Stories of sustainable development, an alternative economy, and new growth models, woven through innovation, knowledge, and responsibility. The Non Sprecare Award is back, now in its 12th edition in 2021, continuing to foster dialogue and exchange among businesses, associations, and civil society. The initiative, conceived by Antonio Galdo – director of www.nonsprecare.it – and promoted by the Luiss Guido Carli University, once again benefits from numerous scientific, institutional, and publishing partnerships.

“We're very pleased with the growth of the most important part of our project: school participation. Despite the current challenges, the number of students participating from all over Italy continues to grow. This year alone, more than thirty schools have been involved in the Non Sprecare Award process, which isn’t just a simple ceremony but spans seven months before the winners are announced. And many have incorporated the Non-Sprecare Award into activities related to the Civic Education program, ”says Antonio Galdo, director of the Non-Sprecare Award and the Non-Sprecare website.

Over time, the Award has become an excellent opportunity for representatives from the worlds of business, science, research, education, and associations to meet and discuss sustainability. This year, the focus will be on water as a precious resource. The initiative’s stated goal is to gather and promote best practices for reducing waste. Once again, this year's award has gathered ideas and projects from citizens and associations that can positively impact the lives of communities and the people who live there, anticipating and addressing the complexities of today's world. 

For this edition, the Award featured six categories: Individual, Schools, Companies, Associations, Startups, and Institutions. The awards ceremony will be broadcast on Luiss Social TV and on the Non Sprecare Facebook page.

In the Individual category, the award will go to Daniele Cassioli, the greatest Paralympic skier of all time. Blind from birth, he has won 25 world titles in water skiing. With a degree in Physiotherapy, he founded the association Real Eyes Sport, which helps blind children get involved in sports.
He wrote a book, Il vento contro, to share his story.
 

The Schools Award will go to the “G.B.B. Lucarelli” Industrial Technical Institute in Benevento, where Professor Carlo Mazzone teaches computer science. He is one of the ten finalists for the Global Teacher Prize, the world’s most important award for teachers (under the auspices of UNESCO). Mazzone is also actively working to combat early school leaving in Southern Italy. And at his school, through the project La scuola fuori, a real incubator for innovative startups has emerged, enabling young people to create businesses in collaboration with universities, research centers, associations, and private investors.

The Business Award, on the other hand, will go to Ceramiche Noi and its President, Marco Bozzi. Their story is quite unique, beginning when the owner sought to relocate the Città di Castello factory to Armenia to cut labor costs. And the employees stepped up, formed a cooperative, and officially became the company’s owners, putting their severance pay and unemployment benefits at risk. Now, Ceramiche Noi is on the market with its innovative products, including an antibacterial ceramic for dishes that repels 99% of bacteria.

Avvocato di strada will receive the Non Sprecare Award for Associations, a network now widespread throughout Italy that provides free assistance to people who cannot afford a lawyer. Especially immigrants, when they are exploited or forced to work under completely illegal conditions. Avvocato di strada, with its 56 offices, provides assistance to nearly 4,000 people annually.

In the Startup category, the jury will award Too Good To Go, a simple yet highly effective app that allows consumers to purchase unsold products at the end of the day with discounts of up to 50%. The platform has 13,000 participating stores in Italy and 4 million users. Too good to go helps reduce two types of waste. The waste of unsold and/or expiring food that typically ends up in the trash. And the costs of disposing of this type of unusual waste.

Finally, in the Institutions category, the jury selected the Municipality of Civitavecchia for its Orti solidali project. This is a virtuous three-way collaboration between the Municipality, the Community of Sant 'Egidio, and ASL 4 of the Municipality of Rome (Mental Health Department), aimed at helping people with mental health issues lead more normal lives. The project has two phases: in the first, people are trained to learn about plants and cultivation techniques; in the second, the Solidarity Gardens become a reality. With an olive grove and a rose garden.

Speakers at the award ceremony will include: Prof. Valentina Gentile, an expert on integration and inclusion from Luiss; Prof. Gianfranco Pellegrino, Professor of Public Ethics and Political Philosophy at Luiss; Erasmo D'Angelis, Secretary General of the Central Italy Basin Authority; Anna Varriale, Head of Water Resource Protection at the Acea Group; Eric Gerritsen, Director of Institutional Relations at the Costa Group; Claudia Moricca from the Catalano Foundation; Alessandro Barbano, Co-Director of Corriere dello Sport; Chiara Mingoli, Executive of the Enel Group in the Sustainability sector;  Marco Santori, Board Member of the Alce Nero Group; and Alberto Portolano, Project Manager at the Grimaldi Group.

“Taking immediate action for a sustainable tomorrow is at the heart of this new edition of an award that, like Luiss, we are proud to support every year. Because real social and civil progress that positively impacts daily life also depends on conserving and reusing raw materials, as well as on the good practices of each of us. Shifting behaviors toward greener practices is a core value that drives innovation and helps accelerate a different, global growth process,” concludes Giovanni Lo Storto, Luiss's General Director.