Milan, 31 October 2008 – Vinyl 2010 has been awarded with the Italian national prize ‘Premio Aretê 2008’ for responsible communication, in the videogames category, for the ‘Vinylgame’ (www.vinylgame.com)
The yearly Aretê Prize (www.premioarete.it) is organised by the non profit association Pentapolis which promotes civil social responsibility. Pentapolis partners and sponsors include Legambiente, Nielsen Media Research, Hill & Knowlton Gaia, Lorien Consulting and several Italian Universities.
The judging panel, chaired by the Italian Minister of Environment Stefania Prestigiacomo, awarded the Vinylgame with the prize because they valued the simple and amusing manner in which the game explains the often complex dynamics of the sustainable development process which is adhered to by the European PVC industry through its Vinyl 2010 Voluntary Commitment.
“We are delighted and honoured to have won the Aretê Prize for responsible communication” – said Chris Welton, Public Affairs and Communication Manager for Vinyl 2010 - “The response that the game has received since launch has been very positive and computer games seem to be very effective way of educating people about sustainable development”.
Players of the Vinylgame are challenged by the daily socio-economic and environmental decisions involved in running their own PVC business. Whilst fun to play, the choices made in how the company is run illustrate the challenges in balancing economic growth against sustainable development.
Within the game, the consequences of playing purely for economic growth without regarding production safety, environmental consequences or issues such as post-use recycling quickly become apparent as the virtual society may opt to respond and take actions and trade unions may vote to go on strike.
The game was first presented in June at ‘Green Week 2008’ which was organized by the European Commission in Brussels and at the CSD-16 (UN Commission on Sustainable Development) in New York in May 2008. It has since been translated into two other languages and is used on both sides of the Atlantic as an educational tool for young people.
For further information:
www.vinylgame.com
Chris Welton, Communication and Public Affairs Manager, Vinyl 2010
Tel: +32 2 676 7443, chris.welton@plasticseurope.org
Andrea Lupo, Zelian srl
Tel: +39 02 29414807, andrea.lupo@zelian.it
