According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), the increase in final energy consumption by 1.9% compared to the previous year is primarily due to the somewhat cooler weather in 2016. The number of heating degree days, an important indicator of energy consumption for heating purposes, increased by 6.7% compared to the previous year. Long-term drivers such as permanent resident population (+1.1%), gross domestic product (+1.3%), motor vehicle population (+1.6%), and housing stock (growth, but detailed figures are not yet available) also contributed to the higher energy consumption. While growth in long-term drivers increases energy consumption, efficiency improvements and substitution effects tend to have a dampening effect on energy consumption growth. The annual ex-post analyses of energy consumption will be able to provide further information on the determinants of energy consumption development (publication in October 2017).

Increase in consumption of energy sources for heating purposes

The consumption of extra-light heating oil increased by 2.4%, that of natural gas by 3.8%. Electricity consumption remained unchanged and was at the previous year's level (see SFOE media release dated April 21, 2017). These three energy sources account for more than half of final energy consumption (2016: 53.8%).

The energy use of industrial waste increased by 5.9% (share in final energy consumption in 2016: 1.3%). The consumption of coal (-8.1%) and heavy fuel oils (-52.0%) has decreased, while that of petroleum coke (+122.5%) has increased. The share of these three energy sources in the total final energy consumption is small (<1%).

Fuel consumption up slightly

Total fuel consumption increased slightly year-on-year for the first time in three years (+0.4%). The trend toward substituting gasoline with diesel fuel continued unabated: sales of diesel oil increased by 1.1%, while gasoline consumption decreased by 3.1%. Sales of aviation fuels increased by 4.7%. Fossil fuels account for a good third (34.2%) of total final energy consumption.

Increase in consumption also for renewables

The cooler weather also affected the consumption of renewable energy sources for heating purposes. The consumption of energy wood increased by 7.6%. The use of ambient heat with heat pumps was also 10.6% higher than the previous year, as was the consumption of district heating (+6.2%) and solar heating (+3.8%). The share of these energy sources in the total final energy consumption in 2016 was 9.1% (energy wood: 4.6%, ambient heat: 1.9%, district heat: 2.3%, solar heat: 0.3%).

The direct use of biogas remained constant. Taking into account the biogas fed into the natural gas network (which is statistically accounted for under gas), there is an increase in biogas consumption by 5.8%. In the total gas consumption, biogas injected in 2016 accounted for 0.9%.

The consumption of biogenic fuels again increased significantly compared to the previous year (+72.0%) and has thus increased sevenfold overall within the last three years. The share of biogenic fuels in the total sales of gasoline and diesel was 1.6% in 2016 (2015: 0.9%). In addition to the exemption of biogenic fuels from mineral oil tax, their crediting as a CO2 compensation measure also has the effect of increasing consumption.

The Swiss Total Energy Statistics 2016 will be available from the second half of July on the website of the SFOE available and will be available in print at the beginning of August 2017.

Around 80`000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland have a considerable energy consumption. Each year, they consume 100,000 to 500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity (as much as 20-100 households), 500,000 to 5 million kilowatt hours of thermal energy (heating and process heat) and more than 10,000 liters of fuel. Together, this results in an energy bill of between 20,000 and 300,000 Swiss francs per SME.

With simple measures and without major investments, these SMEs could reduce their energy bills by 10 to 15%. Reason enough to have their energy-saving potential analyzed once with expert advice and then decide whether and which energy-saving measures can be implemented. From now on, the SMEs will receive support in this process: PEIK - The SME Platform for Energy Efficiency offers the right solution for every need. SMEs decide for themselves whether they only want to take advantage of free procedural advice by phone or online, or whether they want comprehensive energy advice on site or even to be accompanied during the implementation of measures. There is also financial support from SwissEnergy for energy and implementation consulting.

Since July 1, 2012, CO2 emission regulations for new passenger cars have been in force in Switzerland, analogous to the EU: By 2015, the emissions of passenger cars registered for the first time in Switzerland should thus have been reduced to an average of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometer. After failing to achieve this average target value in 2015, Swiss car importers also missed it in 2016.

In the 2016 enforcement year, around 319,300 passenger cars were inspected for compliance with the CO2 emission regulations. These included new vehicles and those registered abroad for the first time less than 6 months before customs clearance in Switzerland. The registered fleet consisted of around 1,500 cars from small and private importers and around 317,800 cars from 89 registered large importers.

Applications for the Watt d'Or 2018 are accepted in four categories:

1. Energy Technologies
2. Renewable energies
3. Energy efficient mobility
4. Building and space

Anyone who wants to win one of the coveted prizes must convince the top-class jury that their project is innovative, but also surprising or courageous and can motivate others to follow suit. And above all, each potential winning project should make a very special contribution to Switzerland's energy future.

Applications are open to municipalities, cities, cantons, clubs and associations, individuals, small and large companies or organizations from the fields of science, society, the environment, politics and culture. The proposals submitted must be current, meaning that decisive activities must have taken place between August 2016 and July 2017. Proposals can easily be submitted to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy via online form until July 31, 2017.

Further information on criteria and categories as well as the application form are available on the Internet at www.wattdor.ch.

The federal vote on the Energy Act showed which way the wind is blowing. However, the shift in values toward sustainability goes far beyond politics and society. The realization that only those who live by the principle of sustainability can be economically successful in the long term is increasingly taking hold across all sectors of the economy - whether in the steadily growing organic market, the solar industry or the sustainable investment market.

But which goods and services actually serve environmental and climate protection? How can these groups of goods be recorded and categorized? Which organizations, industry associations and societies are behind them?

OdA Umwelt answers these questions in the "Who's Who" of the environmental and cleantech industry: the Environmental Industry Guide 2017. On more than 90 pages, players in recycling and waste management meet organizations in water management, nature museums meet sustainable planning offices. One chapter is dedicated to the renewable energy industry, while another deals with environmental and nature conservation agencies.

The diversity of organizations that have positioned themselves in the field of resource and energy efficiency is impressive. Since the environmental economy is a cross-sectional industry, its networking and description is all the more challenging. The Environmental Economy Industry Guide 2017 is therefore an important orientation aid for all economic sectors and experts within the industries and along the value chains. The industry guide is intended to stimulate exchange between players who have recognized the changing times. It is intended to offer individuals an opportunity to participate in sustainable trends and developments - in whatever form.

The Environmental Industry Guide will be published for the first time in 2017. In the coming years, it will be continuously developed. Further economic sectors will join the trend of resource efficiency and climate compatibility and newly established players will appear in the public eye.

At environmentprofis.ch the industry leader lies as Download PDF (2.8 MB).

Text: OdA Environment

Since 2009, electricity-intensive companies in Switzerland have been able to have the grid surcharge for the promotion of renewable energies reimbursed in full or in part. As a result of a revision of the Energy Act passed by parliament, more companies have been able to benefit from the refund since January 2014, but to do so they must conclude a binding, ten-year target agreement with the federal government to increase their energy efficiency. In 2014, 61 companies and in 2015 104 companies made use of this. The reimbursement amount was 21.1 million Swiss francs in 2014 and 45.4 million Swiss francs in 2015. The figures for 2016 are still incomplete; the reimbursement sum is expected to be between 54 and 68 million francs. In the target agreements agreed by the end of 2016, 174 companies have committed to increasing their energy efficiency to 104 percent. This is according to a report adopted by the Federal Council at its meeting on June 2, 2017.

With Postulate 15.4085 "Effects of the reimbursement of the surcharge on the transmission costs of the high-voltage grids" of November 3, 2015, the UREK-N requested the Federal Council to show in a report what effects the reimbursement of the grid surcharge has on the economy, how many companies receive the grid surcharge reimbursed, how high the reimbursements were, and what efficiency improvements are achieved with the target agreements concluded.

Network surcharge

Since 2009, the expansion of electricity production plants from renewable energies (photovoltaics, biomass, wind power, small-scale hydropower, geothermal energy) has been subsidized by the state in Switzerland. Electricity consumers pay a surcharge on each kilowatt hour of electricity consumed. This so-called grid surcharge was previously limited to a maximum of 1.5 cents per kWh. With the new Energy Act, which was approved by Swiss voters on May 21, 2017 and is scheduled to come into force in 2018, the grid surcharge will rise to a maximum of 2.3 cents per kWh.

Refund for electricity-intensive companies

Electricity-intensive companies can have the grid surcharge reimbursed: A full refund can be claimed by companies whose electricity costs amount to at least 10% of their gross value added. For electricity costs between at least 5% and less than 10% of gross value added, the paid grid surcharge is partially refunded.

Target agreement for increasing energy efficiency

The refund must be applied for by application to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) within six months of the end of the fiscal year. The conditions are that the reimbursement amount is at least CHF 20,000 per year and that the company commits to increasing its energy efficiency in a binding target agreement with the federal government.

The condition that a target agreement must be concluded for reimbursement was only introduced at the beginning of 2014 with the implementation of Parliamentary Initiative 12.400 (revision of the Energy Act of June 21, 2013).

With a target agreement, the companies commit to implementing economical energy efficiency measures. In the process area, these are measures with a payback period of less than four years and in the infrastructure area of less than eight years. In addition, under the current Energy Act, the end consumer must invest at least 20% of the refund amount in additional, barely uneconomical measures within three years of the application being approved. This obligation will cease to apply under the new Energy Act from 2018.

Number of companies and refund amounts

The report in fulfillment of postulate 15.4085 shows the status as of February 7, 2017.

The refund is calculated for each fiscal year. The decisive factor in each case is the amount of the grid surcharge that applied in the fiscal year in question. The grid surcharge was 0.6 cents/kWh in 2014 and 1.1 cents/kWh in 2015. For companies whose fiscal year is not the same as the calendar year, the refund amount is calculated pro rata temporis from the grid surcharge for two calendar years.

Fiscal Year 2014: For the financial years ended 2014, the total amount of reimbursements was approximately 21.1 million Swiss francs*. A total of 61 companies received a refund, of which 39 companies received a full refund (totaling 17.9 million Swiss francs) and 22 companies received a partial refund (3.2 million Swiss francs).

Fiscal year 2015: For the fiscal years ended in 2015, the total amount of reimbursements was approximately 45.4 million Swiss francs*. A total of 104 companies received a refund, of which 61 companies received a full refund (totaling 39 million Swiss francs) and 43 companies received a partial refund (6.4 million Swiss francs).

Fiscal year 2016: For the fiscal years that ended in 2016, little data was still available as of February 2017. Companies can only submit applications after the annual financial statements have been approved and audited (no later than six months after the end of the fiscal year; i.e., for financial statements as of December 31, 2016, by June 30, 2017). The total reimbursement amounts for the 2016 financial year are expected to be between CHF 54 million and a maximum of CHF 68 million. More precise information on the reimbursement amounts will only be possible towards the end of 2017, when the majority of the reimbursement requests will have been reviewed.

*A few reimbursement cases for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 are still pending due to ongoing clarifications or legal proceedings. Accordingly, the figures may still change slightly.

Energetic effects of the target agreements

As of the end of 2016, 174 companies had concluded one or more target agreements. The target agreements are each concluded for a term of 10 years. The key figures for forecast energy efficiency and forecast energy consumption relate to the target year at the end of the 10 years.

The sum of the predicted weighted total energy consumption (energy consumption is weighted for comparability) and the sum of the predicted weighted impact of measures of all target agreements results in an increase of the total energy efficiency from 100 to 103.7 percent during the 10-year term. This value represents the actual agreed increase in energy performance across all target agreements. By the end of the term of the target agreements, the 174 companies have thus committed themselves to energy efficiency measures (anticipated savings of primary energy) amounting to 881.9 gigawatt hours. Accordingly, the anticipated final energy consumption of these companies in the target year totals around 23,590 gigawatt hours. This includes electricity, fossil and biogenic fuels, and district heating.

The strict sanction mechanism - if the efficiency target is not achieved, the entire reimbursement sum must be paid back - means that the targets tend to be set low. However, experience shows that the agreed efficiency targets are usually exceeded in practice. The companies therefore save more energy than they should according to the agreement. However, since the target agreements are concluded over ten years, the time span of two years is too short to make verifiable statements on this.

Obligation to invest in additional measures

According to the current law, there is an obligation to invest 20% of the reimbursement amount in additional measures. These are measures with a payback period of four to eight years for process measures and eight to twelve years for infrastructure measures. The investments must be made no later than three years after the reimbursement request is approved. Since reimbursement applications were first approved in 2014, companies have until 2017 to make the corresponding investments. Therefore, it is not yet possible to make any statements on the investment obligation and its effect.

Source: Confederation

The report, which as last year was prepared jointly by Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen (FNG) and Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF), looks in detail at the development of the sustainable investment market. The 39% increase is due to organic growth as well as expanded participation in the survey. Many of the 10 new asset owners included began their sustainable investment activities during 2016. For this reason, among others, assets under management by institutional investors increased by 89% to CHF 104.5 billion last year. Sustainable investment funds also increased significantly by 59% to CHF 64.2 billion, which means that their share of the total fund market rose markedly from 4% to 7%. In contrast, the volumes of sustainable mandates virtually stagnated with 2% growth to CHF 97.6 billion.
Exclusion most common approach
The increasing mainstreaming of sustainable investments has an impact on the approaches chosen, which are also used in combination by many investors. The exclusion of certain industries or business practices is still the most frequently chosen approach, being applied to 67% of all sustainable investments in Switzerland. Standards-based screening has displaced the ESG integration approach from second place and is now already applied to 62% of all sustainable assets. "Many of the newly screened assets operate much more on a "worst-out" rather than a "best-in" basis," explains SSF Managing Director Sabine Döbeli. "However, since such approaches are usually combined with active dialog, they can still be used to exert an influence on companies' sustainability strategies that should not be underestimated," she adds.

Focus Human Rights
Human rights are the main topic of this year's market report, reflecting their growing importance in the business world. "The Global Compact and the ILO core labor standards are cited as the most important standards with regard to human rights," says FNG Vice President Patrick Wirth, describing the results of a special survey of study participants on this topic. While with 86% a majority of all surveyed asset managers apply human rights criteria to their sustainable products, almost one third also consider such criteria for their mainstream funds. As a thematic case study, the current market report also presents the activities of the Swiss Association for Responsible Investment (SVVK-ASIR), which were launched in the course of 2016.

"Sustainable investments are also playing an increasingly important role in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they make it possible not only to promote specific sustainable projects or companies, but also to encourage greater consideration of sustainable standards in the economy as a whole," explains SSF Managing Director Sabine Döbeli. Against this backdrop, continued high growth rates can be expected in the future, an expectation that is also shared by the study participants.

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Switzerland is known for an advanced recycling system. On the occasion of the International Recycling Day, Swiss Recycling shows the benefits of recycling raw materials in Switzerland over the last 25 years.

Environmental benefits increased by a factor of 3.3 through recycling
The volumes collected separately have increased since 1992 from around 1.3 million tons to over 3.2 million tons today. At the same time, however, the volume of waste has also increased by around one third.
Nevertheless, over the last 25 years, the environmental benefit has increased by a factor of 3.3. The environmental benefit of recycling has therefore increased considerably: Recycling in Switzerland today saves as much environmental impact as 65% of the total Swiss heating oil consumption generates. That is as much as 12 million oil barrels of 200 liters each.
Thanks to the efforts of the recycling systems, the technical improvements, the numerous regulations as well as the high commitment of the population, the benefits of recycling are close to the optimum today.

Swiss Recycling publishes a biennial Performance Reportwhich shows the overall benefits of recycling as well as background information on recycling. This year, the focus is on the past and the future: What has happened since Swiss Recycling was founded in 1992? What are the possible future scenarios that will change recycling in the next 25 years?

Screw on the parameters

The report presents three possible future scenarios: The first assumes a reduction in the amount of waste - prevention is the focus Thus, by 2042, the amount of waste would decrease to the amount generated in 1992. Here, biowaste in particular could play an important role: It still accounts for around one-third of an average waste bag. Yet it is precisely this type of waste that is particularly easy to recycle.

The second scenario focuses on optimizing recycling; the third on the quality of the recyclate. The environmental benefit is clearly highest in the first scenario: 24% more environmental benefit could be generated with consistent waste avoidance; in the two others, the environmental benefit is only 4% and 2% more, respectively.

The domestic mobility of the population has remained almost stable in recent years: On average, each resident aged 6 and older traveled 36.8 kilometers daily in 2015, virtually the same as in 2010. However, over the past two decades (since 1994), an increase of 5.5 kilometers or 18 percent can be observed. The daily time spent on the road (travel time) decreased slightly between 2010 and 2015, by 1.3 minutes to 90.4 minutes per person. This is the result of the "Microcensus Mobility and Transport", a survey conducted jointly by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) and the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE).

Car leads the way - train catches up

Almost two-thirds of daily domestic distances, namely 23.8 kilometers, are covered by car, and one-fifth (7.5 km) by rail. The shares of distances covered on foot, at 5 percent, and by public road transport, at 4 percent, are significantly smaller. However, if travel time is considered instead of distance, the share of walking increases to more than one third (36%), while the shares of car and train decrease significantly (to 41% and 8%, respectively). On average, the inhabitants of Switzerland spend half an hour a day on foot.

Compared with 2010, the number of car kilometers per person per day and the occupancy rate of passenger cars have remained almost stable. The fact that road traffic has nevertheless increased in recent years is primarily due to population growth. The distance traveled per person per day by rail increased by 6 percent between 2010 and 2015, and even by more than three quarters since 1994 - an increase that is primarily related to the expansions of service and infrastructure that have taken place. The increasing importance of rail also partly explains the aforementioned reduction in daily travel time.

Distances are shorter in the agglomerations

The length of the daily distance traveled varies according to population group. For example, men's daily distances are on average around a third longer than those of women. Of the various age groups, young adults between 18 and 24 show the longest distances at 48 kilometers.

Furthermore, the place of residence also influences mobility: At 34.8 kilometers per person per day, residents of the agglomerations cover significantly shorter distances than the population of the other parts of the country (42.5 km). They also use their cars less and public transport more often. Of the inhabitants of the ten most populous conurbations, those living in Bern and Winterthur have the highest public transport distance shares (34% and 33% respectively). In terms of walking, Geneva and St. Gallen lead the way with shares of 8 percent each. In recent years, the shares of public transport and non-motorized traffic have grown in the agglomerations. Among other things, the agglomeration programs co-financed by the federal government have probably contributed to this.

Leisure traffic dominates - even on weekdays

By far the most important transport purpose is and remains leisure. Around 44 percent of daily distances in Germany are covered in connection with leisure activities. This is followed by commuting to work with a share of 24 percent and shopping with 13 percent. Even if only the days from Monday to Friday are considered, leisure remains by far the most important transport purpose.

Inhabitants of Switzerland fly 9000 kilometers per person per year

If all distances are added up that the Swiss resident population covered per person in the course of 2015, the result is an average distance of 24″850 kilometers - more than half a circumnavigation of the globe. In addition to the domestic daily distances considered so far, the annual mobility also includes all trips and all distances traveled abroad. Distances abroad have increased sharply in recent years. In 2015, they totaled 11″100 km per person, which corresponded to a share of 45 percent of annual mobility. More than a third of annual mobility, namely 9000 km, was accounted for by air travel.

Soon one in ten households will own an e-bike

More than three-quarters (78%) of households owned at least one car in 2015, and 65 percent owned a bicycle. Compared with 2010, household car ownership has fallen by 1 percentage point, and bicycle ownership by 3 percentage points. At the same time, the share of households with e-bikes tripled at a low level: from just over 2 percent to 7 percent. Compared with bicycles, e-bikes are used more for commuting to work and less for leisure. On average, they travel a quarter faster than bicycles (17 km/h versus 13 km/h) and are used for longer single trips (4.4 km versus 3.3 km).

Fundamentals for spatial and transport policy

The data collected as part of the "Microcensus Mobility and Transport" serve as a statistical basis for the preparation and validation of political measures as well as for in-depth analyses of traffic behavior and traffic development.

Source: Federal Statistical Office

The municipal energy plan shows in which area which energy sources make sense - analogous to the structure plan for settlement or traffic. Under the direction of the energy commissioner, the city of Zurich has completely revised its energy planning over the past two years and aligned it with the goals of the 2000-watt society. Following the city council, the construction directorate of the canton of Zurich has also approved the updated energy planning.
It is binding for the city council, the administration and the municipal energy suppliers. For landowners, the principle of free choice among the energy suppliers available at the site applies.
available energy sources.

Expansion of district heating supply
The city of Zurich wants to expand the district heating supply from the waste-to-energy plants by expanding and connecting the existing district heating networks of the Hagenholz and Josefstrasse power plants. If voters approve the planned new interconnector, the way will be cleared to supply the Milchbuck area, parts of Wipkingen and Oberstrass, the Gewerbeschul district and parts of Aussersihl from 2020 to around 2045. In the future, energy from the treated wastewater of the Werdhölzli sewage treatment plant will also be used. To this end, the city of Zurich is building a district heating supply in the center of Altstetten and parts of Höngg starting around 2020. There will still be no obligation to connect to the district heating network. For some properties in the expansion areas, however, new, attractive options for energy supply are opening up.

Using groundwater and lake water with energy connections
In the densely populated neighborhoods around the lake basin and in the bottom of the Limmat Valley, groundwater and lake water are to be used for heating and cooling purposes. These energy sources will be made available to as many property owners as possible in the form of energy networks. In this way, numerous buildings in Zurich are already supplied with environmentally friendly heat and cooling. The city of Zurich wants to initiate and promote further energy networks. The city's energy service providers, ewz and Energie 360°, and the city's energy consulting offices have an important role to play here.

Gas supply area unchanged
With the exception of Zurich North, the gas supply area will remain unchanged for the next 15 years. In the district heating areas, district heating has priority, so no more new gas connections are planned there. Exceptions are properties whose connection does not affect the economic efficiency of the district heating supply. However, gas plays an important role for peak load coverage in energy networks and in areas such as the old town, where decentralized supply with renewable energy is limited and it is not worthwhile to connect to district heating. The share of biogas in the gas mix is to increase from around 7 percent today to 45 percent by 2050. To ensure that potential improvements in the building envelope and energy efficiency are exploited, the city of Zurich offers advice on new connections to the district heating or gas network as part of its energy coaching program. This also includes information on decentralized solutions for individual buildings or neighborhood networks.

Source: City of Zurich