What does Water 4.0 look like? Providing affordable, top-quality drinking water is certainly one of the most important tasks of the water industry. One prerequisite for this is continuous innovations that safeguard the industry's high standards in the long term. The latest developments from the field of drinking water production and distribution will be on display at the upcoming IFAT.

Water 4.0 will be the leading theme of IFAT 2018, the world's leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste and raw materials management. It will take place from May 14 to 18, 2018, at the trade fair center in Munich. According to the observations of Silvia Fritscher, IFAT project manager at Messe München, for several years now more and more of the innovations presented at IFAT can be associated with the buzzwords digitalization, automation and Water 4.0. A trend that will intensify in 2018.

Analytics sensors as parts of the network

"We are currently seeing the greatest progress in the digitization of the drinking water industry in the areas of pump control, measurement technology and drinking water analytics," says Julia Braune. The managing director of the German Water Partnership (GWP) business and research network continues: "While networking to control pumps is already well advanced, the extensive networking of plant components by means of sensors, for example for analytics, continues to offer great potential. Ever-improving communication between water management systems, such as wells, waterworks and drinking water networks, can optimize both security of supply and energy and resource efficiency."

Opportunities through the "digital twin

An even more extensive playing field for digitization is the creation of a "digital twin". This refers to a data model that depicts a machine, a plant or even a complex infrastructure with all its information and dependencies. "With a digital twin, various operating modes can be tested and optimized in realistic simulations without any risk whatsoever," says Christian Ziemer, Siemens AG and head of the GWP Water 4.0 working group, describing a possible field of application in the drinking water and wastewater sector.

Identifying customer needs even better

The importance of digital change has arrived in the municipal water industry - this is the result of a survey of its members by the Association of Municipal Companies (VKU): more than two-thirds of the companies attach a high to very high relevance to digitization. One in two companies is already planning or implementing a digitization strategy. "Digitization underscores customer and citizen benefits as the central motivation for change," emphasizes Michael Beckereit.

The VKU vice president continues: "Evaluations of large volumes of data make it possible to identify customer needs even better and to understand processes better. This in turn forms a good basis for developing new, even more precisely tailored products and strategies in the drinking water industry."

Maturity model Water Supply 4.0 in progress

In order to be able to provide water utilities with assistance in the broad field of digitization in the future, the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW) commissioned the IWW Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wasserforschung to develop a "Water Supply 4.0 Maturity Model" this fall. "We hope to use the model to obtain a valid overview of the current practices of digitization in the water industry. Ideally, it will be possible to derive improvement measures from it and put them in a meaningful order," explains Dr. Dirk Waider, Vice President Water at DVGW.

www.ifat.de

IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species TM and the UNESCO World Heritage Site evaluation are two well known IUCN standards. The next global initiative is the Green List of Protected Areas, a global program that aims to highlight the biodiversity benefits of well-managed protected areas.

For this purpose, the certification process is to be mapped on the blockchain, an innovative technology that will change the way we do our work in the future. The Swiss Crypto Valley association has created a code that will be applied in this project. At the same time, team members are involved in working groups of the Swiss Association of Standardization SNV.

Red list

After the Red List of Threatened Species TM as well as the evaluation of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage, the IUCN has launched another initiative; the Green List of Protected Areas. This certification standard is mapped on the Blockchain.

Advantages

The use of blockchain enables the efficient management of this global process which involves organizations, standards and payment options around the world. Digitization on blockchain, according to many voices in the financial world, allows the whole process to be transparent and gives IUCN sponsors the opportunity to continue their engagement.

Digitizing the process in this way could bring additional environmental benefits to protected areas around the world.

More information about the IUCN philosophy and current token distributions:

https://gls.porini.foundation

IUCN Green List - Fair Finance

Is sustainability at all compatible with successful and profitable business? The UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an important driver for the implementation of sustainability. These 17 goals are to be achieved by 2030 by all UN member states. Ambassador Michael Gerber, the Federal Council's special representative for global sustainable development, emphasized that a quarter of Swiss companies were already working with these goals. Because they are worthwhile:

12 trillion dollars by 2030 could be earned by the economy through implementation, he stressed. Dante Pesce, a member of the UN's Human Rights Working Group and sustainability expert at the University of Valparaiso (Chile), explained the connection with human rights, whose implementation throughout the value chain boosts business performance. Open trade that focuses on sustainability is also profitable trade, Christian Ewert, Director General of the Foreign Trade Association told the audience.

Sustainable investment?

Ewert his organization is getting a new name: It will be called "amfori" from 2018 and stands for responsible trade. It wants nothing more than to anchor economy, ecology and social awareness in global trade. When it comes to financing sustainable business, Jean-Daniel Gerber, president of Swiss Sustainable Finance, still sees a great need for action. "There is still no uniform definition of what a sustainable investment even is!"

In addition to financial aspects, digitality in particular also plays a major role. Siegfried Gerlach, CEO of Siemens Switzerland, explained the four levers of his group: energy efficiency, decentralized energy supply, the use of green electricity and the modernization of its own vehicle fleet. By 2030, the group wants to be C0²-neutral thanks to smart technology.

Limits of sustainability

Digitalization is changing the world of work dramatically, emphasized Hans C. Werner, member of the Swisscom Executive Board, and called for a willingness to embrace permanent change and to go beyond one's own limits. This requires ongoing training with a short time horizon and, above all, a pronounced curiosity for new things. The Smart Changemaker debate with Denise Fessler, CEO InnoPark Switzerland, Simona Scarpaleggia, CEO IKEA Switzerland and Max Schachinger, CEO Schachinger Logistik Holding, was also about personal attitudes, the inner changes that ultimately lead to a sustainable transformation of the organization.

"I reflect on my personal responsibilities more than I used to," Denise Fessler said, describing her change in awareness.

Cultural change, cooperation, knowledge transfer - these were the most important keywords of Ambassador Raymund Furrer, who shed light on what Switzerland is already doing today with an exemplary character to make tourism destinations such as Indonesia more sustainable. An open corporate culture was the topic of discussion between moderator Sonja Hasler (SRF) and Peter Gehler, communications manager of the pharmaceutical company Siegfried. He emphasized that this must be a duty and a matter of course for a company with a global presence if it wants to work in these structures.

Winterthur City Councilor Barbara Günthard-Maier summed up the common understanding of all participants: "Being smart means leaving children an intact environment."

The 6th Swiss Green Economy Symposium will already take place in Winterthur on September 4, 2018.

www.sges.ch

Insect mortality is a fact. Surely specimens of the most common species are circulating, but other species are disappearing unnoticed. No more moths circling around lamps, no more day butterflies over meadows. A study of the flying insects of 63 nature reserves in Germany has shown that the total mass has decreased by 76 percent since 1989.

Along with the insects, bird populations and amphibians are also disappearing due to lack of food. Papilorama emphasizes: It is high time for Switzerland to make a paradigm shift - to stop the use of pesticides. Caspar Bijleveld, director of Papiliorama, is very concerned about this decline in insect biomass, which he has been denouncing for two decades.

If today's trend is not curbed, we will lose another 75 percent of the remaining 25 percent in the next few decades. A phenomenon that could even accelerate, as the ever decreasing population density could additionally reduce the insects' ability to reproduce.

Scientifically sound proof

The scientists of the entomological association of Krefeld in Germany (data collections) and those of the Radboud University in Nijmegen (statistical analyses), in collaboration with the scientists of the "Task Force Systemic Pesticides", in particular with Prof. Dave Goulson in England, have been able to evaluate these data collected over almost thirty years.

If the consequences of the decrease are not yet proven in themselves, it is clear that neither changes in habitats (the nature reserves are managed very carefully), nor climatic changes are responsible. The correlation between the market entry of neonicotinoids in the early nineties (neurotoxic, often used preventively, make plants toxic to insects).

The measured decrease in insect biomass clearly cannot be a coincidence. Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides in the world today.

Consequences not to be estimated

The publication of the study in the magazine "Plos One" had the effect of a bombshell: insects are the link between the soil, plants and animals. They play a fundamental ecological role at every conceivable stage: Transformation of living matter, food base for all insectivores, irreplaceable pollinators for plants (also in agriculture).

The collapse of insect populations will have consequences that cannot be foreseen today.

Swiss Task Force

In 2008, Maarten Bijleveld, founder of the Papiliorama in Kerzers, together with the famous ecotoxicologist François Ramade and the former director of the Natural History Museum in Lausanne, Pierre Goeldlin, founded the "Task Force Systemic Pesticides (TFSP)" under the aegis of the "International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)".

This purely scientific panel today brings together diverse researchers from 21 nations and four continents worldwide. In 2015, TFSP published the world's first meta-analysis of systemic pesticides (which include neonicotinoids) and their effects on fauna. It also includes several studies that clearly demonstrate the negative impact of insecticides on bees.

This Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on the impacts of systemic pesticides on biodiversity and ecosystems is a synthesis of 1,121 studies published in peer-reviewed journals from 2010 - 2015; including studies funded by the agrochemical industry.

This is the most complete study on neonicotinoids to date, but also the only comprehensive work on the subject. It has recently been updated and will be published soon. Both versions are free and publicly available. Recently, the study by Prof. Edward Mitchell of the University of Neuchâtel on the detection of neonicotinoids in virtually all honeys in the world has also caused great noise.

No point of return

The loss of insects is a "point of no return" that is better not imagined. That is why Caspar Bijleveld and the Papiliorama Foundation are committed to collecting signatures for the initiative "For a Switzerland free of synthetic pesticides". Not only out of love for the insects, but above all out of a sense of responsibility towards future generations.

Future 3.0 initiative:

https://manifest-future3.ch & http://www.future3.ch/

Text references:

Plos One

The Guardian

World Integrated Assessment of TFSP

However, the current analysis of company bankruptcies and foundation figures for the first three quarters of 2017 also shows that the situation is better in Switzerland as a whole. Insolvency proceedings were opened for a total of 3,487 companies. This is an increase of three percent.

As Bisnode already pointed out in 2016, Ticino, along with regions in western Switzerland, also shows the worst payment behavior: 61.5 percent of bills are paid late here (as of November 2016).

Sectors concerned

In relative terms, there were particularly high numbers of bankruptcies in the construction, hospitality and skilled trades sectors. Suppliers who deliver to these industries face up to three-and-a-half times the risk of their customers going bankrupt, leaving their invoices unpaid. That is why an early and comprehensive credit check is essential.

There was a four percent increase in startups from January to September 2017 compared with the same period last year. The wood and furniture industry, the hospitality industry and business service providers were particularly startup-intensive sectors.

More details (PDF) on company bankruptcies and incorporations in Switzerland can be found at this Link

The hurricane season in the USA and the Caribbean is costing Swiss Re dearly. The reinsurer expects total costs of around 3.6 billion dollars for the third quarter. Meanwhile, total insured losses from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the earthquake in Mexico are estimated at around 95 billion dollars.

Harvey and Irma

The hurricane season, which runs through November, is already one of the most devastating in the United States since records began. Beginning in late August, events in the Caribbean and the southeastern United States have been tumultuous.

Harvey hit the Texas coast on August 25, with massive rainfall causing severe flooding, particularly in the Houston region. It is estimated that Harvey may have caused insured costs of $25 billion to $35 billion. However, much of this falls to the national flood protection program.

Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida on September 10. And here, too, experts expect a burden of 25 to 35 billion dollars for insurers. The Caribbean was still hit by Hurricane Maria after Irma. Damage estimates for the region range between 10 and 20 billion dollars. The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico was also severely affected. (Source: SDA)

www.swissre.com

Climate change is leaving its mark. Water is becoming increasingly scarce in southern Europe. That is the conclusion of a study by researchers at ETH Zurich published in the journal Nature Climate Change. According to the study, the fact that it has already become drier in southern Europe is very likely related to greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate change.

The scientists led by Lukas Gudmundsson and Sonia Seneviratne from ETH compared data on runoff from several hundred small rivers over the period from 1956 to 2005 with climate model simulations. With these, they calculated how the water balance on land should have developed over this period with and without emissions from human activities.

Clear influence

"The simulations with emissions were much more similar to the actual observations than those that excluded human influence," Gudmundsson explained in an interview with the sda news agency. While the possibility that local water management such as irrigation or natural climate fluctuations contribute additionally cannot be ruled out, he said, they cannot explain the observed trends on their own.

"Climate models predict by the end of the century that as climate change progresses, southern Europe will become drier and northern Europe wetter," Gudmundsson said. "Our results add weight to these predictions: not only are these trends already visible, but they are demonstrably due to human influences."

Smart water management needed

Recommendations for local water management could not be derived because the study combined three large regions in Europe. For example, special circumstances such as the influence of glaciers on the water balance in Switzerland were not taken into account. However, it is clear that smart water management will be needed in the Mediterranean region in the future, says the ETH researcher.

In a next step, the scientists now want to expand their analysis and investigate the influence of climate change on the regional freshwater budget worldwide. (Source: sda)

What is the reason that your career doesn't want to get off the ground? What could you do to still be able to take the right path?

Many people have already experienced it: a colleague is promoted, but not you. This is painful and tempts those affected to find a new employer as quickly as possible. But this is often not the right step. It is more promising to come up with a plan to be one of the lucky ones in the next round of promotions.

The New York career portal The Muse now recommends the following:

1. Redirect negative emotions

If you don't get the promotion, it's understandable to be angry with your superiors and the company. It is important not to unload this frustration within the office premises. This will also damage your reputation. It is better to get away from it all. Take a long walk over lunch or go to the gym in the evening. An after-work drink with good friends helps to analyze the situation. There's a good chance that others have experienced the same thing.

2. Decision makers strive

Once the emotions have been brought back under control, the analysis phase begins. This does not mean trying to extract information from office colleagues about the reasons for the non-promotion. You can act professionally if you go directly to your supervisor. Don't take on the role of victim, but find out what needs to be improved. Your message to bosses should be, "I want to help the company achieve sustainable growth and take responsibility."

3. Work on yourself

Now is the time to take the criticism of the decision-makers seriously and work on yourself. It may not be due to professional qualifications or work dedication - it is often not the most capable people who are promoted, as is generally known. A broad network as well as a well-groomed appearance and eloquence are also important. In short: If you want to get ahead, you need a good dose of self-marketing.

4. Prepare next steps

Not being promoted is not the end of the world. At the same time, you should not be discouraged and throw up your hands. Set a time period in which the promotion should become a fact. Work towards it (see point 3). But be careful. Doggedly holding on to a goal can be counterproductive. Especially if the person concerned is plagued by an uneasy feeling and the feedback from superiors sounds evasive and thin (see point 2).

In this context, it is probably better to come up with a reasonable exit strategy.

For more expert career tips and posts, visit:

http://www.themuse.com

As a supplement to existing studies, the Electrosuisse salary radar enables an assessment of the situation within the industry. The salary study shows financial perspectives that are realistic in the industry and can be influenced by factors such as further training. In addition, the magazine contains current personnel topics and trends.

"Transparency creates trust, which is the best basis for high-quality work and promotes the innovative strength of companies. Our salary radar supports both employees and employers in determining where they stand2, emphasizes Markus Burger, Managing Director of Electrosuisse.

Lived knowledge transfer

The Electrosuisse salary study has emerged from the close exchange mainly with personal members who participated in the survey. Furthermore, member companies and institutions were strongly involved in the development by providing an insight into practice with editorial contributions.

The guiding theme of the first issue is "Positioning and trends". The various perspectives show how companies and institutions deal in practice with the issues of young talent, executives or labor market trends and assess the current situation in their respective environments.

The heart of the Electrosuisse salary radar is the salary study itself. It consists of clear graphics with corresponding interpretations and shows interesting evaluations from apprenticeship and university graduates to management and that in the five specialist areas of automation, industrial electronics/hardware, installation/building technology, IT/software development, distribution networks/electricity plants.

An overview of some of the findings from the 2017 survey "Positioning and trends":

• Further education pays off more and more with increasing experience: In the 55+ age category, UAS graduates earn 50% more than their colleagues with vocational training.
• In Switzerland as a whole, wages in the industry are relatively balanced.
• The highest salaries are paid in the canton of Zurich and in northwestern Switzerland.
• There are only minor wage differences between SMEs with up to 250 employees and companies with more than 250 employees.
• On average, the difference in the industry across all disciplines is only 5.8 percent.

The study is bilingual in German and French and will be expanded in the future to include other professional fields within the electrical engineering and energy sectors. Details can be found at Wage Radar

This salary study enables an assessment of the current situation within the industry. The Electrosuisse salary radar shows financial perspectives that are realistic in the industry and can be influenced by factors such as further training. In addition, the accompanying magazine contains current personnel topics and trends.

"Transparency creates trust, which is the best basis for high-quality work and promotes the innovative strength of companies. Our salary radar supports both employees and employers in determining where they stand2, emphasizes Markus Burger, Managing Director of Electrosuisse.

Lived knowledge transfer

The Electrosuisse study has emerged from the close exchange mainly with personal members who participated in the survey. Furthermore, member companies and institutions were strongly involved in the development by providing an insight into practice with editorial contributions.

The guiding theme of the first issue is "Positioning and trends". The various perspectives show how companies and institutions deal in practice with the issues of young talent, executives or labor market trends and assess the current situation in their respective environments.

The heart of the Electrosuisse salary radar is the salary study itself. It consists of clear graphics with corresponding interpretations and shows interesting evaluations from apprenticeship and university graduates to management and that in the five specialist areas of automation, industrial electronics/hardware, installation/building technology, IT/software development, distribution networks/electricity plants.

An overview of some of the findings from the 2017 survey "Positioning and trends":

• Further education pays off more and more with increasing experience: In the 55+ age category, UAS graduates earn 50% more than their colleagues with vocational training.
• In Switzerland as a whole, wages in the industry are relatively balanced.
• The highest salaries are paid in the canton of Zurich and in northwestern Switzerland.
• There are only minor wage differences between SMEs with up to 250 employees and companies with more than 250 employees.
• On average, the difference in the industry across all disciplines is only 5.8 percent.

The study is bilingual in German and French and will be expanded in the future to include other professional fields within the electrical engineering and energy sectors. Details can be found here

China almost completely dominates the market for rare earths. While raw materials such as iron or aluminum appear to be inexhaustible, the situation is different for the so-called rare earths - albeit primarily because the quasi-monopolist China can dictate the quantities available to the market. The 17 metals owe their special importance to the fact that they are used in extremely sensitive areas: From military technology to communications and energy technology, we shape our modern everyday lives with their help.

The tenth volume of the Material Stories series gives a face to the unknown as well as the indispensable, informs about the history, use and significance of neodymium, europium & Co.

The book: "Rare earths, contested raw materials of the high-tech age of" written by the authors Luitgard Marshall and Heike Holdinghausen will be published by oekom verlag, Munich, on November 2, 2017.

www.oekom.de

Concentration on a few mines

The mining of these metals is concentrated in a few mines. China almost completely dominates the world market; this repeatedly triggers fears of supply bottlenecks among Western producers who rely on rare earths. The problem makes sense: Increasingly stringent environmental regulations led Western companies to withdraw almost entirely. Compliance was too expensive for them. The former main producer, the USA, has therefore been replaced by China over the last 20 years.

Highly toxic slag in lakes

The minerals extracted from the ground are treated with acids or alkalis to dissolve out the desired metals. What remains is a toxic slag, which often contains radioactive substances such as thorium as a sort of admixture. This slag is stored in artificial lakes next to the mines. The environmental problems are thus exported to countries that cannot afford - or do not want - (expensive) protective regulations. (Source: Reuters)

Switzerland had been heavily involved in the negotiations on the climate convention. Ambassador Jürg Lauber, the head of Switzerland's mission to the UN in New York, handed over Switzerland's instrument of ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement to the UN Secretary-General. The UN Secretary-General is the depositary of the agreement, which was adopted by the 195 member states of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris on December 12, 2015.

Switzerland will thus participate as a member in the Conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, which will be held as part of the next climate conference. This will take place in Bonn (Germany) from November 6 to 17, 2017.

New era of international climate policy?

The Paris Climate Agreement ushers in a new era of international policy against global warming. It promotes a gradual reduction of fossil energies, with the aim of achieving a balance between emissions and the removal of greenhouse gases by sinks in the second half of the century.

To keep global warming well below 2 degrees or even limit it to 1.5 degrees, the Paris Agreement commits all countries to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Public and private financial flows must be directed toward low greenhouse gas development that is resilient to climate change.

Halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

With the ratification of the Convention, the target announced by Switzerland to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 will become binding. This target was approved by Parliament in June 2017 at the same time as the ratification was approved. According to the Paris Agreement, this reduction target must be achieved primarily by reducing domestic emissions.

However, thanks to a market mechanism whose rules must be approved by the international community by 2018, it also allows emission reductions abroad. The share of domestic emission reductions and that of reductions in third countries will be defined in the CO2 Act. In the draft revision of the CO2 Act, which was sent out for consultation in 2016, the Federal Council proposed that no more than 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions reductions from 1990 levels may be made abroad and be taken into account in meeting Switzerland's 2030 target. The dispatch on the revision of the CO2 Act should be referred to parliament by the end of 2017.(Source: FDFA)