Delta rewards Eco Wave at JA Europe Company of the Year Competition 2020
Lisbon, 24 July 2020
Delta Air Lines awarded its third annual signature award to Eco Wave from Greece at the Junior Achievement (JA) Europe Company of the Year Competition, hosted virtually for the first time by JA Portugal, on 24 July 2020.
The Delta Innovation Award recognizes the student-run company that best displayed an innovative approach to solve a problem, with a functional business model and the potential to prosper globally.
Impressing the jury – composed of Shane Spyak, VP EMEAI, Nadia Clinton, Regional Manager UK and Ireland; and Manoj Kuriakose, Regional Manager Africa – the student team from Greece presented Bio-veil, the first ever biodegradable medical examination table paper roll. It is unique because it is made of Mater-Bi®, a biodegradable & compostable bioplastic.
More than 200 young entrepreneurs aged 15-21, representing 40 student companies, gathered virtually on 22-24 July to compete in the final of JA Europe’s Company of the Year Competition. Throughout the school year, the students went through the JA Company Programme, an entrepreneurship education that bridges the gap between classrooms and workplaces.
Both teachers and business volunteers play a key role in the success of the scheme providing resources and support to the young people who take part. JA provides teachers with a series of learning-by-doing business, economics and entrepreneurship activities, while business volunteers visit classrooms to share their experience and mentor students on career opportunities and the necessary skills to match their goals.
Upon completing the program, students may earn the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP), an internationally-recognized certificate that allows them to prove the knowledge, skills and competences acquired thanks to the Company Programme. In addition, Delta Air Lines supported JA Europe to implement the Entrepreneurial Skills Pass in 30 countries. The school year 2019 – 2020 was the second year when Delta Airlines offered a scholarship for ESP holders to participate on the National Flight Academy.
“Innovation is at the heart of entrepreneurship, and JA Europe is grateful to Delta Air Lines for pushing our students towards new challenges in their Company Programme journey. Through this award, we empower the future business leaders to innovate and make their business ideas fly high”, said Salvatore Nigro, CEO of JA Europe, thanking Delta Air Lines for their support to JA.
“I would like to congratulate all students in this year’s final”, said Shane Spyak from Delta. “The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses around the world to think differently. We could not have predicted this a year ago but demonstrates to the students how their business plans need to be adaptable. I was very impressed by I was very impressed by Eco Wave and how they dealt with this challenge and contributed to build a viable and environmentally-friendly business.”
About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is the U.S. global airline leader in safety, innovation, reliability and customer experience. Powered by our employees around the world, Delta has for a decade led the airline industry in operational excellence while maintaining our reputation for award-winning customer service.
Today, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our customers and employees. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta has moved quickly to transform the industry standard of clean while offering customers more space across the travel journey. These and numerous other layers of protection ensure a safe and comfortable travel experience for our customers and employees.
With our mission of connecting the people and cultures of the globe, Delta strives to foster understanding across a diverse world and serve as a force for social good.
- Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta has served as many as 200 million people a year, taking customers across an industry-leading global network of up to 300 destinations in over 50 countries.
- Through innovative alliances with Aeromexico, Air France-KLM, China Eastern, Korean Air, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and WestJet, Delta has brought more choice and competition to customers worldwide.
- Delta operates significant hubs and key markets at airports in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, São Paulo, Seattle, Seoul-Incheon and Tokyo.
- The world’s most-awarded airline, Delta has been recognized as a Fortune’s top 50 Most Admired Company in addition to being named the most admired airline for the eighth time in nine years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No. 1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented nine consecutive years and named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies Worldwide for two consecutive years.
- As an employer, Delta has been regularly awarded top honors from organizations like Glassdoor and recognized as a top workplace for women and members of the military. Delta CEO Ed Bastian was named among the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine in 2018.
- Delta believes our social responsibility lies at the intersection of our core values and core competencies, making a difference in communities where our employees live, work and fly by giving time, talents and 1 percent of the company’s annual profits.
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core to Delta’s culture and we believe should be reflected in our people, the companies with which we do business, the way we treat customers and the manner in which we serve the world.
- More about Delta can be found on Delta News Hub as well as delta.com, via @DeltaNewsHub on Twitter and Facebook.com/delta.
About JA Europe
Junior Achievement (JA) Europe is the largest non-profit in Europe dedicated to preparing young people for employment and entrepreneurship. JA Europe is a member of JA Worldwide® which has delivered hands on, experiential learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy for 100 years. JA creates pathways for employability, job creation and financial success.
Last school year, the JA network in Europe reached more than 4 million young people across 40 countries with the support of 140,000 business volunteers and 130,000 teachers/educators.
JA Europe press contact:
Minna Melleri
(+32-470180934)
