Swiss Green Economy Symposium 2020: With Dialogue and Stubbornness to Sustainability
The focus at the 7th Swiss Green Economy Symposium 2020 was on strategy development, digitalization, the circular economy and the sustainable way out of the crisis.
In his welcoming speech to the Swiss Green Economy Symposium 2020, the mayor of Winterthur showed how the second largest city in the canton of Zurich interprets sustainable urban development: "A lot of inspiration, curiosity and interest in cooperation. We need all of this for successful innovations," Michael Künzle rang in the Swiss Green Economy Symposium. As the next item on the program, representatives from business, science, politics and administration discussed how digitalization and visionary thinking can be used for sustainability.
For example, it showed how companies can use blockchain technology to operate more sustainably and what opportunities 5G offers - keyword CO2 reduction (see also a comparison at "Diverging risk assessments in mobile communications.") - offers. The participants agreed that events like the Swiss Green Economy Symposium are important to overcome silo thinking and to develop innovative ideas together.
Prizes go to EMPA wood team and ZHAW students
Professor Ingo Burgert from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research Empa illustrated the fascination that can be associated with wood as a material. He and his WoodTec team at Empa received the SDG Company Award of the Swiss Green Economy Symposium. In awarding the prize, the Swiss Green Economy Symposium recognized the researchers for their achievements in the field of sustainable construction with wood. Other prizes went to ZHAW students for their outstanding bachelor's and master's theses. On stage, the young people were visibly delighted with the award and the laudation given by Professor Jean-Marc Piveteau, Rector ZHAW.
After a short film on the topic of food waste and a networking break, the next item on the morning's agenda was "Get started now with the circular economy". In the presentations and panel discussions, participants used specific examples, such as waste-to-energy plants, plastic recycling and cement production, to show how circular economy can be a growth opportunity. If implemented correctly, it can create new jobs and help reduce environmental pollution.
Sustainably out of the crisis
Before heading off to a well-deserved lunch, the participants once again showed their full attention. On stage - and later in personal discussions - they discussed how sustainable ways out of the crisis can be found. It was clear, for example, how technology can be used to improve the healthcare system and how wood can sustainably complement other materials such as concrete on the construction site.
In the afternoon, the visitors split up. They chose between numerous innovation forums, where they could discuss in depth topics as diverse as high-tech food, impact investing, cinder-blocks and autonomous vehicles. In the innovation forum on smart cities, briefly presented here as an example of one of these forums, the focus was first on pilot projects from Winterthur (e.g. climate simulation Lokstadt, data generation through pedestrian/velo traffic promotion campaign, electric collection vehicle). The participants were also able to learn a lot about activities from other Swiss and foreign cities, the economy and international organizations, and to engage in lively discussions.
Popular topic: "Smart Cities
Due to the great interest in the topic of Smart Cities, the Innovation Forum also extended to the following day, which was opened by the Dutch Embassy, thus underlining the cooperation with the partner country. The second day of the Smart Cities Innovation Forum provided a dialogue platform for the national associations Smart City Hub Switzerland and Smart City Alliance and valuable networking opportunities for their members, who shared concrete experiences with the attendees.
In addition, international initiatives such as "United for Smart Sustainable Cities" of the ITU-UN and the Global Smart City Partnership Program of the World Bank as well as on-site export opportunities of Switzerland Global Enterprise and funding instruments of SNF, Innosuisse and SwissEnergy for municipalities were also discussed. In smaller workshops, many smart city topics were discussed in greater depth and further developed in partnership.
As the last presentation of the main day, government councilor Martin Neukom showed, among other things, why solar facades will be standard on buildings in the future and why the future clearly does not belong to combustion engines. After an intense but exciting and inspiring day, it was then time to move on to the more informal program: At the networking aperitif, the participants could review everything again and discuss open points.
Musically accompanied by the JazzChur-Haustrio they ended the main day of the Swiss Green Economy Symposium 2020.
