Review SGES 2023: How impact can be achieved together

Achieving net zero by 2050 is emerging as a driver of business and policy. Much is being done in the meantime. However, it still seems that much of this is being done in the form of individual initiatives. Seen in this light, the motto of this year's Swiss Green Economy Symposium was to be understood as a call to join forces in order to achieve more impact together. In 9 keynotes, in 16 innovation forums on different topics and in an innovation exhibition, "Green Economy" was brought closer to the audience with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals as the basic pillars.

Nimby, Banana, Cave: How impact is prevented

The fact that upcoming problems - and there are many of them - can only be solved together is something that those present - according to the organizers, around 2,000 participants and 250 speakers - are likely to have agreed on. There are still different positions on the "how": While some are in favor of more self-responsibility, others would like to see more intervention by the state. An example of this is the discussion on the topic of energy, where a trilemma exists that is difficult to solve: Achieving a net-zero target while maintaining security of supply at the lowest possible cost. Adrian Stiefel, Head of the Office for Environmental Protection of the City of Bern, shows that, on the one hand, it is not possible without clear regulations, but on the other hand, all players must be involved. And this seems to be working: in 2021, Bern was already supplying 85 percent of its energy from renewable sources.

But many hurdles remain. Christoph Brand, CEO of Axpo, described these with three acronyms: "Nimby" (not in my backyard), "Banana" (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody) and "Cave" (citizens against virtually everything), with which he easily took aim at what he saw as the rampant objection policy against the construction of wind turbines. An accusation that SP National Councilor Martina Munz did not want to let stand: "We are doing a lot in Bern," she said, referring to the recently adopted Solar and Wind Express, a package of measures for accelerated construction of solar and wind power plants with only a one-time opportunity to file an objection. Will this make the energy turnaround possible? Alexander Keberle of economiesuisse was skeptical in this regard: "It's not enough at the back and front". He emphasized the need to continue operating nuclear power plants for as long as possible and not to make the same mistake as Germany, which now has to produce more electricity from coal due to the shutdown of nuclear power plants and is even dependent on imports.

The panel discussion, however, showed that the positions are also converging. There is a broad consensus that we must move forward with the construction of solar plants and electricity storage systems so that a looming electricity shortfall can be avoided in the short term. "We must now move forward where there is agreement, and not discuss differences," concludes Christoph Brand. Or just: Achieve more impact together...

Achieving sustainability goals: It doesn't work without data

Large companies such as BASF are known to be under close scrutiny when it comes to climate protection. Lars Kissau, who is responsible for the "Net Zero Accelerator" at BASF, made it clear that large economic players cannot achieve their net zero goals without cooperation with partners. In this regard, he also appealed to international politics: He would like to see improved cooperation between Switzerland and the EU, but also a dismantling of barriers within Europe, for example in energy supply and research and development. Tanja Zimmermann, director of Empa, for example, mentioned how fruitful such cooperation across national borders can be. "Thanks to companies like BASF, we now have twice as many projects at Empa." The will of the companies to move forward is therefore there, she said. Technology-open framework conditions are a prerequisite for this, as Franziska Ryser, National Councillor of the Green Party, admitted. Internationally differing CO2 laws could have the effect of hindering competition.

Openness to technology can also be read as a prerequisite for achieving sustainability goals. The only thing is that the panel discussion on this topic showed that many diffuse fears - of artificial intelligence, for example - still have to be dispelled first. "The challenge is not on the technological side, but on the social side," said Prof. Matthias Sulzer, senior scientist at Empa's Urban Energy System Lab. However, data is now necessary to measure the impact of ESG measures, for example, emphasized Christian Keller, Chairman of the Executive Board of IBM Switzerland.

Much concrete at SGES 2023

Away from the fundamental discussions that were held and still need to be held, there were again many examples at SGES 2023 of how sustainable business works in concrete terms. For example, solutions made of bioplastics (Kuori) were presented at the exhibition, or a circular economy concept for baby carriages (loopi). And also this year, the SDG Award for companies was presented. With the SDG Award, the Swiss Green Economy Symposium honors solutions and projects that implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in a trend-setting way. The award is intended to inspire players to make a courageous commitment and to promote innovative projects that serve as role models. This year's prize was awarded to the Zurich-based design company Circleg. Circleg has developed a cost-effective prosthetic leg system that is tailored to the needs of people in developing countries. This is because most of the 65 million people worldwide with amputated legs live in countries of the South. 55 million do not have prostheses because they are too expensive. Thanks to Circleg's use of recycled plastic waste in combination with on-site production in the countries of the South, leg prostheses can be manufactured locally and cost-effectively. The company thus combines social, economic and environmental goals: Integrating people with impairments into society, creating jobs, protecting the environment by using plastic waste as a basic raw material.

Still several questions open

The "green economy" has undoubtedly arrived in people's minds. Nevertheless, many questions remain unanswered, as the SGES 2023 also showed, such as: How can nutrition become more sustainable when, paradoxically, food that is not (yet) produced sustainably is cheaper? Or: How do sustainable financing instruments work and with which sustainable investments can returns be achieved without having to resort to non-transparent structured financial products? And what can SMEs actually do to achieve the climate targets? Answers to these questions can be provided at least by the Swiss Climate Action Initiative (SCAI)a joint platform of large companies, SMEs and other organizations. The community aims to support and encourage SMEs in particular in their first steps towards CO2 reduction. Through dialog and the use of synergies between the participants, both company-owned and joint projects are to be created, which will help to achieve the CO2 reduction targets. This platform - also an example of "achieving an effect together" - certainly deserves a little more resonance.

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