Swiss Green Economy Symposium: Sustainability has become a significant economic factor
Sustainability has become a significant economic factor, society and companies have recognized this and are in a sustainable awakening: this is the result of the 5th Swiss Green Economy Symposium, which took place on October 30, 2017 with more than 900 participants and smart changemakers at the Kongresshaus Liebestrasse in Winterthur with a new record attendance.
The Swiss Green Economy Symposium is the most comprehensive business summit in Switzerland on the topic of sustainability. "Successfully crossing borders" was this year's motto, which the speakers followed and presented how sustainable business can also mean successful and profitable business at the same time. The participants found inspiration in this year's partner country: the circular economy is to be a reality in the Netherlands by 2050. This means that raw materials will be used more intelligently and without polluting emissions. "Thanks to this initiative, the Netherlands has become a kind of "living lab" in the field of the circular economy, from whose experience the rest of the world can benefit," offered the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Anne Luwema, in her welcoming speech. Dutch company representatives gave insights into concrete examples of how circular economy has been implemented in the construction or food industry.
The 17 goals for sustainability
An important driver for the implementation of sustainability are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the UN. 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. This is because they are worthwhile: $12 trillion by 2030 could be earned by the economy through implementation, he stressed. Dante Pesce, member of the UN 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. His organization is getting a new name: It will be called "amfori" in 2018 and will stand 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!"
Technology as a driver
In addition to financial aspects, technology in particular also plays a decisive role as a driver and catalyst of change. Thus, digitization was the topic of various speakers. Prof. Lino Guzzella, President of ETH Zurich, drew attention to the construction sector, which has so far shown little innovation. Now, thanks to digitalization and 3D printing, there is movement in this sector. Siegfried Gerlach, Siemens CEO of Switzerland, explained the four levers of his group: energy efficiency, decentralized energy supply, use of green electricity and modernization of its own vehicle fleet. By 2030, the group aims to be C0²-neutral thanks to state-of-the-art technology.
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 more than before on my personal responsibility," Denise Fessler described her changed awareness.
Openness of people and institutions to ideas
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 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 setup if one wants to work in these structures.
Bern's mayor, Alec von Graffenried, spoke out in favor of giving people more responsibility again. He would like to see the neighborhoods strengthened as a strong level below the canton and the city. Hubert M.F. Bruls, Mayor of Nijmegen, the European Green Capital 2018, introduced another aspect to the debate. He spoke of the vast amounts of data produced by large cities and cautioned that people must nevertheless always remain at the center. "We are the most sustainable city in Europe and we have our green capital to thank for that - the inhabitants!"
The openness of people and institutions to ideas from outside is a critical success factor for sustainable innovation. With this in mind, Ian Roberts, Chief Technology Officer Bühler Management AG, presented the Bühler Innovation Campus, a newly created space in Uzwil for collaboration among all functions, all ages, and all knowledge carriers - internal and external.
More information: