Lorenzo Cagnoni Award

This regulation is drawn up to guard the purposes of the Award and the observance of the proper conduct of the competition. It determines the procedures and criteria for the operation of the Award for the 2025 edition and is valid and effective for that edition only.

The participation to the Award, expressed through the nomination of one's proposals through an online form, together with the other statements mentioned in Article 5 below on the modalities of participation, implies the complete and unconditional acceptance of these Rules by the participants.
 

PURPOSE - Art.1

The purpose of the Award is to bring out successful business and entrepreneurial projects and experiences that have worked to strengthen the concept of ecological transition, and have distinguished themselves by combining research, innovation and economic results, as well as by contributing to the development of the territory, with particular reference to digital, ecological and energy transition paths. 
 

AWARDS - Art.2

No monetary awards or awards susceptible to economic evaluation are expected.
 

ELIGIBLE SUBJECTS - Art. 3

Private and public enterprises are eligible to participate in the Award, according to the established provisions, which at the time of application are found to be:

• established and active anD registered in the KEY2025 exhibitor catalog.
• registered in the business register of the CCIAA territorially competent
• in order with all social security and insurance contribution obligations and with compliance with the rules on combating illegal and undeclared work set forth in Regional Law No. 35/2000
• not subject to receivership, receivership without continuation of operations, arrangement with creditors, bankruptcy or liquidation, and any other insolvency proceedings provided for by the Bankruptcy Law and other special laws, nor have proceedings for the declaration of any of these situations pending against them
• whose legal representative has not been convicted by a final judgment or in respect of whom a criminal decree of conviction has become irrevocable or a judgment of application of the penalty on request has been issued, pursuant to Article 444 of the Criminal Code, for serious crimes to the detriment of the State or the Community that affect professional morality.
   

ADMISSION CRITERIA - Art. 4

Subjects mentioned in Art. 3 interested in participating in the Award should submit accurate documentation of the projects carried out. 

• Only projects that have already been deliberated, ongoing or completed within the last 12-month period are eligible for submission.
• Each participant may submit only one application. In case he/she sends multiple applications, only the last application in temporal order will be considered.
• Applications whose ownership refers to the following individuals are not eligible:
• Members of the Selection Committee, their spouses, relatives and relatives-in-law up to and including the 2nd degree;
• Promoter Committee members, their spouses, relatives and relatives-in-law up to and including the 2nd degree;
• Members of the Organizing Secretariat;
• Institutional and management positions of the underwriting entities.
   

MODALITIES OF PARTICIPATIONS - Art. 5

• Participation in the award is free of charge. Applicants should fill out the online application form to which they can attach deemed useful for project selection especially images and a data sheet with a total limit of 10,000 characters.
• The mandatory documentation to be submitted and any additional documentation must be signed by the legal representative of the applicant company or responsible delegate.

• Applications, accompanied by all the required documents described above, must be submitted no later than 31January 2025 according to the procedures indicated in this regulation. Any changes to the dates indicated will be promptly communicated by the Organizing Secretariat through the website www.key-expo.com and its social channels, and applications received after the deadline will not be accepted in any way.

• Applicants, by signing the application form, explicitly agree to the conduct of all necessary investigations regarding data, company profiles and biographies, in full compliance with industrial secrecy.
• All information collected regarding the company and the candidates' profile is processed in accordance with the EU Regulation 679/2016, so-called GDPR, for the sole purpose of the Award.
• Applicants, through their registration for the Award, guarantee that the proposal submitted is original and does not violate any regulations protecting the copyright or other rights of third parties. In this regard, each participant agrees to fully indemnify the promoters, organizers and all parties involved in the Award from any claims by third parties
• The winners commit themselves to ensure their own participation and that of their legal representative or in case of impossibility of an official delegate, if they are companies, at the award ceremony, and agree to appear in news reports and in any television and photographic footage of the event, without claiming anything in terms of their own or the representative companies' rights. In the event of restrictions and/or limitations, the ceremony will be held in telematic mode. Winners will still have to ensure their presence remotely.
• While respecting the industrial secrecy and confidentiality of the candidates, the Jury through the Organizing Secretariat may request from the candidates themselves information, interviews or visits useful for the purposes of selection.
• Disclosure of untrue, inaccurate and incomplete data, and failure to comply with the terms of participation established in these Rules and the requirements for participation shall result in the exclusion of participants from the selection or the return of the award received. 

ORGANIZATIONAL SECRETARIAT- Art. 6

The Organizational Secretariat is based at ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP SPA and performs organizational and promotional functions for the Award. ​

EVALUATION COMMITTEE - Art. 7

The Evaluation Committee, which will be specifically appointed by the Promoter Committee and composed of personalities of recognized experience in the field of innovation belonging to the scientific, academic and industrial world, performs the functions of the Jury. It has the task of identifying the winners on the basis of the best projects regularly submitted.  
 

SELECTION PROCEDURE AND COMMUNICATION OF OUTCOMES - Art. 8

• The promoters of the Award, verifie the eligibility of the applications submitted according to the provisions of the regulations and the requirements of Articles 3, 4 and 5 above. It then makes the documentation available to the Selection Committee.
• The Evaluation Committee shall assign a score to the selected applications, based on the evaluation criteria set forth in Article 9 below, and the weights to be assigned to them, defined after its establishment.
• The Evaluation Committee may, if it finds it necessary, take additional elements for evaluation purposes, request an interview or a special meeting from the Award candidates.
• Applications will then be ranked based on the assigned score.
• The winners will be contacted by the Organizational Secretariat promptly and will be invited to the award ceremony. On the same occasion they will be asked to exhibit their project to the audience present. The winners then commit themselves to ensure their participation in the awards ceremony, in the manner set forth in Article 5, and agree to appear in news reports and in any television and photographic footage of the awards event, without claiming anything in terms of their own rights or those of the companies represented.
• The ranking list, along with the list of participants and winners, will be made public from the day of the award ceremony by publication on www.key-expo.com and through the websites of the subscribing institutions.

EVALUATION CRITERIA - Art. 9

The evaluation of applications, to be ascribed to the autonomy to the Evaluation Committee, which makes it under its own responsibility and at its own unquestionable and unappealable judgment, will take into account the following parameters:

• Level of newness of the project;
• business model;
• economic spillovers;
• quantitative and qualitative spillovers;
• spillovers to local supply chains and production systems;
• environmental sustainability and attention to the environment and principles of circularity.

NATURE, EXTENT AND ASSIGNMENT OF AWARDS - Art. 10

The awards consist of ceremonial plaques that will be made by ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP SPA through special coordination on content and graphics with the other sponsors. 

AWARD CEREMONY - Art. 11

• Awards will be presented at the public awards ceremony during KEY2025. Date, place and further logistical details of the ceremony will be promptly communicated via email by the Organizational Secretariat to the winners, who commit to ensure their participation as indicated in Art. 5, and maximum visibility will be given to it in all media channels.
• In the case of restrictions and/or limitations, the ceremony will be held remotely.
• Winners must still ensure their physical or remote presence at the ceremony.