Swisscham Hungary Sustainability Picnic

Following the example of a tree planting two years ago, the Swiss-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (Swisscham Hungary) came up with the idea of another green project: an insect hotel in Népliget park in Budapest in order to provide these small creatures with a safe, reliable place to survive bad weather, find food or even build a nest. The inauguration ceremony – in the format of a 'sustainability picnic' attended by Chamber members and partners – took place this Tuesday.

"Not a day goes by that something doesn't draw our attention to the importance of protecting the environment. Lower emissions, renewable energy, reducing everyday pollution are values we all hear about and know well. This time, our Chamber wants to take a slightly different approach to further promote environmental awareness. We also want to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the diverse ecosystems around us. Insect habitats are shrinking as a result of urbanisation, but these creatures are key players in the cycle of life," Swisscham Hungary Director Júlia Lipovecz said welcoming the participants.

Jean-François Paroz, Swiss Ambassador to Switzerland, also spoke at the event. He highlighted that "on August 31, 2022, the Federal Council approved the bilateral implementation agreements for the Swiss contribution to cohesion in Hungary and other EU states. Sustainable development is a cross-cutting issue in all the topics supported by the Second Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Program. Special attention will be paid to climate aspects, including the assessment of climate change mitigation opportunities and climate adaptation risks, monitoring progress with adequate climate indicators, green selection criteria in calls for proposals and green public procurement. The Embassy of Switzerland fully supports Swisscham Hungary and its member companies efforts to raise awareness for the importance of sustainable development."

The event was also praised by Ambassador-at-large for Climate Policy at the Hungarian Ministry for Technology and Industry Dr. Barbara Botos. "Pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss represent the three greatest natural challenges of our time. Protecting diversity is also important because different organisms can serve as an irreplaceable source of genetic information, food or medicine in the future. The insect hotel is designed to do just that. Natural, ecosystem-based solutions must once again become part of our everyday lives. Industrial ecosystems must be built like natural ecosystems, as a circular economy, we can no longer think in linear terms," she said.

The picnic is also a forerunner of the soon to be launched Smoke Free City initiative of Philip Morris Hungary, represented at Tuesday’s event which is welcomed and supported by Swisscham. It is because, the Chamber says, everyday human activities are linked to carbon emissions, and that there are lower-emission alternatives that are less damaging to the climate. What happens to the climate and living conditions depends to a large extent on people’s personal choices and decisions.