia
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Navem, Romania
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Ekoefekt, Poland
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AquaBiz, Russia
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Kaseton, Poland
Responsible Business Ideas Contest
This competition was open to JA-YE students aged 15-18 in the following countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia and Slovakia.
The ideas were judged on the following criteria:
1. Demonstrate strong market potential: showing the ability to be profitable and competitive
2. Demonstrate social responsibility: meeting the wider concerns of stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, customers and local communities
3. Demonstrate environmental excellence: preventing pollution, optimising resource efficiency and developing products with minimal environmental impacts
4. Be innovative: Innovative approach of business solution
Time Frame: September 1st, 2008 - May 31st, 2009
The winning team will receive an HP product for each member of the team (max. 5) and each member of the team (max. 5) will be invited to attend the JA-YE Europe Company of the Year Competition 2009 which will take place in Rotterdam in July 2-5, 2009.
More information: www.responsible-business.org/europe/ideas.html
Notes to Editors
JA-YE Europe (www.ja-ye.org) is Europe’s largest provider of entrepreneurship education programmes, reaching 2.9 million students in 38 countries in 2008. Funded by businesses, institutions, foundations and individuals, JA-YE brings the public and private sectors together to provide young people in primary and secondary schools and early university with high-quality education programmes to teach them about enterprise, entrepreneurship, business and economics in a practical way. The JA-YE Company Programme is recognised by the European Commission Enterprise Directorate General as a ‘Best Practice in Entrepreneurship Education’. JA-YE Europe is the European headquarters for JA Worldwide.
HP, the world’s largest technology company, simplifies the technology experience for consumers and businesses with a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure. More information about HP is available at www.hp.com
Media Contacts
Penny Perry
JA-YE Europe
Tel: +41 (0)79 368 9761
penny@ja-ye.org
Stephanie McNair
Hill & Knowlton International Belgium
Tel: +32 (0) 2 741 62 06
Stephanie.McNair@hillandknowlton.com