Team

Rolf Schwery is the founder and Executive Director of acting responsibly AG.

Rolf spent nearly a decade in Russia becoming familiar with a foreign culture and language. His first degree is in Economics (University of Fribourg); his PhD in Social Sciences (Russian Academy of Sciences).

As executive director of the Swiss Academy for Development (SAD), Rolf had the positive experience of managing an NGO through difficult times. He is a pioneer in the field of Sport and Development and strongly believes that development doesn’t need to be painful, but can be a lot of fun.

He likes all kind of sports, and plays squash regularly. In 2009, he ran his first marathon in Florence and climbed the highest mountain in Europe, Mt. Elbrus (5642m) in the Caucasus, and Mont Blanc (4810m).

Rolf is fluent in German, English, Russian and French.

Aska joins the team as a sustainable event manager after earning her Master’s degree in Sustainable Development at the University of Basel. Her work experience in the field of journalism gives her a broad perspective on the newest environmental and sustainability topics.

During her leisure, she enjoys playing badminton, reading, and testing her green thumb in the garden.

Contact: aska@actingresponsibly.com

Sarah has made her way into the team as a sustainability intern as part of her Master’s in Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich. During her time at ETH Zurich and while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Global Sustainability Science at Utrecht University, she gained interdisciplinary knowledge and experience in the natural and social sciences with the goal of better analyzing complex societal problems from different perspectives. She is particularly interested in the intersections between politics, science, and imaginative practices, as well as food systems transformation.

Believing that fun and creativity are essential ingredients to a meaningful life, Sarah enjoys exploring various hobbies in her free time, including rock climbing, cooking, singing, and reading.

Contact: sarah@actingresponsibly.com

Pascal is an integral member of the acting responsibly team, specializing in sustainable event management and offering comprehensive consulting services. With a strong educational background and a passion for environmental and social sustainability, Pascal brings a wealth of expertise and a commitment to making a positive impact on the event industry.

Pascal holds a BSc degree in Geography from the University of Bern and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Zurich’s University of Applied Science, focusing on sustainability communication and environmental education.

By combining his expertise in sustainable event management, love for the outdoors, and passion for festival culture, Pascal is ready to revolutionize the event industry. With a focus on minimal environmental impact and unforgettable experiences, he is dedicated to crafting sustainable events that leave a lasting impression.

Contact: pascal@actingresponsibly.com

Marc is Swiss/British/Canadian thanks to some lucky coincidences including being born in Canada to an English mother. His international background continued well into his professional career, having worked, and lived in the UK, USA, and China. He sports a Business degree from the University of Zurich.

He started his career as a banker with a large US bank in London, and later found his passion, or perhaps due to his Swissness, his vocation as an executive in the Swiss watch industry. Though his timing is not always impeccable, he early on recognized the need for sustainability, particularly in the luxury industry. He is an expert in ESG reporting and has been trained by CISL, PRI, and GRI in the sustainability world of abbreviations.

He enjoys football being an ardent and still hopeful supporter of Tottenham Hotspur in London. He also spends a lot of time on his mountain bike (admittedly, assisted by an electric motor) and loves to ski in the winter.

Marc is fluent in German, English, and French and has a few notions about Mandarin.

Contact: marc@schwerycade.com

Giulia Facchini joined the team as the contact person for Ticino. Giulia became interested in sustainability after an Erasmus course in Finland at Hanken Business School. She then completed her bachelor’s degree in communication sciences at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI), decided to specialize in the field of sustainability, and completed a master’s degree in socially responsible management at the USI in 2023. During her studies, she had the opportunity to work in various industries, including events, tourism, and marketing. Now she has decided to specialize in sustainability in the field of event management, and it is also important to her to support companies to embark on the path to sustainable management.

Maria joined the team as a Business Development Intern after working in various sectors such as Healthcare and Intellectual Property. Currently, she is pursuing her Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence programme at IU of Applied Science. Her studies at HEC University of Lausanne provided her with interdisciplinary knowledge and experience in economics, statistics, and business analytics. She holds a BA in International Trade and Economics from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, where she gained knowledge in the innovation process, risk assessment, market analysis, and digital marketing. Maria’s current interest lies in the sustainable employment and commercialization of artificial intelligence technologies across industries.

Contact: maria@actingresponsibly.com

Vy Chi joined the acting responsibly team in 2016, where she combines the spheres of sports and environmental sciences in her professional life. With a dedication to detail she helps sports organisations investigate how their events can be the most sustainable – not only for the environment, but also for participants, workers, and the society.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences  and a Master’s degree in Human Health, Nutrition and Environment ETH Zurich. Beside her work at SchweryCade she is a passionate dancer, beach volleyball player and a dedicated physical education teacher. She believes in the power of sports and sees sports as an instrument to bring people together.

Since 2012 she has been part of the Team für Nachhaltigkeit of the ASVZ SOLA-Stafette in Zurich. From 2011 to 2017 she was a delegation member of the Swiss Summer Universiade team.

Alena is responsible for design across various projects.

Her main activities include web publishing, photographic reports, graphic design, preparation of presentations, business and event reports.

Contact: alena@actingresponsibly.com

Katalin has experienced the challenges of sustainable development for almost 20 years as well as in industry, as an NGO and also as a consultant, providing diverse view on the issues.

Katalin graduated as MSc in Environmental Technology and Occupational Health in Finland, later also having a decree in Environmental Law in Hungary. She was managing the first ever sustainability report in Hungary (GRI „in accordance”), and has been part of the reporting project for more than 20 reports. She was a member of the first GRI Stakeholder Council, and probably the most experienced user of the GRI Reporting Framework in Hungary. 

She tried several sports, skiing, tennis and cross-country skiing, also including ski orienteering in which she was part of the Hungarian National Team, and participated 4 times at the World Championships. Currently she is a great fan of horse riding.

Katalin is fluent in Hungarian, English and Finnish, and speaks also German.