Month: December 2020

Prince Michael Award Recognises #CommitToAct Campaign

The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety is delighted that the tireless work of its 250 NGOs around the world on the #CommitToAct campaign has been recognised with a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award. Each year, the most outstanding examples of international road safety initiatives are given public recognition through these prestigious awards.

The #CommitToAct campaign empowers and equips NGOs to secure government-led road safety commitments at local and national levels, creating a platform for accountability. The NGO sector plays a central role in delivering change. #CommitToAct amplifies their individual calls to action and strengthens their joint voice.

HRH Prince Michael of Kent, in his letter to the Alliance said, “I have been impressed with the reach and effectiveness of the #CommitToAct campaign developed by your team and many partner NGOs. I am therefore delighted to make an award to the Alliance in recognition of this outstanding achievement.” 

Lotte Brondum, the Alliance’s Executive Director said, “This award’s true recipients are the Alliance member NGOs, who often work tirelessly and unrecognised in their communities. I encourage them to use it as an opportunity to leverage the recognition and endorsement that the Prince Michael Award represents to push for accountability and stronger commitments for safer roads with their governments.” 

Read the full press release here: https://www.roadsafetyngos.org/events/press-release-prince-michael-award-recognizes-committoact-campaign/ 

To get involved with #CommitToAct, visit the campaign webpage here:  http://www.roadsafetyngos.org/act-now/committoact/committoact/ 

by Mao Macatangay

The idea of ethical business during COVID-19: the Italian experience of Ecogest

Nearly eight months after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Italy appears to be a completely different country. A wounded country with an economy that causes concern not only for the present moment, but also for future prospects. 

It is a country where the first spring coronavirus national lockdown lasted two months, and the subsequent “mini” local lockdowns have marked the daily life of Italians since September. This condition has shown the inability of the public system to curb the phenomenon, but above all to organise a restart that today seems far from reality and strongly compromised. 

In this complex and dramatic framework, the role of some companies has stood out. This situation has involved not only the large-scale industry segment - potentially more interested in state aid, than in a real "resistance"- but also small and medium-sized businesses, who have shown a great response capacity, confirming that they are, without fear of contradiction, the real backbone of the country. 

Such a reaction not only allowed some enterprises not to benefit from the redundancy fund and other shortcuts, regularly provided by law (and Ecogest is very proud not to have succumbed to the temptation of transforming themselves from a productive business into an assisted one), but also to maintain employment levels unchanged, despite the inevitable drop in turnover and operational difficulties that are easily imaginable and common to all European countries. 

Considering these circumstances, they have managed to avoid any form of dismissal, and not to take advantage of the redundancy fund even for a single hour. They also have been able to provide financial support through productivity bonuses to their site workers, who have never stopped working, also during the coronavirus lockdown. This has been possible thanks to specific derogation, in as much as they are providers of essential services, and has allowed them to show the market and the country the reaction force, missing in most of the “Italian System”. That also has made them aware of the need to support the entire chain, including subcontractors and suppliers, by shortening payment times beyond contractual obligations, often replacing the state itself, which has not been able to coordinate its times with extremely tight time frames of many small businesses brought down by closures and restrictions. 

However, Ecogest's commitment did not end with these initiatives. Indeed, from these choices the Majority Shareholder — Valerio Molinari, the CEO — Michela Nanni, and the whole management of the company, which is entirely owned by the Molinari family, found the life- blood and motivation to start an unprecedented welfare plan for its employees. 

The starting point is the social vision of the business activity that the Molinari family has always wanted as a point of reference for making choices. No employees, even the simplest, are elements to gain profit from at any cost, but they are people and collaborators, whose personal, family and human conditions cannot be separated from the productivity and the serenity in the workplace. “Think about your work; we will take care of the rest”: it is a sort of reinterpretation applied to the business logic of the famous “I care” that have set the course of Obama's 8-year presidency in the U.S. 

Starting from these principles, what has been done thereafter was a simple practical application of what was imagined during these months. In this way, often having to replace the distracted and absent state, Ecogest wanted to take care of its employees and their families. 

To achieve this, the company has followed three fundamental guidelines: safety at the workplace, personal assistance for employees and their families, and special attention to the education of their minor children. 

The first guideline allowed to secure every workplace, both offices and worksites, through several activities, including periodical sanitisation treatments of all indoors spaces, routine monitoring of body temperature, monthly screening through nasal swabs and molecular blood tests, disinfection of work tools and vehicles, constant and continuous supply of any necessary protective equipment for collaborators and employees, even when finding masks, gloves and disinfectants has become in Italy a kind of treasure hunt. 

Immediately afterwards they have adopted support measures for employees and their families. Among them: increase in the net remuneration of all site workers during the most difficult phase of the pandemic, start of a corporate welfare program, in accordance with a primary national banking institution, which gives the access to an online platform and the possibility to download vouchers for essential goods or medical care entirely covered by the company. Finally, the latest initiative is taking off these days, and it will provide supplementary health coverage for each employee in service. 

Ecogest has also turned its attention to the employees’ children: at a time when most Italian schools are closed and students have to attend classes online, it is necessary to fill the technological gap affecting less affluent families. For this reason, but also on the occasion of Christmas, they wanted to provide every workers’ school-age child with a tablet to allow them to be able at any time to attend classes from home, even in the most remote corners of the country, avoiding the risk of being left behind. 

Few simple initiatives, easy to understand and even easier to implement, so that each employee or collaborator feels part of our big family. 

This ethical vision does not preclude the company from seeking a profit, but simply lead to do it without ever mortifying the dignity of no one, remembering that behind every desk or machine, and on every worksite along the Italian highway network, there are men and women contributing to guarantee the company’s stability, but above all to provide essential services to the country. 

Ecogest express its gratitude and its deep respect to each of them. 

by Mao Macatangay

ARRB receives the Sustainable Transport Infrastructure Award at Australia’s National Transport Research Awards

The National Transport Research Awards celebrate and recognise research excellence across the transport sector.

The 2020 awards were held and presented via a virtual awards broadcast on Thursday 19 November.

The annual awards, hosted by the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) – Australia’s National Transport Research Organisation - recognise the great work that has been done in Australia’s roads, transport and mobility sector during what has been a most challenging year in 2020.

Winning one of these prestigious awards reflects talent across the transport industry and leadership in shaping our transport future.

The judging panel included:

• Ms Julia Page, Managing Director and CEO of the Victorian Endowment for Science, Knowledge and Innovation (VESKI)
• Dr Mary Lydon, immediate past Director of the Centre for Automotive Safety Research and former general manager of research at ARRB
• Dr Gary Dolman, PSM, immediate past Head of Bureau, Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development
• Mr Praveen Reddy, Executive Director, Freight Victoria, Department of Transport
• Awards Convenor: Dr Mike Shackleton, Chief Research Officer at ARRB. 

The award winners were:

Lifetime Contribution Award

Lex Vanderstaay from the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.

The adjudicators noted that as always, this was the hardest category to judge as all four nominees meet the criteria for the Lifetime Award. They selected Lex Vanderstaay has shown on the basis of his dedication to excellence and innovation throughout his career of over 50 years. He has been responsible for many initiatives to improve the transport system and has also inspired others to continue to look for the next improvement.

Research Rising Star Award (joint winners)

Dr Amy Killen of Monash University

Dr Negin Zhalehjoo of the Australian Road Research Board

The judges said that:Dr Zhalehjoo stands out because of her ability and willingness to embrace both the rigour of scientific research and the adaptation required to use that research in practice.

They also felt that Dr. Killen's effort to tackle an issue that that many would regard as low-profile, but which causes millions of dollars in unnecessary expense, was in its own way revolutionary. This was designing the urban rail network to reduce vandalism.

Sustainable Transport Infrastructure Award

East Boundary Road Crumb Rubber Asphalt Demonstration Trial – ARRB, the Department of Transport Victoria, Tyre Stewardship Australia & the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association

This involved the trial of different mixes of crumb rubber asphalt on a well-trafficked road in Melbourne’s south-east – East Boundary Road in Bentleigh. The judges felt that the crumb rubber demonstration asphalt trial is a perfect example of what can be achieved when a group of diverse organisations work together to challenge established methods. The results have the potential to produce major environmental and economic benefits and also encourage others to look for even more innovative solutions.

Research-Industry Partnership Award

Mobile Phone Detection Camera - Transport for NSW, technology providers

Transport for NSW are the winners of this award because this award recognises that the Transport for NSW-led team did not let diverse legal, political and social barriers get in the way of trying to minimise the impact of a growing social and road safety problem – mobile phone use by drivers. They were also unafraid to contemplate and adopt significant technical innovations. The solution they have adopted has great potential for implementation in other jurisdictions.

Local Government Innovation Award

Edge sealing of asphalt repairs - Gold Coast City Council

This entry shows that innovation can be both simple and effective; the vital ingredient is just having a go, as Gold Coast Council have done. Whilst the improved method for edge sealing asphalt repairs will be largely invisible to the travelling public it will have significant benefits in improving the safety and comfort of travel, reducing costs and reducing the frequency of roadworks.

Guest speaker at the virtual awards presentation was Madeleine McManus OAM - the Director of Industry Engagement for the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of IT at Monash University. 

Other speakers included Michael Caltabiano, Chief Executive Officer, ARRB, and Neil Scales OBE, Deputy Chair of ARRB, and Director-General of Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads.

This is the second annual National Transport Research Awards hosted by ARRB, with hopes that the awards will return to a full-scale in-person event in 2021.

For further information on the National Transport Research Awards and this release, please contact Niva Thongkham on 0448 097660 or niva.thongkham@arrb.com.au, or Guy Hand on 0407 894527 or guy.hand@arrb.com.au

About ARRB

The Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) is Australia’s National Transport Research Organisation. They are Australia’s source of independent, expert transport knowledge and research. They advise key decision-makers within all levels of government, road agencies, and the private sector, on the nation’s most important transport challenges and how to solve them. They also produce standards, guides, and specifications for Australia’s road, transport and mobility industry. www.arrb.com.au

by Mao Macatangay