Thurgau Economic Forum: Focus on the circular economy

Daniel Wessner, Head of AWA Canton Thurgau, opened the conference with an overview of the current economic situation in the canton of Thurgau. According to him, around 75 percent of the canton's exports went to Germany - a challenge given the uncertain political situation in the neighboring country. Wessner also emphasized the canton's innovation deficits due to the lack of a university, low start-up activity and fewer patent applications. Initiatives such as the Innovation Fund and the Digital Campus are intended to strengthen innovation in the future.

Sustainability as an opportunity for companies

Christian Vögtlin, Co-Head of the Center for Corporate Responsibility at the ZHAW, presented the importance of sustainability for companies in Switzerland and internationally. Against the backdrop of regulatory requirements in Switzerland and the EU, Vögtlin showed that companies that use sustainability strategically can benefit. Be it through savings, conservation of resources, greater attractiveness as an employer or increased appeal to investors.

Albin Kälin then explained the basic principles of the circular economy and the "cradle-to-cradle" concept. The concept aims to design products in such a way that they can be returned to natural or technical cycles after use. Aurèle Meyer from the Locher brewery provided a practical example: the brewery uses waste products from beer production to produce foods such as potato chips, vinegar and meat substitutes. Melanie Diem showed how companies implement a sustainable corporate strategy and gave the participants valuable tips on practical implementation.

"Omnicrisis" and new approaches

In his keynote speech, futurologist Tristan Horx spoke about the current "omnicrisis", in which numerous economic and social crises are occurring in parallel and necessitating far-reaching change. In response to these challenges, Horx presented the vision of the "blue economy", which replaces linear production models with closed-loop systems and thus avoids waste. Horx emphasized the importance of local, renewable resources, which should be used more efficiently through innovation and entrepreneurial initiative. One striking example is window glass, which can act as a solar panel and thus make solar energy directly usable.

Annette Fetscherin, who had won the Thurgauer Zeitung's Thurgau Woman of the Year award the previous evening, was unable to attend in person due to work commitments and sent her greetings to the audience via video message.

Source: www.galledia-event.ch