The Binding forest price was announced for each year on a specific theme. This year, the focus was on "Less is more - sufficiency as the key to success. The Basadingen-Schlattingen community, which received the award today, practices sufficiency forestry out of conviction and with great success. Sufficiency for the benefit of future generations has long been part of the award winner's program, said Georg Schoop, president of the board of trustees, at the ceremony on June 23, 2016. The award winner relies on individual tree care and only cuts down old trees when they have reached the end of their life. This is ecologically valuable and produces remarkable trees with little investment.

"Less is more" - a forward-looking approach for other industries as well
Keynote speaker Prof. Dr. Mathias Binswanger placed the principle of "less is more" in a larger context of economics and happiness research. "There are various empirical indications that more sufficiency not only promotes sustainable development, but also contributes to a happier or more contented life for many people," Binswanger held. Since our current monetary economy is fundamentally geared toward growth and runs into problems without growth, sufficiency quickly becomes a disruptive factor in further economic development, he continued. This contradiction between the inherent growth dynamics of today's economy and sufficiency is a key challenge for the future, he said.

Binding Forest Award has achieved its effect
With the last annual theme "Less is more - Sufficiency as the key to success", the Sophie and Karl Binding Foundation is now drawing to a close after 30 years. During this time, it has honored 30 forest owners who manage their forests in an exemplary manner in terms of ecological, social and economic sustainability. The Binding Forest Award has succeeded in using concrete exemplary examples to show how long-term forest management strategies can be successfully implemented. The award winners
have managed to further develop the ecological potential of their forests, to meet societal needs and to provide above-average economic services. Biodiversity in the Swiss forest today has reached a high level compared to other habitat types. The Binding Forest Award has given impulses and encouraged forest owners and their forest enterprises to implement innovative ideas.

Over the past 30 years, the Binding Foundation has invested around 10 million Swiss francs in the organization and implementation of the Binding Forest Award. In this way, it has supported many new, forward-looking projects and contributed to their realization. The positive examples of the Binding Forest Award winners have had an encouraging effect. The uncertainty and paralysis that prevailed in the 1980s around the topic of "forest dieback" and gave rise to the establishment of the Binding Forest Award has given way to innovative, diversified forest management that meets today's challenges.

Foundation remains active in the environmental field
After 30 years of the Binding Forest Award, the Foundation Board has decided that it would like to use the money previously used for the Forest Award for other projects within the scope of the Foundation's purpose in the future. The commitment to the environment and the program theme of landscape conservation will remain with the foundation. Which project or projects will take the place of the Forest Prize is currently still open.

Chaired by Professors Torsten Tomczak, Director of the Research Center for Customer Insight at the University of St.Gallen, Harley Krohmer, Director of the Institute for Marketing and Corporate Management at the University of Bern, and Felicitas Morhart, Professor at the University of Lausanne, the Swiss Academy of Marketing Science presented the "Swiss Academy of Marketing Science Award" today at The Dolder Grand Zurich. The award recognizes an outstanding personality in marketing practice. The award criteria include the promotion of marketing research and teaching at Swiss universities. In addition, a significant contribution must be made to solving current and relevant problems in marketing practice.

Jean-Claude Biver was unable to accept the award in person due to a family occasion. Nevertheless, he was keen to express his thanks to the jury and the 450 congress participants via live stream: "I am particularly pleased to receive this award because it confirms my management principle. When you give, you get back. For me, sharing mistakes, doubts, but of course success with my team is the most important thing. Passing that on, of course also to students, is very valuable for me."

Sources: www.marken-kongress.ch; www.academy-of-marketing-science.ch

In 14 sessions, guests received in-depth insights into BI projects from Mobilezone, Amag and Glarner Kantonalbank, the Microsoft BI roadmap, predictive analytics and machine learning, the Internet of Things and much more in the form of presentations, demo cases and hands-on workshops. Other highlights were the presentations by the topshots of Microsoft's BI team. The practice day was opened by Marianne Janik, General Manager of Microsoft Switzerland. "The great interest in the intensive day program has strengthened our resolve to invite participants to MAKE BI again next year with a varied agenda," says Samuel Rentsch, CEO of the IT consulting firm specializing in Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing and Big Data. The latter was also recently awarded the "Recognized for Excellence" distinction by the Esprix Foundation. This level of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) recognition program confirms the successful validation of IT-Logix's management system in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, and highlights the company's progress towards business excellence. To this end, a team of assessors from Esprix put the organization through its paces on the basis of the EFQM model criteria and awarded it a four-star rating at the highest level (Recognized for Excellence).

Source: www.it-logix.ch

"Swiss buyers favor Western Europe in the majority, even though this market is known to be higher priced," says Peter F. Schmid, CEO of "Wer liefert was". "Western Europe stands for short lead times and high quality products and services. This is an important aspect of trust and a decisive factor in speed," says Schmid.

Low prices as a driver for internationalization of the procurement market

From the buyers' point of view, the procurement market is becoming increasingly international. 78.2 percent of respondents believe that there will be such a trend for the next 5 years, only 21.8 percent denied this. For 80.4 percent, low prices are the advantages of procuring abroad. After all, half of the respondents say, "The supply/choice is greater." Hardly seen as an advantage are better quality of products/services (5.9 %) or faster delivery times (7.9 %). 7.8 percent see no advantages at all in sourcing abroad.

Lack of quality, time expenditure and cost intransparency as stumbling blocks

As an obstacle to globalization of purchasing, 44.3 percent cited that the quality of products and services abroad is not high enough. The time required to search for and find suitable suppliers was cited as a particular challenge (42.3 %), as was the lack of transparency of costs due to customs duties and taxation, for example (39.4 %), failure to meet delivery deadlines (37.5 percent) and language barriers (30.8 %). "Swiss buyers benefit from the very good conditions on the domestic procurement market," explains Peter F. Schmid. "The leap to non-European markets is too uncertain for many due to a lack of framework conditions such as trade agreements. However, this will change in the next few years, as this is where high savings potential lies," says Schmid.

Digitization simplifies purchasing on international markets

61.6 percent of respondents see digitization as a reason for the internationalization of the procurement market, because it simplifies access to markets around the world. "Habits are breaking and the opportunities of digitization are being seen," knows Peter F. Schmid. "The search for products and services has long since shifted to the Internet. But for purchasing in SMEs, it will be important in the future to create a holistic digital system. Digital infrastructure means implementing intelligent software and procurement systems in workflows; not only production must be digitized, but all areas of the value chain. This starts with purchasing, extends to logistics and customer approach, and extends to marketing and sales. Investing in this form of digitization makes sense not only for reasons of efficiency, but above all for competitive reasons. Our offering at wlw.de is the starting point for efficient supplier networking."

For 60.5 percent of buyers, an equally important reason for internationalization is rising price and cost pressure and thus increasing international competition. "Here, too, digitization plays an important role because it has become increasingly easy to compare prices and the procurement market has become more transparent," says Schmid. "At the same time, internationalization offers the opportunity to offer one's own products and services across national borders."

Buyers use Google and business search engines

Because searching the Internet has become the norm, 76.2 percent of Swiss buyers look for foreign suppliers on Google or other general search engines. 41.6 percent use business search engines such as "Wer liefert was" (Who supplies what), and only 15 percent use their own supplier databases. Not to be neglected in the digital age, however, is the importance of personal recommendations - for example, via colleagues or existing contacts with buyers: At 42.6 percent, word-of-mouth recommendations are still very popular.

Source: www.wlw.ch

The new brand is a reality: The transition to AM Suisse was celebrated by around 270 members, guests and employees at the Hallenstadion in Zurich on June 17. The transition was artistically accompanied by a light show by Oleg Basanov and the new brand was ceremoniously welcomed with a countdown.

Under the sign of the franc shock

The shock was deep-seated when the Swiss National Bank lifted the minimum exchange rate for the Swiss franc against the euro at the beginning of 2015, explained SMU Central President Hans Kunz and the President of the Metal Construction Association, Artho Marquart, at an assessment of the situation before the media in Zurich on Thursday, June 16. The competitiveness of Swiss metal construction companies has subsequently generally declined and the pressure from foreign companies on the market has grown tremendously. According to Kunz, a total of 1216 foreign companies already executed orders in the metal construction industry in 2015.

Education, process optimization and social partnership

For the SMU Central President, it was clear that companies that regularly invest in innovations and further training and have their costs under control are able to meet the dynamic challenges of competition. In order to remain successful, both in metal construction and in lnadtechnik, entrepreneurial creativity, differentiation through a competitive edge, occupation of niches, reliability and permanent internal process optimization are required. The 1860 active member companies are very fit today, well advised by the association and they consider very well where they invest money successfully, added SMU director Christoph Andenmatten. For him, however, one of the greatest challenges at present is the availability of suitable young talent in both sectors. The association is making various efforts to ensure that suitable young people are found for the professions, Andematten explained. In the future, training in metal construction and agricultural engineering will take place at the new joint training center in Aarberg.

The new umbrella brand AM Suisse

As an innovative and modern association, it is important for Central President Hans Kunz to be clearly perceived through a memorable brand. With this in mind, the SMU is now intensively committed to its members as "AM Suisse" and provides professional networking for all joint association tasks with motivated employees. Since June 17, the Swiss Metal Union is now called AM Suisse and unites the new professional associations "Agrotec Suisse" for agricultural technology and "Metaltec Suisse" for metal construction as an umbrella and employer association.

www.amsuisse.ch

The increase in final energy consumption by 1.5% compared with the previous year (according to Meteo Schweiz, 2014, together with 2011, was the warmest year since measurements began in 1864) is primarily attributable to the somewhat cooler weather in 2015. The number of heating degree days, an important indicator of energy consumption for heating purposes, increased by 10.5% compared to the previous year, but was still well below the long-term average. Long-term drivers of energy consumption also contributed to the higher energy consumption, all of which increased: Permanent resident population (+1.1%), gross domestic product (+0.9), motor vehicle population (+1.8%), housing stock (increase, but detailed figures from the Federal Statistical Office are not yet available).

Increase in consumption of energy sources for heating purposes

The consumption of extra-light heating oil increased by 5.6%, that of natural gas by 5.4%. Electricity consumption increased by 1.4% (see SFOE media release of April 19, 2016). The energy use of industrial waste (-13.9%) and coal (-8.3%) decreased. The consumption of heavy fuel oil types decreased by 32.4%, that of petroleum coke by 35.5%.

Fuel consumption down

Overall fuel consumption fell by 2.6% compared with the previous year. The trend toward substituting gasoline with diesel fuel continued unabated: Sales of diesel oil fell moderately by 1.4%, but gasoline consumption dropped significantly by 7.3%. One of the reasons for the significant decline in diesel and gasoline sales is the fall in the exchange rate of the euro in January 2015, which caused a decrease in fuel tourism from abroad (gasoline) and an increase in fuel tourism by Swiss citizens in neighboring countries (diesel). Sales of aviation fuel increased by 3.3%.

Increase in consumption also for renewables

The cooler weather also affected the consumption of renewable energy sources for heating purposes. The consumption of energy wood increased by 6.8%. The use of ambient heat by heat pumps was also 14.1% higher than in the previous year, as was the consumption of district heating (+12.3%) and solar heating (+6.8%).

The direct use of biogas decreased slightly by 0.6%. Taking into account biogas fed into the natural gas grid (which is statistically accounted for under gas), there is an increase in biogas consumption by 6.1%.

The consumption of biogenic fuels again increased significantly (+137.9%). In addition to the exemption of biogenic fuels from mineral oil tax, their crediting as a CO2 compensation measure also has the effect of increasing consumption.

The older generation is not dynamic enough, not flexible enough, not efficient enough and too expensive. The series of pejorative characteristics associated with advancing age can be effortlessly extended and not infrequently culminates in the firmly anchored idea that older workers are "crusty," have only a limited ability to learn and a very modest willingness to learn! Thus, it is no longer worthwhile to confront them with new challenges. A balanced age mix of the generations is an important factor in a successful corporate philosophy: the older and middle age groups have considerable potential in terms of professional and life experience, while the juniors bring up-to-date knowledge, drive, dynamism and innovative strength to the company. In addition, a balanced mix of generations is important for the homogeneity and working atmosphere of a work community. It can therefore no longer be a question of promoting early retirement, but of retaining experienced skilled workers and specialists in the companies - a question of survival for many SMEs, since the shortage of well-trained specialists is becoming increasingly accentuated.

Biological age not decisive for performance

As the results of comprehensive gerontological research show, biological age is only one of many influencing factors that shape a person's individual development. Their performance is determined to a far greater extent by the activities, functions and demands they encounter in the course of their lives. These insightful remarks come from Werner R. Müller, Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Organization and Human Resource Management at the University of Basel. He adds that competence acquisition proceeds independently of biological decline phenomena in old age. Accordingly, human resources policy should not focus on age deficits, but on the possibilities of human development. It is important to create a work environment that challenges all employees over the duration of their work biography.

Making better use of the potential of the more mature generation

So it is no longer enough to play the "benefactor" and give a senior a chance to be useful now and then. Rather, it is important to realize what advantages can arise for companies if they make better use of the potential of the more mature generation than has been the case to date. This means a rethink at those executive levels where age is primarily seen as a deficit rather than an opportunity. There are a number of skills that are specific to older employees (without denying these skills to younger employees):

• Sound life and professional experience
• Expert knowledge: acquired through many years of professional practice
• Balanced judgment
• High reliability, great sense of duty and responsibility
• Strong problem solving skills
• Security/stability through predictability of professional career
• Loyalty, fidelity, diligence and discipline.

Last but not least, customers are also getting older and often attach great importance to a long-term business relationship, preferably a reference person of a similar age group.

Self-responsibility of the older cohorts

In the course of constant change, so-called employability, i.e. the labor market fitness of each and every employee, is gaining in importance. This means that even experienced seniors must be prepared to learn new things and actively tackle today's sometimes rapid changes. Terms such as intellectual and geographical mobility, lifelong learning and self-development are not foreign words for them either, but are part of their own labor market fitness. Managing directors and HR managers are predestined to act as "employability coaches" by ensuring that both the technical and social skills of all age groups are promoted.

From philosophy to strategy

The corporate philosophy is one thing, the personal responsibility of the individual employees is another. The task now is to develop a strategy from this, which may look something like the following:

• Continuing education for all age groups
• Occupational health management
• Consciously designed generation policy in personnel planning and recruitment
• Knowledge transfer between older and younger employees
• Care of the aging clientele by personnel of the same generation

These are just a few points. More important than fixing them in a glossy paper is anchoring them in the minds of company management and implementing them in a progressive HR policy. If this is to be sustainable, the following checklist can be helpful; it has already been used successfully in practice in a number of companies. You are probably already familiar with some of the measures it contains.

Checklist for a generation-appropriate personnel policy

• First: Conduct an analysis of the age structure: When are retirements due?
• Match future personnel requirements with existing resources
• Equal opportunities for young and old: The job profile, not the age, is the decisive factor for filling a position.
• Unless absolutely mandatory: No age limits in advertisements
• Establishment of a generation mix: The young as current knowledge carriers, the older as guarantors of expert know-how.
• In principle, no early retirements
• Offer flexible working time and retirement models
• Instead of luxurious retirement preparation seminars and the like: Investment in targeted further training for older employees
• Adapting work design to higher life expectancy: From the 50plus to the 60plus Model: Arc Careers, Tandems, Mentoring and Others

By the way: Rome wasn't built in a day either: So it is possible to implement the listed points step by step according to the modular principle - according to the inner readiness and the organizational requirements in your company.

Conclusion: Work between the generations must be given a new emphasis and a new quality.

By Alex Müller. The author is a former HR manager at the Psych. University Hospital and now works as an HR writer for daily and trade newspapers. He also keeps abreast of new developments in HR and leadership through intermittent work as a mentor and consultant for new orientations.

Oh yes - everything used to be so simple. Back then, we still talked to each other in the normal way - person to person. Then we started talking to people from a digital parallel world: with friends on displays or with business partners via video conference on the other side of the world. That's how conversations became three-dimensional. And now? We're on the verge of a whole new era of communication: we're talking to digital assistants, robots and digitized machines that give us not only information, but also commands. We will soon trust computers more than people. In the past, we had a guilty conscience; today, we have self-tracking wristbands and apps that not only monitor us, but also measure us.

Knowledge of human nature instead of Big Data

The digital transformation that is sweeping over us at an insanely fast pace will completely change the way we live and work. Of course, this also affects communication between companies and customers. With which success strategies providers can make themselves fit for this changed business world, the multiple award-winning bestselling author Anne M. Schüller shows in her new book Touch.Point.Sieg: Communication in times of digital transformation. Probably her most important conclusion is that the true communicative successes take place beyond Big Data and algorithms. It is not analytics and mathematics, but people skills and empathy that lead to the goal, especially in digitalized times.

Touching customers emotionally

The content of the book, always with an eye on advancing digitization, is on the one hand strategic and on the other very operational, i.e. chock-full of practical tips and strategies for success. The first part, entitled "Touch," reveals how you can "touch" customers emotionally and charge communication multisensory by using the latest findings of brain and behavioral research. The second part, "Point," shows how you can generate "want to have" in customers by analyzing and optimizing the communicative "touchpoints" that arise during a customer journey between supplier and customer. The third part, entitled "Victory," shows a wealth of promising, communicative paths to the digital future. Written in a pointed, entertaining, and comprehensible way Touch.Point.Victory a useful guide for all entrepreneurs and every customer-facing employee to master the challenges of the coming years.

Anne M. Schüller: Touch. Point. Victory. Communication in Times of Digital Transformation. 380 pages, hardcover. ISBN 978-3-86936-694-4. € 29.90 (D) | € 30.80 (A). GABAL Verlag, Offenbach 2016

According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, the demand for STEM specialists in Switzerland has increased tenfold over the past six decades. The reason for this is the far-reaching structural change toward a more technology-savvy knowledge society. At the same time, demand is outstripping supply: there is a pronounced shortage of STEM specialists, which is now worsening in the wake of generational and demographic change. "As a result, companies are faced with the question of how to effectively address, attract and retain highly sought-after, confident professionals," says human resources management researcher Peter Kels of the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In a comprehensive research project, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and the Bern University of Applied Sciences examined the expectations of Swiss STEM professionals of generations Y (born 1982-1999) and X (born 1965-1981) with regard to employers.

Many STEM professionals are currently dissatisfied with their employer

The study shows that the current work situation is not satisfactory for many STEM professionals of generations Y and X: 36 percent of the respondents intend to leave their employers within the next 12 months. This means that STEM professionals are considerably more likely to quit their jobs than workers in other occupations. "This should be a wake-up call for management and motivate them to pay even more attention to the job satisfaction of STEM professionals," Kels says. The largest difference exists across both
generations in terms of the co-determination expected and granted in the workplace, as well as in terms of development prospects in the company.

What STEM professionals want

In detail, the demands of STEM professionals of generations Y and X on employers are as follows: When looking for a job, they are essentially guided by five employer- and job-related factors. By far the most important factor for an application is job content (cited by over 80 percent of respondents). Preference is given to varied, technically complex and innovative specialist and project tasks. Other key attractiveness factors are information on development opportunities, team
and flexible working time models. Only in fifth place is the overall salary mentioned. The factors of job security, industry and culture are mentioned much less frequently, by only around one-third of respondents. The company's reputation (employer of choice or market leader) is relevant for only a tiny minority (see graphic).

What expectations employers must meet

However, sustainable personnel recruitment and retention in the STEM sector requires more than positive employer and job-related factors. The key lies in systematically shaping the working relationship, often based on unspoken expectations, also known as the psychological contract. STEM professionals of both generations show high job satisfaction and retention when four expectations are met:

1. The opportunity to work on varied, technically complex and innovative specialist and project tasks and to develop independent solutions,
2. Prospects of attractive career development prospects and a variety of options, in particular the development of competencies through challenging tasks and projects/in the context of alternative careers (specialist, project or horizontal careers),
3. corporate management and cooperation culture that focuses on collegiality, eye level, participation, feedback and humanity,
4. Option of flexible working time models tailored to the individual (variable start and end of working day, compensation for overtime or part-time or home office).

Younger STEM workforce expects true "team spirit"

"A comparison of the two generations shows that STEM professionals from Generation Y have higher expectations of cooperation at the team level as well as of the leadership relationship," summarizes teamwork expert Andrea Gurtner from the Bern University of Applied Sciences. If STEM employees from Generation X are largely satisfied with a cooperative working atmosphere, Generation Y professionals expect real "team spirit" (a sense of togetherness, common goals, learning from each other). From superiors, younger STEM professionals expect to be encouraged in their professional and personal development through challenging tasks and regular feedback as part of an individual leadership relationship.

Source and further information on the study: www.hslu.ch/projekt-mint-fachkraefte

Despite moderate growth, the Swiss economy is facing major challenges: China's sluggish economy, a possible exit of the British from the European Union (BREXIT) and an unchanged strong Swiss franc could significantly slow down the growth course of Swiss companies. According to the experts surveyed for Roland Berger's new "Restructuring Study Switzerland 2016," pressure is also increasing due to growing digitization and disruptive innovations (30%) as well as Switzerland's persistently high cost level (27%) in many industries. These developments are also reflected in restructuring practice: the number and complexity of restructuring cases will continue to rise, according to the study's findings. More than 50 restructuring experts in Switzerland were surveyed.

Economic and political uncertainty increases complexity

Against this backdrop, the majority (84%) of respondents expect an increasing number of restructurings in the coming twelve months. More than 40 percent also believe that the complexity of restructuring cases will increase.

Digitization as a mandatory prerequisite for a successful turnaround

Sustainable restructuring concepts are hardly conceivable without paying attention to the digital transformation that is imminent in all industries. Despite the challenges, a comprehensive digitization strategy can also be an opportunity for a successful turnaround. Accordingly, 41 percent of the study participants attribute the greatest importance to strategic restructuring measures compared to operational and financial measures.

Parallel increase in challenges in the restructuring environment

Market participants expect the importance of new financing partners in restructurings to remain unchanged (56%) or increase (44%). The task of the work-out departments tends to shift to large and complex exposures. The departments themselves can be operated relatively efficiently thanks to the banks' ongoing risk minimization strategy.

Source: www.rolandberger.ch

Since July 1, 2012, CO2 emission regulations for new passenger cars have been in force in Switzerland - analogous to the EU. They oblige Swiss car importers to reduce the emissions of passenger cars registered for the first time for use in Switzerland. By the end of 2015, these should have been reduced to an average of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer. Exceedances are penalized with a sanction levy. In 2015, these penalties totaled 12.6 million Swiss francs.

In the 2015 enforcement year, around 327,000 passenger cars (PW) were checked for compliance. These included new vehicles and those registered abroad for the first time less than 6 months before customs clearance in Switzerland. The total new vehicle fleet consisted of around 2,000 cars from small and private importers and around 325,000 cars from 93 registered large importers.

The average CO2 emissions of this new vehicle fleet were around 135 g CO2/km. The overall fleet target of 130 g CO2/km was thus exceeded by an average of 5 g CO2/km.

26 of the 93 registered large importers were found to exceed their individual target. Most of these 26 large importers exceeded their individual target by less than 5 g CO2/km. On the one hand, this is due to the individual target: it may be higher than the value of 130 g/km, as it depends on the average unladen weight of all vehicles of an importer and as higher targets apply to vehicles of small manufacturers. On the other hand, the sanction-relevant CO2 average of an importer can be additionally lowered by multiple counting of particularly low-CO2 vehicles. These factors resulted in a target value overshoot relevant for the sanction calculation that is significantly less than 5 g/km.

Sharp decrease compared to 2014

The average CO2 emissions of the entire new car fleet of 135 g CO2/km correspond to a reduction rate of 4.9% compared to the previous year. This sharp reduction is primarily due to the phasing out of CO2 emission regulations for PW at the end of 2014: Whereas in 2014 only the 80% lowest-emission cars in a fleet were taken into account for compliance with the individual target, since 2015 all cars have been taken into account for the target.

After the CO2 emissions regulations came into force in 2012, there were sharp fluctuations in the shares of parallel and direct importers, but these have since subsided. Since 2013, the share of parallel and direct imports has been consistently above 7% of all new registrations, reaching a level similar to that before the introduction of the CO2 emissions regulations.

Sanction amount and enforcement effort

The sanctions levied amount to a total of around CHF 12.6 million. The total sanction revenue is offset by enforcement costs of around CHF 1.5 million. Overall, this results in net income of CHF 11.1 million for 2015, which - depending on the number of vehicle registrations and importers - is divided between Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein (share of the Principality of Liechtenstein: CHF 83,000). The Swiss share of the net income from the 2015 enforcement year is allocated to the infrastructure fund.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snmdPXRpDDI

Increasing antibiotic resistance is making intestinal diseases such as Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) life-threatening. The steady increase in this dangerous infection costs an estimated 4.5 billion in Western countries. In the last two years, both the pharmaceutical and food industries, as well as venture companies, have invested nearly one billion in the development of new therapies around the intestinal flora. Yet, currently, stool transplants, are the only life-saving therapies for antibiotic-resistant CDI. This involves transferring the stool of a healthy donor into the intestine of a diseased person. However, this method carries the risk of disease transmission.

Improving patient safety and quality of life

ETH spin-off PharmaBiome is developing a revolutionary therapy for intestinal infections that offers an efficient alternative to stool transplants and can massively reduce complications. The goal is to assemble healthy intestinal bacteria to regenerate the intestinal flora of affected individuals with a controlled amount of the desired bacteria, thus offering a safer treatment option. PharmaBiome CEO, Tomas de Wouters, who is currently completing a business development program in Boston as a member of the Swiss national startup team, venture leaders, is enthusiastic: "Venture Kick has supported us enormously by providing us with startup capital as well as a valuable network for our biotech startup."

Use solar energy for less than a coffee a day

The Lausanne-based startup Younergy enables a decentralized energy supply and makes a significant contribution on the way to a CO2-neutral society. Without any upfront investment, customers benefit from affordable solar power. The Younergy team is responsible for planning and installing the photovoltaic systems free of charge. In return, customers pay a price per kWh for the solar power produced, which also includes insurance and maintenance. If the system produces more solar power than the household consumes, the excess solar power is fed into the grid and the customer receives compensation.

Thanks to its innovative technology, the startup can efficiently build and operate solar plants. Thanks to the Venture Kick final win, nothing stands in the way of expansion into German-speaking Switzerland. "Venture Kick is a very well organized program. Besides the much-needed financial support, the trainings were crucial to advance our business and external communication," explains Pedro Miranda, CEO of Younergy.

Source: www.venturekick.ch