Young leaders meet in Uzwil and Arosa to develop ideas for a sustainable planet

How can young leaders connect and foster diverse skills to implement business ideas that contribute to a more sustainable planet? How can they all scale impact by building ecosystems, even unusual ones? Where can they start? These were some of the key guiding questions that set the tone of the discussions in the two-day event, and they are aligned with the purpose of the One Young World initiative. 

One Young World is a global forum that finds, promotes, and connects the world’s most impactful young leaders to create a better world, with more responsible and more effective leadership. The annual One Young World Summit convenes the brightest young talent from every country and sector working to accelerate social impact. Delegates from more than 190 countries are counseled by influential leaders such as Dr. Jane Goodall, Paul Polman, and Professor Muhammad Yunus. 

The Bühler Group has been collaborating with One Young World since 2016 supporting and hosting local events in Switzerland and sending a delegation of its promising young leaders from its Generation B movement to summits, including those held in Bogotá, Colombia, and The Hague, the Netherlands. Bühler’s Generation B was launched in 2017 with the purpose of bringing its employees together to create the company people want to work for. “We are thrilled to be part of such an incredible community. Throughout the weekend we were joined by brilliant speakers and guests, who shared their inspiring stories, and we could feel the action-driven energy of the young generation and their commitment to creating a more sustainable and equitable society,” says Ian Roberts, Chief Technology Officer at Bühler Group, about the One Young World Caucus. 

Arosa Tourism co-hosted the event. With its destination strategy Arosa 2030, created as a consequence of attending One Young World London in 2019, Arosa Tourism continues to build a path to sustainability, with the goal of setting the standard for sustainable tourism. “We received valuable input from young, impactful personalities. The diversity of the group and the opportunity to work on ideas across countries and industries is enormously exciting. These learnings will also influence our projects in the future,” says Pascal Jenny, president of Arosa Tourism. 

A host of inspiring speakers 

On Saturday, June 19, the participants – who could join the event in person or online – were inspired by a selected group of speakers. Cornelia Gantner, the founder and chairwoman of the “Be that Girl” foundation, Sabrina Wuersch and Oudi Zhao, co-founders of Generation B, and Rafael Enzler, founder, partner, and managing director of gutundgut GmbH, talked about their personal journeys and the impact of their work on society.  

Tom Crowther, Professor at ETH Zürich, founder of the Crowther Lab and founder of Restor, Rosie Wardle, co-founder and partner at Synthesis Capital, Rasmus Nutzhorn Viemose, Global Vice President Sustainability and Future Innovation at Ricola, and Jürg Schmid, President of Graubünden Ferien, took part in a panel discussion on building ecosystems for sustainable impact. 

Turning discussions into action 

On Saturday afternoon, the participants joined interactive sessions on the different topics: building a sustainable company; shaping a company to be sustainable; and shaping an industry: sustainable tourism. The first day was closed with the speech of Kate Robertson, co-founder of One Young World, who highlighted that young people today are the most informed, most educated, and most connected generation in human history. And that they are willing to do the hard work of change right now. “This event is unique because it brings the power of the corporate world into the hands of people who want a better future. This is the chance to start affecting change, right now,” she says. 

Sunday was the action day for the young leaders. Together in Arosa, they had dived deeper into the three different action topics: building a sustainable company; shaping a company to be sustainable; and shaping an industry: sustainable tourism and created an action plan to address key sustainability issues. As Jessica Jones, co-organizer of the event and member of Generation B, says:  "It was inspiring the way we were able to bring together young, driven leaders from diverse organizations, and discuss the actions and impact we can have when we collaborate. Throughout the event, discussions were clearly focused on what we can do, and not just nice ideas.” 

The next milestone is the participation of the One Young World Switzerland Caucus in the Bühler Networking Days in 2022, which brings together industry leaders and partners to turn challenges into opportunities and action. There, the young leaders will review their commitments and see what they have achieved by leveraging this powerful ecosystem.