In 2013, corporate spending on environmental protection amounted to around CHF 2.3 billion. Compared with 2009, investment in pollution prevention increased by 30 percent, while investment in pollution treatment decreased by 31 percent. This development reflects, among other things, companies' increased interest in cleaner production processes. These are some of the findings of a survey conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFSO).

In 2013, spending by companies in the secondary and tertiary sectors on environmental protection included 1.727 billion current expenditures (internal expenditures, purchase of services and municipal fees) and 537 million francs for investments in pollution prevention or treatment. Total expenditures reached 2.264 billion francs, a similar amount to 2009, the last year of the survey. However, due to economic growth during this period, the burden on businesses fell from 0.39 percent to 0.36 percent of GDP.

Cleaner technologies gain ground
Compared with 2009, pollution prevention investments increased by 30 percent at current prices, while pollution treatment investments decreased by 31 percent. Pollution prevention investments as a share of total pollution prevention investments increased from 65 percent to 77 percent, while the share for treatment decreased from 35 percent to 23 percent. This development reflects, among other things, the increased interest of companies in cleaner technologies and production processes that make it possible to reduce or even completely avoid environmental pollution instead of treating pollution that has occurred.

Seven out of ten francs for waste and wastewater management
Between 2009 and 2013, the shares of environmental protection expenditures for waste and for wastewater management remained stable (46% and 25% in 2013, respectively). The share of spending on air pollution control and climate protection decreased from 14 to 11 percent, while the share of spending on other environmental areas (e.g. noise abatement, biodiversity and landscape protection, soil and groundwater protection) increased from 15 to 18 percent.

Swiss industry not disadvantaged in European comparison
In 2013, industry's expenditure on environmental protection amounted to around CHF 1 billion. At current prices, this is almost 6 percent less than in 2009 and 16 percent less than in 2003. The financial burden of this expenditure on Swiss industry thus fell from 1.2 percent of gross value added in 2003 to 0.9 percent in 2009 and 0.8 percent in 2013. In European industry (EU28), the burden amounted to 2.3 percent in 2013.

The decline in spending in Swiss industry does not necessarily mean that this sector is less committed to environmental protection. Possible reasons also include structural changes in favor of less polluting activities, cleaner production processes or more favorable treatment of the pollution generated.

(FSO)

Unlike the traditional Advent calendar made of paper, which in many households shortens the waiting time until Christmas for the children, the Advent Calendar Sustainable Development an audience of over 30,000 people in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. The thematic focal points of the website calendar this year are the vision of a circular economy that turns the end product "waste" into a resource, the integration of people with difficult access to the labor market, and climate protection - more topical than ever due to the climate summit in Paris that began today. In keeping with the day's theme, one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals will also be presented each day. These were adopted by the UN in September as part of the 2030 Agenda for a Sustainable World.

As every year, you can deepen your knowledge of the day's topics in a quiz and, with a little luck, win sustainable Christmas gifts. Every day, a current book is presented that matches the theme of the day, and in the 'Tips for Kids' section, children and families can find ideas for excursions, games and crafts.

In addition to information, the Advent calendar also offers an interactive exchange: In expert chats, readers can ask questions about the focus topics. On December 1, Alexandra Sauer, Sustainability Project Manager at Coop, will answer questions about the retailer's sustainability strategy. On December 8, Patrick Hofstetter, Head of Climate and Energy WWF Switzerland and member of the Swiss delegation at COP21, will give an exclusive insight into what is happening at the climate conference in Paris. And on December 11, anyone who wants to can discuss the 2030 Agenda with Swiss special envoy Michael Gerber.

Thanks to its new "Mobile Heaters" program, the KliK Foundation expects to save more than 50,000 tons of CO₂ in Switzerland by 2020 by replacing fossil-fueled mobile heaters. A total of over CHF 4 million will be made available for this purpose.

Mobile heaters are mainly used on construction sites for drying buildings, in the event sector for heating tents and in agriculture for drying hay. Since the buildings or tents to be heated are usually not insulated, a lot of heating energy has to be generated with a high fuel consumption, which largely dissipates unused into the atmosphere. Around 12,000 mobile heaters are currently in use throughout Switzerland, almost all of which run on fossil fuels and emit more than 300,000 metric tons of CO₂ every year - and the trend is rising.

Mobile heaters powered by pellets have recently become available on the Swiss market. These mobile pellet heaters are environmentally friendly, as they are CO₂-neutral, technically mature, reliable and easy to operate. By participating in the "Mobile Heaters" program, owners of such mobile pellet heating systems benefit from subsidies typically amounting to several thousand Swiss francs per year. The program is attracting keen interest in the industry and has already attracted more than 150 registrations - with more being added almost daily.

Cofely has acquired BEC AG, headquartered in Aarau, from AEW Energie AG, Aarau, as of October 1, 2015. Cofely will use BEC's know-how to further expand its offering in technical facility management.

Together with its German subsidiary, BEC has been operating and maintaining various energy supply and disposal facilities for national and international customers since 1998. Among others, BEC operates the energy supply plant for the production facilities of DSM Nutritional Products with about 40 employees in Sisseln.

Know-how for more energy efficiency
Thanks to BEC's many years of experience in the operation and maintenance of energy and waste disposal plants, Cofely can further expand its portfolio in technical facility management. Customers will thus benefit from improved maintenance options and optimal support, even for larger facilities. Thanks to an expanded range of services, customers will benefit from improved and more energy-efficient facilities.

Step by step integration
Cofely will take over all employees. In 2016, BEC AG will continue to operate under the same name with the current management for its current customer portfolio. A further integration of the company into Cofely AG is planned for 2017.

Caritas Switzerland and the Georg Fischer Corporation (GF) are continuing their partnership in the area of drinking water supply for another four years. GF's Clean Water Foundation is once again providing a contribution of one million Swiss francs for this purpose.

For the tenth anniversary of its Clean Water Foundation In 2012, GF agreed to cooperate with Caritas Switzerland in the area of drinking water supply. Thanks to this partnership, more than 40,000 people worldwide have benefited from a sustainably improved drinking water supply to date. This successful partnership is now being continued. GF is again providing Caritas with one million francs for the implementation of drinking water projects.

"The supply of clean drinking water is one of the major global challenges. As a specialist in water supply, we know well how important clean water is. We are therefore very pleased that together with Caritas we can contribute to making this valuable resource available to those who need it most. Caritas is a reliable partner that guarantees the sustainability of our projects and the efficient use of funds. We greatly appreciate this collaboration," says Yves Serra, CEO of GF.

Hugo Fasel, Director of Caritas Switzerland, describes the renewal of the close partnership with GF as a milestone: "Access to clean drinking water remains a crucial area of work in the fight against global poverty. That is why we are pleased about the continuation of this partnership. As a company, GF is thus sending an important signal for sustainable development cooperation."

As part of the partnership, GF and Caritas Switzerland envisage a continued close exchange of information between experts. The GF Piping Systems division, which is active in over 100 countries, will continue to provide Caritas with know-how and expertise in water treatment and distribution. The primary focus here is on how innovative methods and locally available technologies can be used to noticeably improve the quality of available drinking water.

Following the Swiss Solar Prize 2015, now also the award from Europe: The PlusEnergy house in Oberenstringen was awarded the European Solar Prize 2015 awarded. Responsible for the reconstruction is the architecture office "Building studio Metzler„.

There are thousands of comparable buildings in Switzerland. Many are in need of renovation. The fact that a building from this period can be economically converted into a PlusEnergyBuilding (PEB) proves the enormous potential that exists in the Swiss building stock in terms of energy efficiency.

Several parameters posed a challenge for the planning team of Bauatelier Metzler during the conversion project:

• Thomas Hardegger's apartment building is located in the core zone of the municipality of Oberengstringen;
• various thermal bridges were eliminated through a completely new insulated building envelope, the removal of the old balconies and the construction of a new attractive balcony tower on the south side;
• The newly insulated roof was also fitted with a high-performance in-roof photovoltaic system on the south and north sides and on the two skylights. The north-facing PV system still has a capacity of around 60 percent of the south-facing PV system. A PV system on the south façade or on the balcony tower would have been more expensive per kW output. For this reason, the installation of a north-facing PV system was realized: Compared to the south-facing façade panel variant, the area of the roof panels is larger and much less expensive.

In addition, the house was planned and awarded the Minergie-P-ECO sustainability label. This is also a pioneering achievement in the field of multi-family house conversion.

The calculated Minergie-P limit value of the four-family house is 29.5 kWh/m2. Heat and hot water are generated by a heat pump of only 8 kW. The photovoltaic system with a total of 118 modules on the north and south roofs has a capacity of approximately 31 kwp, which results in an annual yield of approximately 25,500 kWh.

In numbers:
Total energy demand old building: 66`500 kWh/a
Total energy demand new building: 18`500 kWh/a
Self-energy supply (PV) New building: 25`500 kWh/a
Energy surplus new building: 7`000 kWh/a

When a piece of wood or even an entire log comes to light in a gravel pit or construction site, it often ends up as worthless trash in the incinerator. For scientists, however, it can be worth its weight in gold. The annual rings of ancient wood can accurately reflect environmental and climatic conditions. Such unique archives offer the possibility of reconstructing growth conditions thousands of years ago. Tree-ring researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL are therefore always on the lookout for such valuable wood.

Time and again, individual wood finds were reported to the researchers in the course of excavation work in Zurich. In close cooperation with tree-ring laboratories throughout Switzerland, the WSL scientists are now expanding their campaign "In search of old wood" systematically from.

First reports of finds across Switzerland
For example, in cooperation with the local forestry service in Celerina (GR), about 70 spruce and pine trees were recently recovered from a depth of about 8 meters. This find resulted in the course of the construction of a pumping station in the district of Maloja. First radiocarbon (14C) measurements in the Laboratory for Ion Physics at the ETH Zurich date the trees to about 3500 years BC.

Another 50 trees were recovered near Engi (GL) with the support of the local construction company during the construction of a flood protection embankment. This find was probably buried by a debris flow to a depth of approx. 5-7 m and preserved in the clay.

Near Aigle (VS), collaboration with the Swiss Holcim AG enabled the sampling of 28 subfossil oaks from a gravel pit. First dendrochronological measurements of the trees showed that they were included about 4300 years ago B.C.

More puzzle pieces wanted
"Every tree counts!" emphasizes Frederick Reinig. As a doctoral student at WSL, he is currently analyzing the 256 subfossil tree stumps found in 2013 in Zurich's Binz district. "This find, which is about 13,000 years old, is unique because of its size and age," Reinig explains.

However, to better understand the environmental conditions at the end of the last ice age, more wood samples are needed. Smaller finds or even single trees can be important pieces of the puzzle to close temporal gaps between previous measurements.

What is good for double-blade razors also applies to solar cells: two work steps are more thorough. If you place two solar cells on top of each other, one of which is semi-transparent, then a greater proportion of the light energy can be converted into electricity. Until now, this complex technology has been used primarily in space travel. So-called tandem cells were too expensive for mass production. An Empa team led by Stephan Bücheler and Ayodhya N. Tiwari from the Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics has now succeeded in producing a low-cost tandem solar cell that can be applied to flexible plastic films. An important milestone towards mass production of highly efficient solar cells has thus been reached.

The highlight of the new process: The researchers produce the additional solar cell layer in a low-temperature process at just 50 degrees Celsius. This promises to be an energy- and cost-saving production step for future manufacturing processes. Right off the bat, the tandem solar cell achieved an efficiency of 20.5 percent in converting light into electricity. This puts it on a par with the best flexible solar cells produced in the world to date. Yet its potential is far from exhausted, as the Empa researchers emphasize.

Molecular footballs as a base
The key to the double success was the development of a semi-transparent solar cell made of methyl ammonium lead iodide, which is deposited in the form of tiny perovskite crystals. A substance with the abbreviation PCBM (phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) serves as the substrate for the perovskite. Each molecule of PCBM contains 61 carbon atoms, which are linked together in the form of a football. The perovskite is vapor-deposited "lukewarm", so to speak, onto this football layer. This magic crystal absorbs UV rays and the blue portion of visible light and converts them into electricity. Red light and infrared radiation, however, are allowed to pass through the crystal. This allows the researchers to arrange another solar cell under the semi-transparent perovskite cell, which converts the remaining light into electricity.

Use sunlight spectrum
The Empa researchers are using a CIGS cell (copper indium gallium diselenide) as the bottom layer of the tandem solar cell - a technology that the team has already been researching for years. Small-scale production for flexible solar cells based on the CIGS cells is already underway.

In Brütten ZH, the world's first solar-powered multi-family house, which does not require an external connection for electricity, oil or natural gas, is celebrating its topping-out ceremony. The lighthouse project, which Umwelt Arena Spreitenbach is realizing together with several exhibition partners, shows that the implementation of the Energy Strategy 2050 is already possible today.

"We rely on the four S's 'collect', 'store', 'save', 'care'", explains architect René Schmid, the principle of the world's first energy self-sufficient apartment building. This means that energy must first be collected, then stored, saved and very consciously consumed.

The Environment Arena has simultaneously realized a new exhibition "Energy self-sufficient apartment house". A 3D large-scale model shows the construction and presents the technical solutions. Energie Schweiz supports the project in terms of communication. For example, a series of information brochures explains the various components of the energy self-sufficient MFH. In themed tours focusing on the "Energy Self-Sufficient Multi-Family House", visitors gain in-depth insight into the building technology, the challenges and the solutions. Themed tours can be booked for groups via fuehrungen@umweltarena.ch.

Spent fuel from Swiss nuclear power plants used to be reprocessed at La Hague (France) and Sellafield (UK) (separation of the materials produced during operation into recyclable fractions and high-, medium- and low-level radioactive waste). In 2001, the Federal Council proposed a ban on reprocessing in its dispatch on the Nuclear Energy Act (KEG). Parliament rejected a complete ban, but decided on a ten-year moratorium on the export of spent fuel elements for reprocessing. It did so to keep open the possibility of reprocessing if less environmentally hazardous and safer processes became available during those 10 years. The moratorium came into force on July 1, 2006, and will end on June 30, 2016.

Because improved reprocessing methods are still not available, the Federal Council again proposed a ban on reprocessing in 2013 in the dispatch on the first package of measures of the Energy Strategy 2050. The National Council and Council of States have approved the ban in the current parliamentary debate.

The consultations on the first package of measures of the Energy Strategy 2050 are expected to be completed by mid-2016. Taking into account the referendum period, the corresponding amendment to the KEG could therefore not enter into force until after the ten-year moratorium has expired (June 30, 2016). This would mean that reprocessing would be permitted again from July 1, 2016, at least until the new regulation comes into force.

To prevent this regulatory gap, the Federal Council is requesting the Federal Assembly to extend the moratorium on spent fuel exports by ten years by simple federal decree.