11 companies from eight different countries were celebrated for their innovations and investments to protect consumers. In its second edition, the award focuses on two aspects: protecting vulnerable consumer groups and the use of new technologies to enhance consumer safety, with separate awards for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and large companies. While the Product Safety Award is non-monetary, it gives winners widespread recognition. By showcasing best practices, the European Commission wants to inspire other businesses to better protect consumers. At the same time, the award is meant to make consumers more aware of their right to find only safe products on the market.
Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, who hosted the award ceremony, said: "The EU Product Safety Award winners raise the bar for innovations that make products safer. I hope that their efforts to protect European consumers will motivate other companies. The Award is a testament to the skill, ingenuity and vision of the people working in these organisations."
The 2021 Product Safety Award winners are:
Gold, Silver and Bronze awards were given to six small and medium-enterprises (SMEs) and five large businesses excelling either in protecting vulnerable consumer groups or in combining safety and new technologies.
PROTECTING THE SAFETY OF VULNERABLE CONSUMER GROUPS
SMEs
- GOLD WINNER: T.FIRST POOL SAFETY LTD (Cyprus), for promoting pool safety with a range of affordable, secure, and easy-to-use fences.
- SILVER WINNER: ONANOFF EUROPE BV (Netherlands), for protecting young ears with innovative headphone safety features and education on safe listening habits.
- BRONZE WINNER: BESAFE (Norway), for making child car seats even safer with a clever and simple belt tightening system.
Large companies
- GOLD WINNER: IKEA OF SWEDEN AB (Sweden), for a dedicated range of affordable household products to support the safety of vulnerable consumers.
- SILVER WINNER: MAXI COSI - DOREL JUVENILE (Netherlands), for combining the safety of a baby car seat with the convenience of a carrier.
- BRONZE WINNER: TAMPAX - PROCTER & GAMBLE (France), for product innovation and education campaigns promoting safe tampon use by young teens.
COMBINING SAFETY AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES
SMEs
- GOLD WINNER: TERRAINQ SOLUTIONS (Germany), for improving the safety of products on online marketplaces through a system that automatically checks technical documentation.
- SILVER WINNER: SPREAD & COLE (France), for a collaborative platform to handle removal of dangerous products more swiftly and efficiently.
- BRONZE WINNER: LUDO PLAYGROUNDS (Greece), for making playgrounds safer through the use of smart technology to detect safety issues.
Large companies
- GOLD WINNER: TO.TEM (Italy), for encouraging safe and green mobility by integrating collision alert technology in eScooters.
- SILVER WINNER: POSITEC (Germany), for making automated lawn mowers safer for children and animals through clever and groundbreaking technology.
Background
Organised every two years by the European Commission, the EU Product Safety Award celebrates businesses initiatives that go the extra mile to protect consumers and raise the bar for consumer product safety across the EU. The second edition of the EU Product Safety Award was open to companies from EU Members States as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Small and large businesses from 15 different European countries submitted applications. Following an eligibility screening, a jury panel of policy and safety experts selected the finalists in each category. All finalists were then screened against internationally recognised corporate social responsibility criteria. Winners were determined based on four factors: innovation, impact, inspiration potential and company product safety processes.
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Details
- Publication date
- 28 September 2021