Why do we need a Swiss Solar Prize? Solar buildings are springing up like mushrooms, and there are also many energy-efficient forms of storage. On the occasion of the 28th Solar Prize Awards, there was an illustrious selection of special solar projects to marvel at. As every year, solar pioneers are also honored.

The event also successfully demonstrates how the enormous energy potential of PlusEnergyBuildings (PEB) can be used to reduce CO₂-free electric mobility is achieved. PEBs meet their entire hot water, heating, household, and utility power needs themselves through rooftop PV solar power and/or building facades. In addition, they produce significant solar building electricity surpluses.

The 2018 Norman Foster Solar Awards went to:

114%-PEB Pilatus Aircraft Works Ltd, 6370 Stans
The slightly curved arched roof of the industrial hall of Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG in Stans/NW is equipped with solar modules on the entire north and south sides. The almost 6,000 m² large monocrystalline PV plant with an output of 1.05 MW is the largest solar power plant in the canton of Nidwalden. It generates 1.09 GWh/a, easily covers the total energy demand of 966'600 kWh/a and also feeds 125'800 kWh/a CO₂-free electricity into the public grid. With this solar power surplus, 90 e-cars or 70 Teslas can each cover 12,000 km of CO₂-free travel. Pilatus Aircraft Plants Ltd. is a role model for forward-looking industrial solar architecture and makes an important contribution to the energy transition.

207%-PlusEnergy school building, St. Margarethen
The PlusEnergy school building Kastanienhof in St. Margarethen/TG was completed in April 2017. The bright and modern wooden building houses six classrooms, an office and an auditorium. The 437 m2, 80 kW PV system on the roof produces around 75,900 kWh/a. Thanks to a solar-powered ground-source heat pump for floor heating and domestic hot water, LED lamps and an intelligent lighting control system, the building's own energy requirements amount to a mere 36,700 kWh/a. This results in a self-sufficiency of energy. This results in a self-energy supply of 207%. With the solar power surplus of about 39'200 kWh/a, two neighboring buildings can be supplied or 28 e-mobiles can drive 12'000 km CO2-free per year.

133%-PEB Fitness/Wellness NEST, Dübendorf
PEB residential buildings are state of the art. The fitness and wellness unit NEST in Dübendorf/ZH shows that this goal is also achievable for a commercial wellness facility with high heat demand at a high temperature level. PV systems on the facade and roof produce about 21'800 kWh/a and cover the total energy demand of about 19'100 kWh/a. As one of the world's first solar wellness facilities, it achieves this goal through exemplary insulation with U-values below 0.12 W/m2K, innovative building technology and use of thermal and PV solar energy.

The PlusEnergieBau Solar Award went to:

557%-PlusEnergy Commercial Building, Gams
The energy park in Gams is characterized by a 447 kW monocrystalline PV system perfectly integrated into the roof and facade surfaces. It generates 424,500 kWh/a and covers the total energy demand of 76,300 kWh/a several times over thanks to a self-energy supply of 557%. This office, warehouse and production building is heated with a solar-powered heat pump. The good wall insulation and the modern LED technology minimize the energy consumption. 12 companies use the commercial building with an energy reference area (EBF) of 3,140 m². The solar electricity serves the self-consumption community to over 90% during the high tariff period! The PlusEnergieBau has an electricity surplus of 348'200 kWh or 457%.

222%-PEB-Simmental Arena, Zweisimmen
The Simmental Arena is a multi-purpose building of the municipality of Zweisimmen with fire station, market hall and event hall with restaurant. This solar arena was put into operation on November 21, 2017 and has a heated energy area (EBF) of 633 m2. It is used in different ways and - depending on the event - only needs to be partially heated. The building is well insulated in the floor area and consumes a total of 81,100 kWh/a. The 180 kW PV system generates 180'400 kWh/a and has a solar power surplus of 99'300 kWh/a. The self-supply of energy is 222%. The south-facing PV system is optimally integrated over the entire surface.

139%-PEB-MFH SonnenparkPLUS, Wetzikon
The new SonnenparkPLUS multifamily building in Wetzikon features exemplary roof and wall insulation. Thanks to the exemplary low U-values of 0.10 W/m²K and the energy-efficient household appliances, the total energy requirement 10% fell below the Minergie-P building standard. The 10 Minergie-P/PEB apartments now require only 49,200 kWh/a at full comfort. The 45 kW roof-mounted PV system generates around 45,400 kWh/a and the 36 kW façade PV system generates just under 23,200 kWh/a; together, this adds up to around 68,600 kWh/a of solar power. Thus, the PlusEnergie-MFH achieves a self-energy supply of 139%. The 63 kWh battery storage ensures that the majority of the solar power produced is used directly in the MFH.

Migros Bank Special Solar Prize for PEB-MFH:

157%-PlusEnergy-MFH Superstructure, Tobel
The PlusEnergy development in the Thurgau municipality of Tobel with three apartment buildings (MFH) and 32 apartments was completed in 2017. The well-insulated Minergie-P apartments require a total of 133,300 kWh/a and generate 209,400 kWh/a. The solar power surplus of 76'000 kWh/a enables each apartment to run a solar-powered electric car, which produces 12'000 km of CO₂-free can drive. Unique in Europe are the low rents, which are even a good 20% below the usual rents for comparable apartments in the Wil/SG region. The development deserves the Migros Bank Special Solar Prize for PEB-MFH.

Category New Buildings:

101%-PEB-EFH Lazarus, Le Locle
The EFH Lazarus in Le Locle/NE combines the centuries-old regional tradition of woodchip heating with new solar technology. The building is characterized by exemplary insulation with low U-values of 0.11 W/m2K. Despite very low winter temperatures in Le Locle, the total energy demand is only about 14'800 kWh/a. The 13.65 kW PV roof system produces about 12'600 kWh/a of solar electricity. The solar thermal system on the roof generates about 2'400 kWh/a of thermal energy. The total energy supply is therefore 15'000 kWh/a or 101%.

Solar apartment house, Reichenburg
The two newly built, family-friendly apartment buildings in Reichenburg/SZ cover their total energy demand of 120,000 kWh/a to about 66% with solar energy. The 77 kW PV system extends over the two roofs, the balcony parapets and the noise barrier. The 30 m² large solar thermal system is used to heat water. Its summer heat surplus is stored in the ground by means of energy piles. Charging stations for e-mobility are available to the tenants. The project impresses with its combination of aesthetically pleasing solar architecture and sustainable energy supply.

Solaris residential building, Zurich Wollishofen
The new Solaris apartment building in Zurich Wollishofen combines modern living with solar architecture in a difficult urban location between a railroad embankment and the busy Seestrasse. A PV system integrated over the entire roof and façade generates 47% of the MFH's total energy demand of 68,000 kWh/a. The monocrystalline solar cells, which are covered by red-brown cast glass and thus have reduced output, produce about 31'800 kWh/a. The remaining 36'200 kWh/a are covered by natural gas.

Category building renovations:

Villa Carlotta, Orselina
At the summer and weekend home Villa Carlotta in Orselina/TI, built in 1939, the oil heating was replaced by a solar-powered ground-source heat pump and the roof was renovated. The entire 350 m2 roof area was equipped with a 51 kW PV system. It produces about 42'300 kWh/a and covers the total energy demand of about 53'500 kWh/a at 87%. The 14 m2 vacuum tube solar thermal system installed in the garden provides 4'300 kWh/a for hot water and heating support. Villa Carlotta demonstrates how modern solar technology can be integrated into a historic building in an architecturally exemplary manner.

Farmhouse Galley, Ecuvillens
The farmhouse in Ecuvillens/FR, dating from 1859, uses terracotta-colored PV modules developed by CSEM Neuchâtel and Issol Switzerland specifically for listed buildings in a pilot project. The 27 kW, 262 m2 PV system on the roof of the building generates 16,500 kWh/a or about 26% of the 62,500 kWh/a energy consumption at a reduced efficiency. This project overcame the major hurdles in the integration of photovoltaic systems in listed buildings.

Vacheron Constantin, Plan-les-Ouates
The commercial building of the Vacheron Constantin watch factory of Richemont International SA in Plan-les-Ouates/GE is aesthetically very appealing. Despite the V-shape of the building, which made it difficult to install a PV system on the 2000 m2 flat roof, it was equipped with a PV system. The 246 kW system produces about 254,600 kWh/a of solar power annually. Of the high total energy demand of the watch factory of approx. 4'157'100 kWh/a, 254'600 kWh/a of solar power represent only 6.1% - nevertheless, solar energy reduces 13.6 t CO2 - at least a start with 1'480 t CO2 emissions of fossil nuclear energy.

EFH basement Ammann
The Keller Ammann single-family house on Dreilindenstrasse in Lucerne, built in 1964 and listed in the cantonal building inventory BILU, was renovated in 2017/2018. The total energy demand of 81,000 kWh/a was reduced to about a quarter or 20,510 kWh/a. The 15.1 kW PV roof system generates 13'800 kWh/a. The 6.9 m2 solar thermal system is used for hot water preparation and heating support. In winter, a gas-fired fuel cell heating system covers the heat supply. The careful integration of the PV roof system is architecturally convincingly solved.

HEV Swiss Special Award:

Row SFH renovation Torres Nova, Zug
Terraced single-family houses, especially if they are subject to preservation orders, pose particular challenges when it comes to renovation. The implementation at the intermediate house Göblistrasse 29b in Zug shows in an exemplary way that energy efficiency and solar energy use do not have to be at the expense of the overall appearance. Thanks to good thermal insulation, a south-facing 5 kW photovoltaic system and a central wood storage stove, the intermediate house now requires less than half as much energy and covers it almost exclusively from renewable resources. It therefore receives the HEV Special Solar Prize 2018.

Renewable Energy Facilities Category:

Birrer Holz AG, Hergiswil bei Willisau
Birrer Holz AG in Hergiswil near Willisau/LU processes exclusively Swiss wood from surrounding and regional forests. The gently sloping, east-west oriented gable roofs and the east-facing monopitch roofs make optimal use of solar energy. With the 1.14 MW PV system, Birrer Holz AG generates a total of 1.1 GWh/a of electricity, almost double its own electricity requirement of 570,000 kWh/a. The 2 MW wood heating system, which functions in an exemplary manner according to the latest state of the art, generates around 5 GWh/a annually. It heats all the sawmill buildings and also supplies the Opfersei district of Hergiswil/LU.

Klein Matterhorn cable car valley station, Zermatt
At 2939 m above sea level, the bottom station of the new 3S cable car to the Klein Matterhorn is located in Zermatt/VS at Trockenen Steg. The valley station with workshop, control room, escalators and lift requires around 350,000 kWh per year. The 136 kW PV façade system of monocrystalline solar cells produces approximately 148'500 kWh/a of solar electricity. The full-surface system, perfectly integrated into the south and west facades, thus covers 42% of the total energy demand. Between the PV modules, 57 glass windows provide daylight and natural lighting for the building.

Solar power instead of grid expansion, Rafz
Annually, Jucker Farm AG in Rafz/ZH produces approx. 170,000 kWh of solar power and can thus do without a reinforced line connection. The 167 kW PV roof system covers 57% of the total own energy demand. A 160 kW battery and, in the future, electric vehicles will store the stochastic solar power peaks. In this way, the asparagus farm is able to cover 57% of its high energy demand of around 300,000 kWh/a for the storage and cooling of the vegetables itself. In addition, the heat generated during cooling is used to heat the residential building and to heat water.

Freeway roofing, Stansstadt
With its surface area of 8,900 m2, the freeway canopy in Stansstad/NW is ideal for solar energy use. Built in 2011 by FEDRO, the structure was structurally designed from the outset for the installation of a PV system. With its 3,115 solar modules, the 841 kW roof system of Solarpark Stansstad AG generates 750,000 kWh of electricity annually. The solar energy is fed into the local power grid and covers around 17% of the electricity needs of the Stansstad population.

Category Personalities:

Dr. Lucien Keller, Solar Pioneer, Lavigny
From the beginning of his professional career, Dr. Lucien Keller has been a pioneer and key player in all areas of rational energy use, especially solar energy. With his active participation in various impulse programs, he contributed to the development and upswing of these technologies and was, among other things, president of the SSES from 1995 to 2005. He carried out several study commissions and published about 70 articles. With his energy planning office, he realized numerous solar projects, some of which were awarded the Swiss Solar Prize. Today, he continues his commitment to energy savings by making his knowledge available to SIG (Services industriels de Genève).

Prof. Peter Steiger, Architect and Professor, Zurich
The architect Peter Steiger - born in Zurich in 1928 - was one of the people responsible for the construction of the first particle accelerator laboratory at CERN when he was young. This construction required a deep material- and energy-technical discussion, which ultimately led to the foundation of the association "PLanung-ENergie-ARchitektur" (PLENAR) in 1973. PLENAR dedicated itself to various topics of energetic-ecological building. From 1987 to 1991, the first prototypical settlement with 66 residential units was realized according to PLENAR principles in Oberwil (BL). In addition to the efficient use of energy, Peter Steiger also addressed the topic of solar construction. With his book: "Bauen mit dem Sonnen-Zeit-Mass" (1987) he succeeded in creating an original work on the use of solar energy.

Assembly team Schmid-Wolfisberg-Müller, Ebikon
When it comes to installing solar systems, hardly anyone can fool the fitters Christian Schmid, Beat Wolfisberg and Stefan Müller from BE Netz AG. With 25, 19 and 15 years working in the solar industry, they bring a combined total of almost 60 years of hard work and experience on solar roofs. Since the early days of solar, they've been getting up on roofs in rain and snow, heat and cold, and installing with conviction and passion. In the process, they have realized more than 700 solar power and solar thermal projects to date, formerly throughout Switzerland and as far south as Germany, and today primarily in German-speaking Switzerland.

Category Institutions:

Community Entlebuch, Entlebuch
The topic of energy has occupied the municipality of Entlebuch for over a hundred years. It realized many pioneer projects according to its motto "We live new energy". As early as 1984 and 1990, two woodchip heating systems were built in the municipality to supply the surrounding residential units and public buildings. In 2005, the first wind power plant in German-speaking Switzerland was built. The community has a well-integrated 113 kW PV system on all three roofs of the high school building and a hydroelectric power plant. Municipal incentive programs for residents support the use of renewable energy, including solar energy. In addition, the municipality informs about renewable energies and their advantages with the unique tourism project "Experience Energy Entlebuch".

Reconnaissance in the Knonau Office, Affoltern a. A.
Founded in 2004 and organized as an association since 2015, the Knonauer Amt location development agency is pursuing the goal of covering 80% of the region's energy needs with renewable energy by 2050 with its priority project "EnergyRegion Knonauer Amt". To this end, it is working together with solar and wood companies that have been active in the Knonauer Amt for years. As a result, the region's total energy consumption decreased and the share of renewable energy increased from 49.3 GWh in 2007 to about 117 GWh in 2017. Solar power production also increased significantly and today covers about 4.9% of the regional electricity demand.

Cooperative SpiezSolar
Already since 1999, the SpiezSolar cooperative has been committed to the use of solar energy. It realized the installation of several photovoltaic systems by means of crowdfunding. Since 2011, the cooperative has been advising interested parties and organizing solar information events. With the "Aktion99", the cooperative strengthened the cooperation with the local trade and promoted the construction of 12 additional PV systems so far. Thanks to the commitment based on voluntary work, more than 280 roofs in the municipality of Spiez are now equipped with PV systems. The solar power production of the municipality is continuously increasing.

www.solaragentur.ch

World Hunger Day or World Food Day was first held in 1979. Since then, it has been held every year in various countries. In addition to official congresses on this day, which deal with the topics of world hunger and world nutrition, NGOs often use World Hunger Day to draw attention to the global hunger problem.

Jean Ziegler: "Hunger refugees are not economic refugees".

Jean Ziegler is a constant advocate for the rights of disadvantaged classes of people, and in his view, at least the principle of provisional admission should be applied to famine refugees. "The humanitarian drama that is taking place in the Mediterranean must be stopped," Ziegler said. "The Europeans are only responding to the problem with military means. Hunger refugees are not economic refugees. They are fighting for their lives."

To this end, Ziegler has suggested a further development of the 1951 Refugee Convention by the UN Human Rights Council.

Problematic biofuels 

In connection with the right to food, various organizations have recently drawn attention to the problem of biofuels. Jean Ziegler took up the issue when presenting his report and called for a moratorium on such fuels. Accordingly, no biofuels should be produced for five years.

Biofuels made from corn or grain would drive up the prices of these foods and thus promote hunger, the argument goes.

A 50-liter tank of biofuel in a car would require 200 kilograms of corn. This could feed one person for an entire year. 

The term world hunger is used to describe the situation where hundreds of millions of people in the world go hungry. The number of hungry people has increased significantly in recent years, but is rising more slowly than the population:

In 1990, there were about 822 million people; in 2008, there were about 963 million. On June 19, 2009, the BBC reported that one billion people are now officially hungry. That's about one in seven people on the planet. Every year, about 8.8 million people, mostly children, die of hunger, which is equivalent to one death every 3 seconds.

Most hungry people live in Asia and the Pacific region (524 million), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (206 million). Hunger is also a problem in Latin America (52 million), the Middle East (38 million) and many Eastern European countries. Most hungry people live in developing countries (820 million). But there are also hungry people in emerging countries (25 million) and industrialized countries (9 million). (Sources: Wikipedia)

Around 13 percent of food waste in Switzerland is generated in the catering industry. Each kilogram of food waste costs the company responsible 24 Swiss francs. A group of researchers and students led by BFH professor Marie Brechbühler found this out in a study conducted in collaboration with UAW.

In this context, the costs of food waste along the food preparation phases were also examined. While unprocessed food hardly ever ends up in the garbage can, food waste increases many times over during processing and consumption.

On the other hand, a lot of money could be saved by means of Food Save, i.e. by reducing food waste. Katja Lemmler from Sunstar Hotels confirms this: "The results of the study do not surprise me. The costs of food waste are too often underestimated and should therefore receive more attention. We were already able to greatly reduce our food waste with simple measures and save costs in the process."

One of the most effective ways to prevent food waste is to raise awareness among the kitchen team and guests.

Researchers and practitioners recommend measures that directly address processing and consumption. Awareness of the problem promotes respectful handling of food. They also recommend reducing the size of menus and portions. In this way, waste from overproduction and plate returns can be successfully prevented.

More details about United Against Waste (UAW) and recent study results can be found at here

MyFoodways App against Food Waste

This year's "World Food Day" is about how to put an end to world hunger. Of course, it's not always easy to see what you can do as an individual to help solve such a huge challenge. The UN campaign is precisely intended to show the enormous impact that can be achieved by throwing away less food at home and thus contributing to #zerohunger.

MyFoodways will be launched on Tuesday, October 16, on the UN's World Food Day.

The MyFoodways app is a recipe app that makes it easy for anyone and everyone to waste less food and save the household budget because it:

• Offers customized recipe ideas for leftovers and storage tips
• Allows users to swap out or omit ingredients within recipes depending on what is in stock in the refrigerator
• personalized menu suggestions that are healthy and sustainable (link)

MyFoodways is free of charge and was developed in Bern. For more information, click on the link below:

www.myfoodways.com

Christopher Wasserman, founder and president of the Zermatt Summit Foundation, which sees itself as an incubator for new business models with a social and environmental background, summed it up in his opening keynote: "Our vision is to create a place where people can come together to be inspired, share innovations, network and collaborate to create new business models for a better world."

The Zermatt Summit is a place of reflection for leaders who understand that business can be a force for good and that economic models can have necessary social, environmental and welfare impacts. The Zermatt Summit aims to be the reference for ethical business in a globalized world, alongside the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, where business leaders and politicians meet to discuss mainly "business as usual", and the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in Brazil, where activists meet without a concrete agenda for change.

There is a gap between Davos and Porto Allegre, which the Zermatt Summit aims to close.

The economy at the service of people and the common good

The selection of top-class international speakers was impressive. Guests from Europe, Africa, Asia, the USA and Switzerland came together to present and discuss groundbreaking new business models. Belgian entrepreneur, author and activist Prof. Dr. Gunter Pauli presented his vision of the "Blue Economy" for a more sustainable global economy.

The Blue Economy focuses on basic human needs -food, water, energy and health-while regenerating nature, creating jobs, building communities and eliminating waste. "Nobody tells me that buying an organic apple from Chile here in Zermatt is sustainable. That's just not true. It's not, and it never will be," Pauli said. The Blue Economy stimulates a local economy with a direct relationship between producers and consumers.

Coffee, the most traded commodity in the world after oil, played an important role in an innovation discussed at the Zermatt Summit. German entrepreneur Hans Stier introduced Bonaverde, a company that offers a machine for roasting and grinding green coffee and creates a direct relationship between small coffee producers and their customers. The Bonaverde concept significantly improves life in coffee-producing countries.

Bertil Akesson, who runs a family plantation in Madagascar, presented 51 types of natural, decaffeinated coffee. He assured the audience that this specialty coffee would soon enter the retail market.

Groundbreaking inventions and projects presented

Physicist and entrepreneur Prof. Dr. Suat Topsu from France brought a breakthrough communication technology to Zermatt. Topsu is the inventor of Li-Fi: data communication, Internet, via light waves. Science fiction? Absolutely not. Topsu gave concrete examples of applications in supermarkets, museums and hospitals. Li-Fi is currently being integrated into the new 5G communications network standards.

Dutch entrepreneur Joost Wouters presented the enormous potential of seaweed cultivation for energy, food and more at the Zermatt Summit. "Seaweed is the fastest growing biomass on the planet," Wouters said. For centuries, seaweed has been grown primarily in Asia, where 99 percent of the world's production is now produced and primarily processed into food. Production is simple. It requires only salt water, sunlight and nutrients. The process is very efficient, and Wouters has shown that biogas from seaweed performs far better than natural gas from fracking. Algae production regenerates the marine environment, while fracking destroys the natural environment for centuries.

Swiss entrepreneur Marco Simeoni's performance at the Zermatt Summit was fascinating and impressive. Simeoni is considered Switzerland's best-kept secret. His foundation, Race for Water, was founded in 2010 with the goal of eliminating plastic pollution from the oceans. Race for Water has developed a process that converts plastic waste into gas and electricity. This small innovative factory can be distributed in containers around the world, offering a great opportunity to reduce plastic waste in an economical way.

The humanization of globalization becomes a priority

Companies have a major impact on society. They create jobs and innovations, produce goods and services, and generate income. With this economic power, however, comes a social responsibility for the common good that many entrepreneurs are not yet as aware of.

There is a great need to review, rethink and expand the company's purpose. Christopher Wasserman said, "Change will come not only from new innovative business models, but also from personal connections and relationships. The Zermatt Summit provides the ideal platform for exchange and relationship building." (Zermatt Summit/mm)

About Zermatt Summit

The Zermatt Summit was launched in 2010 as an international reference platform to promote constructive, action-oriented dialogue between a wide range of social stakeholders. The conferences are organized by the Zermatt Summit Foundation, an independent NGO recognized by the Swiss government as a non-profit organization. The foundation aims to bring together stakeholders from civil society, business and politics, as well as religion and the arts, to bring more humanity into the process of globalization and to provide leaders with practical recommendations for an economy that serves people and the common good. The initiator, promoter and president of the Zermatt Summit Foundation is Christopher Wasserman, founder of a Swiss family business.

http://www.zermattsummit.org

Corporate culture today is called "corporate policy with integrity. Corporate leaders are convinced of their "value-oriented leadership. In general, a "moral stance" is sought at every level. Companies are now establishing the position of Chief Integrity Officer. Administrations are launching comprehensive programs to promote integrity among employees. Hospitals are distributing questionnaires that help employees assess before each decision whether they will follow the

The moral of the world is not the same as the moral of the world. How did this popularity of morality come about? And what are the consequences of morality being so offensively demanded as a yardstick for organizational action?

Reasons for the popularity of integrity

The reason for the popularity of integrity is seen in the "failure" of classical systems for rule compliance (Grüninger et al. 2015: p. 2). Under the term "compliance", all larger organizations have introduced rule systems to ensure adherence to government laws, industry-wide standards and internal organizational requirements.

Departments were set up, not infrequently with hundreds of employees, whose sole task is to ensure compliance with the rules, and separate career paths for compliance managers were formed. The logic of these classic compliance review systems is simple. Organizations set up programs that members must follow if they want to remain members of the organization.

A decision that is covered by the program is right. A decision that contradicts the program is wrong (Luhmann 1972: p. 88). An example: In the case of invitations to tender for more than 20,000 euros, several offers must be obtained - if one does this and observes the implementation regulations, one is on the safe side as a member; if one does not follow this, one is under pressure to justify oneself when it becomes known.

The task of compliance management is then simply to monitor compliance with these requirements as best it can.

The perception that such compliance systems are not sufficient to combat corruption, money laundering, cartelization and environmental violations has led to the popular demand that organizations should be guided by "moral values." Organizations, the argument goes, should not just follow rules, but should be specifically guided by values. The goal, they argue, cannot be mindless compliance with rules - avoiding violations of government laws, industry-specific standards, or internal laws. Rather, it is a matter of developing a "specifically value-oriented attitude" that goes far beyond the rules set by the organization (Schöttl/Ranisch 2016; see earlier in this sense, e.g., Badaracco/Ellsworth 1989; Srivastva 1988; Paine 1994).

The problem with the values

At first glance, the commitment to values has a certain plausibility. It would be surprising if the CEOs of a company openly advocated a "corrupt corporate policy," called for an "immoral attitude" on the part of their employees and propagated a leadership that was "liberated from values.

The advantage of values is that they have "high chances of consensus" (Luhmann 1972: p. 88 f.). In the abstract, one can quickly agree that human rights, environmental protection and justice, peace and freedom are to be striven for.

The problem, however, is that values, unlike programs, provide only very vague clues for decisions: It remains largely unclear which decision must be preferred to another (Luhmann 1972: p. 88 f.; see also Luhmann 1997: p. 343). How is one to react when the freedom to move about at will in a car results in the premature death of thousands of residents living near expressways from sting oxides and particulate matter pollution?

In the event of conflict, should war be waged to enforce human rights? The orientation on values - unlike the orientation on programs - leads to a multitude of very practical contradictions in concrete decisions.

The moralization of the organization

The demand for integrity is first of all a call for employees to behave in a morally exemplary manner (see Paine 2006). Employees would have to show the "strength of character" to stand up for "what is right and just" even in difficult situations, and even if this behavior is associated with a high price for themselves (Kuhn/Weibler 2012: p. 72).

Employees are expected to adhere to moral guidelines out of "insight into what is right" and not because their violation is associated with sanctions (Grüninger et al. 2015: p. 7). The moral catalog of requirements for employees becomes an almost endless list (see Kuhn/Weibler 2012b for an example). Employees are supposed to act "in accordance with their own values" while permanently striving for a "fair balance" between what benefits them personally and what benefits others. A contradiction.

The call to hypocrisy

If organizations emphasize the value of integrity to their employees, this does not lead them to behave more morally as well. Morality does not work like a trivial machine, where you put in the demand for morally guided attitudes on one side and then moral action comes out on the other.

The effect of integrity campaigns is merely that employees have to present their actions differently. In view of the charging with values pursued by the top management of the organization, they no longer have to present their actions only as conforming to rules, as efficient and innovative, but additionally as morally exemplary.

Such campaigns for integrity produce exactly what they actually want to prevent - hypocrisy. Certainly - no organization can afford to do without a certain mss of hypocrisy (Brunsson 1989: p. 194 ff.; see also Brunsson 1986; Brunsson 1993). Every company, every administration, every hospital, every party, and every non-governmental organization depends on always presenting an embellished image of itself to its environment in addition to its actual achievements (see Kühl 2011: p. 136 ff.). Hypocrisy and hypocrisy are merely the terms established in organizational science, but which may at first sound unkind to practitioners, for such prettification of the appearance of organizations.

But there are good reasons for leaving this prettification of the organization, which is necessary for establishing legitimacy, to specialists. It is a central part of the (sometimes implicit) job descriptions of marketing experts and PR departments, and it is part of the managing director's knowledge to build up, maintain and, if necessary, also repair a pretty facade of the organization.

But their professionalism also includes not confusing the spruced-up front stage with the reality of the organization. However, if the top of an organization demands that all employees commit to values, morals and integrity, this blocks the necessary disputes within the organization. Integrity becomes an abstract formula to which one - if one wants to make a career in the organization - must commit oneself.

At meetings, which sometimes already resemble worship services to a surprising degree, people rehearse the formulations of values imposed from above. Micro-political conflicts are morally charged and the controversies that are inevitable in any organization are linked to aspects of personal respect. All this changes an organization. But it certainly does not make it one thing - a better organization from a moral point of view. (Above is only a shortened version. Source: Stefan Kühl: "The moralizing company - How the demand for integrity turns employees into hypocrites", Work Paper May 17, 2018)

Stefan Kühl is a professor of organizational sociology at Bielefeld University and works as a senior consultant for the consulting firm Metaplan. On the topic, his book "Influencing Organizational Cultures. A Very Short Introduction" (Wiesbaden: Springer VS) appeared.

An ethical approach to AI is becoming increasingly important in the business environment - as a recent study by Forbes Insights shows. One thing is becoming increasingly clear: AI has an impact on the everyday lives of all consumers. This makes an ethical framework all the more important, as Rumman Chowdhury, who is responsible for AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence, is calling for:

"Companies have begun to address concerns and missteps related to AI. This is a positive development, but it is not enough. What is needed are forward-looking, specific and technical guidelines for the development of AI systems that are secure, transparent, traceable and clearly assigned in terms of responsibilities. After all, this is the only way to avoid unexpected consequences and compliance challenges that harm individuals, business and society. Data Scientists desperately need such policies."

Leading AI companies also recognize the connection between the successful use of this technology and analytics. 79 percent of these "leaders" say that analytics plays a crucial role for AI in their company; this is said by only 14 percent of the less successful AI users to date.

"Those who have implemented AI understand that success with AI and success with analytics are closely related," said Oliver Schabenberger, COO and CTO of SAS. "For these companies, analytics already plays a central role in AI."

Ethics, a big word

According to the study, 70 percent of companies worldwide that already use AI conduct ethical training for their IT employees. Sixty-three percent even have ethics committees to evaluate how AI is handled. The AI Momentum, Maturity and Models for Success study, conducted by Forbes Insights with support from SAS, Accenture Applied Intelligence and Intel, surveyed 305 business leaders worldwide, more than half of whom are chief information officers, chief technology officers or chief analytics officers.

The results show a clear correlation between "thought" leadership and ethical awareness. Companies that describe their AI implementation as successful are also at the forefront when it comes to taking responsibility for AI: 92 percent of leading AI companies (so-called AI "leaders") train their technology experts in ethical issues, compared to just 48 percent of companies that are not yet ready when it comes to AI use.

Trust is good, control is ...

A common - and false - assumption is that AI works without human involvement. The study clearly shows that leading AI companies view technology oversight as essential. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) report at least weekly reviews of their AI results, while only 33 percent of AI "laggards" conduct such regular checks. Forty-three percent of AI "leaders" have a process for reviewing questionable results (only 28 percent of others do).

Overall, the report brings to light that control processes still have a long way to go before they can keep pace with advances in artificial intelligence.

It stands to reason that companies want to take action on ethical AI and maintain control over AI because they are aware that poor outcomes can reflect negatively on them. Of the companies already using AI or planning to do so, 60 percent say they worry about the impact of AI on customer interactions - whether their actions signal less empathy or customers may trust them less.

The most important results of the study at a glance:

- 46 percent of AI companies have already implemented the technology extensively. Other companies are still in the experimentation or prototype phase.

- Overall, 72 percent of companies are using AI in one or more business areas.

- Fifty-one percent of respondents using AI point to easier decision making, higher customer acquisition close rates, and increased operational productivity.

- 64 percent confirm that their employees can focus more on strategic than operational tasks thanks to AI.

Despite these positive effects, nearly 20 percent still sense clear resistance from their employees out of concern for their jobs, and 57 percent of employers express specific concern about the impact AI could have on their relationships with employees (because employees might feel threatened or overwhelmed).

The complete study is available at here ready for download.

At the climate conference in Katowice, Switzerland is advocating for robust guidelines that will ensure effective implementation of the agreement. The Paris Climate Agreement committed all states to take concrete steps to protect the climate from 2020 onwards in accordance with their responsibilities and available resources. Every five years, for example, states must formulate a higher emissions reduction target in each case, take measures to achieve it and report on the progress made.

The agreement also includes provisions on adaptation to global warming and support measures such as financing and technology transfer. At the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, countries are now expected to adopt detailed implementation rules on these points.

Details on the World Climate Conference from a Swiss perspective can be found at here

The Swiss Management Society represents a significant association with 1200 leading decision-makers in the Swiss economy. Through its networking and platform function, the SMG serves as a source of inspiration for entrepreneurs, C-level management executives, and board members dealing with strategic and operational management issues as part of its event.

On September 20, 2018, at the 55th Forum came to speak not only courageous captains of industry, but also illustrious guests from fashion, religion, science.

Ilaria Venturini Fendi: "Luxury with social responsibility."

The fashion entrepreneur, designer and organic farmer has made a break with fast fashion for more sustainability. Ilaria Venturini Fendi comes from the famous Fendi family. The fashion company was sold to the LVMH Group in 2001, and she herself left in 2003. Looking back, she was bothered by the fact that everything was happening faster and faster:

"Today, collections are already out of date as soon as they are launched. Globalization did its part - along with the financial world, which grew together with fashion." In 2006, she founded Carmina Campus and from then on still produced fashion, but newly as sustainable products paired with social projects. She was able to take up her old craft again - but with a different perspective and purpose. So today the products are made from recycled materials in Africa or Italian prisons, among other places.

"High-quality luxury from sustainable products combined with social projects is not a contradiction." This results in ethical products. This is "not charity, just work" emphasizes the entrepreneur.

Kamila Markram: "We need to make science publicly available."

Kamila Markram is co-founder and CEO of Frontiers and a neuroscientist and autism researcher at EPF Lausanne. She is convinced that science saves lives. Science, she says, has positively impacted lives time and time again. For example, 1.1 billion lives have been saved by blood transfusions.

Today, there are eight million researchers in the world. New discoveries are being made all the time. The bad news is that this cycle is blocked by the way research results are published: Of the 2.4 million research papers published each year, 80% to 90% are hidden behind paywalls. Researchers themselves do not get access to these scientific journals. They have an embargo of one year. This leads to 2.4 million years of delay caused by this.

To put an end to this, Frontiers was founded as an open science platform. Everyone has access to this data worldwide. Sponsors and the universities pay to have the papers published publicly. They are also reviewed. Frontiers now employs 444 people in seven countries. Plus 90,000 scribes and reviewers who contribute as part-timers. According to Kamila Markram, the platform aims to solve the world's four challenges:

The 20,000 diseases that have not yet been cured, food for all people, enough energy for all people and a healthy planet. There is hope, says Kamila Markram: "Science has already saved the earth several times. The immense progress has been achieved despite severely limited access to data. What we need to do is make science publicly available. That should lead to an acceleration of innovation."

Richard Coles: "Values that lead people to resilience and sustainability should provide stability in dynamic change."

Reverend Richard Coles (see picture) is now a minister and BBC radio announcer. In his youth, he was a member of the pop band "The Communards," which produced several Top 10 hits - including "Don't Leave Me This Way," the best-selling single in the UK charts in 1986. It was an unusual career path to become a minister in the Anglican Church. It was for him journey back to his own origins. At the age of 40, he entered a monastery. He wanted to learn about people's fears and needs. "This is the place to address the big questions of life." On the subject of "losing touch" with traditional values and whether money is the new religion, he said, "I don't think money is a new religion. Money is a tool that can be used positively or negatively."

The church's business model is not wrong, he says; it's not a business model at all. He wants to change the church from within. "The church represents the traditional and conservative, but it also has very important messages. Values that lead people to resilience and sustainability should give stability in dynamic change."

Risto Siilasmaa: "We talked about the behavior that creates the most successful environment possible."

Risto Siilasmaa has been Chairman of the Board of Nokia Corporation since 2012. He has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2008 and has therefore experienced the entire crisis of the Finnish company. "Connecting people" was the long-standing slogan of the Nokia technology group until it lost its global market leadership. The company is already 150 years old. It also made televisions, PCs, tires and cleaning cloths. In 2008, Nokia had a 50 percent share of the global mobile phone market.

When Risto Siilasmaa became president of Nokia in 2012, the company was suffering a loss of two billion per year. People were already predicting the date of bankruptcy. Today, Nokia is a different company. Throughout the transformation, an extremely large number of administrative meetings were held. Risto Siilasmaa:

"Through strong joint work, new trust emerged. We talked about the behavior that would create the most successful environment possible." "Golden rules" were developed by the board, such as, "A board meeting where we don't laugh out loud is a miserable failure."

Risto Siilasmaa wrote a book so that all employees could see what mistakes had been made. Today, Nokia lives Open Space and an Open Door Policy.

Bernard "Bernie" Ecclestone: "Trusting people is easy when they do what they say."

Bernard "Bernie" Ecclestone was Formula 1 boss for 40 years. An entrepreneur "by instinct". After starting his career with a gas/petrol company, he later sold motorcycles and established the largest distribution network for motorcycle and car manufacturers in Kent. He diversified into real estate and began his involvement in motorcycle racing.

Since the age of 16, he raced motorcycles, and later car racing. Then he ran the Lotus F2 team and later bought the Connaught Formula One team and Brabham. In 1972 he virtually took over Formula One and in 1987 sold Brabham to devote himself entirely to the commercial development of the sport. He single-handedly transformed Formula One from an expensive hobby for wealthy racers into the global, multi-billion dollar business and most popular annual sporting event in the world that it is today.

Looking back, he experienced his life opportunistically, "I don't care what next week is. I deal with things when they are there and take the opportunities." Nor would he do anything differently: "I have no regrets. I always consider right from the start if it's worth it." He says you have to understand yourself, keep both feet on the ground and do the best you can: "That also means staying normal. Whatever I organized, I did myself."

He experienced stepping down after so long as easy: "I was let go." He said it was easy for him to trust other people, "It's easy when they do what they say." As for the future, he explained, "As long as a sport entertains spectators, it will survive."

How to stay personally connected in the future

"Losing touch" was nothing new, it was just often suppressed, explains Wolfgang J. Pfund, Head of Human Resources and Logistics at Suva. Bosses had gathered employees around them and then thought they were in good contact and a relationship. Pfund: "There is a great opportunity to become more honest. Being in relationship is the topic of tomorrow."

This includes, for example, not losing the break culture. But arguing without hurting is also an important part of the relationship. - Allowing emotions, becoming tangible, standing by them when things are not going so well.

"Customers are increasingly flexible and always want new things. Then companies experience that employees have new needs and values for a variety of reasons," says Thomas Vollmoeller, CEO XING and Chairman of kununu GmbH. He advocates embracing change, seeing change in a positive light and actively shaping it yourself.

"Losing touch" has a lot to do with trust, knows Antoinette Weibel, Full Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of St. Gallen. Companies tend to slip in the direction of mistrust because management strongly believes in (success) numbers. So it's her job to show how much money can be lost if trust is lacking. She recommends humility and the ability to listen, to engage with others, to be proactive and to get involved. Hire people who can and may disagree.

http://www.smg.ch

The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) distinguishes these costs not only according to economic sector, but also according to company size. In the secondary and tertiary sectors, the FSO determined costs of 60.05 francs, which is the average cost of an hour of work in Switzerland. This is more than in the last survey in 2014, when the hour still cost 59.60 francs. Once again, the cheapest hour worked in 2016 came in the hospitality sector at 36.68 francs.

Different labor costs

Labor costs are all expenses borne by the employer. In Switzerland, 79.9 percent of these costs are gross wages. Employers' social security contributions account for 16.9 percent. The costs of vocational training and personnel recruitment account for 3.2 percent.

Employees at financial and insurance service providers lead the cost table. They incur 92.10 francs per hour. The financial industry is followed by information and communication with 77.95 francs per hour and professional, scientific and technical services with 76.50 francs. In addition to the hospitality industry, labor costs in the tertiary sector were also low in arts, entertainment and recreation (53.01 francs) and in other scientific services (44.99).

Differences in company sizes

Labor costs also vary according to company size. In the secondary and tertiary sectors, the cost per hour worked was 25.8% higher in companies with 50 or more employees (Fr. 64.50) than in small companies with fewer than ten employees (Fr. 50.35). This result is mainly due to the large differences in income levels, as wages and salaries were on average 22.8% higher in companies with 50 and more employees than in small companies.

However, this disparity is not observed in all sectors of the economy and is not related to the level of labor costs. Little influence on costs per hour worked was exerted by company size, for example, in financial intermediation, where labor costs were 4.6% higher in large companies, or in the provision of other economic services, where they were 2.4% higher in companies with fewer than ten employees than in companies with 50 or more employees.

The differences in the tertiary sector were thus far more striking than in manufacturing. The average value in the service sector was 61.36 francs per hour.

In industry and commerce, on the other hand, the lowest labor costs were incurred in the construction sector, at 51.71 francs per hour. The highest hourly labor costs were incurred in the utilities sector at 72.36 Swiss francs. The mean value was 56.67 francs.

The FSO data according to the study, costs are lower in smaller companies. In companies with more than 50 employees, they were a good quarter higher in 2016 at 64.50 francs per hour than in companies with fewer than ten employees (50.35 francs).

Switzerland has its price

The reason for such cost developments is the almost 23 percent lower wages in smaller companies. However, this is not the case in all industries and sectors: In the banking and insurance industry and in the provision of other business services, labor costs were higher among small companies.

In the EU average, one hour cost 29.27 francs in 2016 according to the daily exchange rate (end of August 2018). The most expensive was Denmark with 49.42, the cheapest was Bulgaria with 5 francs. In Germany, the working hour cost 38 francs.

www.bfs.admin.ch

Petter Knutti receives a high award. This award honors a teacher and researcher who has shown great, sustained commitment to climate protection far beyond the country's borders and knows how to put the findings and his research at the service of society, according to the media release.

One of the highest foundation awards

The prize, endowed with 200,000 Swiss francs, is one of the highest foundation prizes in Switzerland. Thanks to the legacy of the foundation's donor Marthe Brandenberger, the only daughter of the Cellophane inventor Dr. J.E. Brandenberger, the prize can be awarded for the 29th time. It was her will that personalities be honored who have dedicated themselves to improving the living conditions of people and have made special contributions in this regard.

"This is very true of Professor Dr. Reto Knutti," says Foundation President Carlo Schmid-Sutter, "our awareness of climate change has not only increased after this heatwave summer; thanks to new ways of communicating knowledge, Reto Knutti has succeeded in reaching new interested parties, making the results of his research known far beyond the academic world, and sensitizing political decision-makers and the general public to the topic."

Still a luminous figure

Reto Knutti, who grew up in Gstaad, became interested in climate as a schoolboy. "I guess it has to do with living in the mountains," he says, "you're closely connected to the weather." It was clear to him that he wanted to study physics at the University of Bern; his great role model in the field of climate research is the renowned Bernese climate physicist Professor Dr. Thomas Stocker. "He became my doctoral supervisor and is still a beacon for me today."

What should our world look like in 20 to 30 years? How do we raise our awareness of the risks of climate change? How do we create social and political acceptance for the irrefutable facts of climate research? As one of the main authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) climate report, Reto Knutti shows the impact of global warming on our planet. He heads the Climate Physics Group at the Institute for Atmosphere and Climate of the Department of Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich, is ETH's Delegate for Sustainability, President of ProClim, and is a tireless public advocate for a better understanding of the complexity of the global climate system and for responsible stewardship of our environment by every individual.

The prize of the Dr. J.E. Brandenberger Foundation will be awarded to Reto Knutti on November 24, 2018 in Zurich. The laudation will be held by ETH President Professor Dr. Lino Guzzella.

www.stiftungbrandenberger.ch

It is said that Swiss are skeptical about the effectiveness of measures against climate change, "to slow down" the process. The Swiss are also in favor of greater use of renewable energy. A majority believes that climate change is due equally to human activity and natural processes.

The main results of the European Social Survey 2016 for Switzerland on the topic of views on the environment:

• 98% of the population do not doubt the existence of climate change. The majority is very concerned about climate change, but only 44% believe that climate change is mainly or entirely due to human activities.
• The population in Switzerland is skeptical about measures to slow down climate change. Although the majority of the population (66%) considers it their personal responsibility to make a contribution in the fight against climate change, only one third (33%) think that reducing their own energy consumption could have an impact on climate change.
• Despite this general skepticism, the population in Switzerland is in favor of responsible consumption. The majority supports the idea that energy should come from renewable sources. The respondents are particularly in favor of hydroelectric, solar and wind energy. Just under 77% think that nuclear energy should not be used at all or only to a very small extent.
• In addition to the general concern about climate change, respondents are very worried about Switzerland's dependence on energy imports. More than half of the population (61%) is concerned about fossil energies, especially gasoline, gas and coal. 46% of the population also fear an increase in energy prices and that this will make energy unaffordable for many people in Switzerland.
• To encourage the use of renewable energy, 47% support an increase in taxes on fossil fuels by the government. In addition, the majority supports a legal ban on energy-intensive appliances. Finally, more than 80% are in favor of subsidizing renewable energies such as wind and solar power. According to the survey, the Swiss population also believes that the state should regulate energy production and consumption.

The brochure " ESS 2016 : Selected results in relation to Switzerland" can also be downloaded from the website of FORS be downloaded

On September 19, 2018, the ESS will officially present the results on "Public attitudes to climate change and energy" from the 2016 edition in Brussels. More information about the event can be found here

The European Social Survey:

The European Social Survey (ESS) is a scientific population survey that has been conducted in more than 20 European countries since 2002. Its aim is to study the attitudes and behavior of the European population from a comparative perspective. In Switzerland, the survey is conducted by the Swiss Competence Center for Social Sciences FORS, which is affiliated with the University of Lausanne. Switzerland has participated in all previous waves of the ESS survey, which take place every two years.

The data for the eighth edition of the ESS were collected in approximately one-hour face-to-face interviews with people aged 15 and older. In total, 23 countries participated in the survey. To ensure that the survey is representative, the participating individuals were selected by means of random sampling.

Further information on the ESS can be found at: http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org or http://forscenter.ch

The detailed Swiss data can be found in German or French on https://forsbase.unil.ch (Project No. 13102) can be downloaded.