Ticino is the canton with the worst payment behavior: 61.5 percent of invoices are paid late here. This is shown by the current analysis of companies' payment behavior in the first half of 2016. However, not only Italian-speaking Switzerland, but also French-speaking Switzerland stands out particularly negatively with a very high proportion of overdue payments - apparently there is a Röstigraben effect when it comes to paying bills on time. The border cantons do not exhibit particularly good payment morale either. In the interior of Switzerland, payment behavior then improves significantly. The canton of Uri stands out particularly positively here, where only 18.7 percent of bills were paid late. Overall, 40.5 percent of bills were paid late throughout Switzerland. The average delay was 10.8 days.

Source: Bisnode D&B

"Reintegration generates added value for everyone involved and makes an important contribution in the fight against the shortage of skilled workers," Martin Kaiser concludes.

Demographic changes in Switzerland mean that fewer and fewer people are available for work. Already today, the Swiss labor market is lacking urgently needed skilled workers in numerous industries. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to make better use of the potential domestic workforce. This also includes people with an impairment.

Compasso supports employers in reintegrating competent professionals into the work process or retaining them in the workforce. "In this way, Compasso makes an important contribution to reducing the shortage of skilled workers," emphasized President Johann N. Schneider-Ammann in his message of greeting to the participants of this year's symposium.

Underline skills

Reintegration is about getting people who have dropped out of the workforce due to accident or illness back into the primary labor market. While experience with early detection and job retention is already good, reintegration efforts are still in their infancy. According to Stefan Ritler, Vice-Director and Head of the Disability Insurance Business Unit at the FSIO, although the number of pensions has fallen faster than expected, the political goals for reintegration from retirement (IV Revision 6a) have not yet been achieved. However, successful practical examples show that reintegration can also succeed. "The crucial thing is to focus on the abilities and skills of the impaired person, not on the deficits," stresses Martin Kaiser, president of Compasso.

The Solothurn IV office provides an insight into practice and shows what can be done concretely on the basis of a successful reintegration. The nursing assistant in question had suffered a discus hernia and was no longer able to perform her job in long-term care. She regained her footing as a medical practice assistant via a job attempt. "A case that is as unspectacular as it is typical," says conference chair Anton Hanselmann, former head of human resources at Frutiger AG and current vice president of Compasso. "The reintegration was successful because all those involved pulled together and made targeted use of the instruments available."

Tools for employers

In order to provide targeted support to employers, Compasso has further developed the information and tools for reintegration. When is my company suitable for people with a health impairment? What general conditions must be met at the workplace? Which legal aspects have to be considered? Compasso offers extensive information on this subject on its revised online portal. Direct IV contact points for employers are also available. "For SMEs in particular, it is crucial to be able to approach the contact persons in an uncomplicated manner," emphasizes Ueli Streit, Head of Professional Development at Compasso.

Consistent collaboration as a key factor

At the end of the event, Stefan Ritler, Vice Director and Head of the Disability Insurance Business Unit of the FSIO, Monika Dudle-Ammann, President of the IV Agency Conference, Dr. med. Fulvia Rota, Board Member of the Swiss Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy SGPP, Daniel Andris, Head of Coordination & Analysis, Mobiliar Vorsorge and Ann-Kathrin Greutmann, Head of Diversity and Health, Zürcher Kantonalbank, will discuss what makes successful professional reintegration possible.

The panelists agree that cooperation between the partners involved, characterized by openness and trust, is the key factor for successful reintegration. "The earlier cases are actively taken up, the greater the chances of success. Watching and waiting is bad advice," says Dr. Barbara Rigassi, Managing Director of Compasso, summarizing another finding of the panel discussion.

"Reintegration generates added value for everyone involved and makes an important contribution in the fight against the shortage of skilled workers," Martin Kaiser concludes. "Our goal is to maintain or regain the labor market capability of as many people with limited capability as possible!"
http://Compasso.ch

KPMG emphasizes that the federal system of direct democracy is more relevant than ever in the age of participatory social media.

Digitization began its triumphant march as the "4th industrial revolution" years ago. However, the focus of this development is in Silicon Valley. This is a disadvantage for the Swiss economy in that it can no longer independently decide on the most important developments, their future value contribution and ultimately the attractiveness of the business location. Accordingly, Switzerland must learn in the coming years how to deal with disruptive forces and use them in a targeted manner. In doing so, it can rely on its recognized strengths, but it must also resolutely tackle important fields of action.

Switzerland is able to deal successfully with these disruptive forces thanks to the established strengths of its business location:

These include political stability, direct democracy, strict data protection regulations, a modern and technology-savvy society, legal certainty, a competitive tax system, a highly qualified workforce, flexible labor laws, a high standard of living, and leading universities and activities in research and development.

But to maintain its attractiveness as a business location, Switzerland will also have to work on its weaknesses. These include high wage costs, an uncertain immigration policy in connection with the implementation of the mass immigration initiative, as well as the still obstructive tax conditions for start-ups and the classic Swiss reticence.

Sustainable future for Switzerland

KPMG has identified seven areas of innovation that offer significant opportunities for Switzerland:

1. digital workbench

The global digital economy will generate a fundamentally new value chain. Outsourcing to low-wage countries is likely to become less attractive, as skills in technology areas such as data analysis will be in greater demand. Switzerland has excellent prerequisites to become a digital workbench for the global economy: These include its well-developed infrastructure and a high degree of stability, legal certainty and data protection. However, Switzerland must invest even more in education and research.

2. data trustee of the world

Data represents the currency of the digital age. Switzerland enjoys an international reputation as a trustworthy and reliable partner. Numerous data centers and other infrastructures are already located here today. To ensure that Switzerland can continue to position itself as a reliable data trustee in the future, policymakers must create the right framework conditions and find the necessary balance between data protection and the most open use of data possible.

3. fintech valley

Switzerland has what it takes to be a leader in the field of digital financial services: Years of experience in the banking and insurance sector combined with technological expertise. At the moment, however, developments in the area of fintech are concentrated too much on the small domestic market and are therefore still not perceived strongly enough internationally. The high labor costs - and the associated lower productivity - also mean that the competitiveness is too low.

4. resistant industrial controls

Networked Industry 4.0 relies on functioning control systems and defense mechanisms. Without these security systems, there is a risk of disruptions and even catastrophes in the real world, for example through cyber attacks on critical infrastructures such as power plants. Local know-how in the field of cyber security is already among the world's best. Now we need to set the right liberal accents in education and migration policy to prevent a shortage of skilled engineers.

5. robotics in healthcare

Technical progress in robotics and the increasing aging of our society are two current, parallel developments. Demography leads to increased health care costs, which could, however, be reduced in the future by the increased use of robots in hospitals and care facilities. Switzerland has excellent research in robotics, for example in the environment of the ETH Zurich and Lausanne.

6. Switzerland as an incubator for great ideas

Human creativity, mediation between parties, and constructive problem-solving approaches will also be in demand in the digital future, probably more than ever. Switzerland is already the location of various international organizations and events such as the UN and the WEF. In order for Switzerland to continue to develop its position as a neutral, creative hub under the changed conditions, international exchange between business, politics and science must continue to be intensively cultivated.

7 Direct democracy as an export good

The federal system of direct democracy is more topical than ever in the age of participatory social media. With "Democracy as a Service" (DaaS), Switzerland could be a role model for other countries and offer its successful model as an export article - especially in combination with new technology. However, for the sake of credibility, Switzerland must first make progress in the area of its own e-government and push ahead with the introduction of a national digital ID.

You can find out more about the study "Shaping Switzerland's digital future" at this Link

Since the new sorting plant was commissioned by Müller Recycling AG in Frauenfeld at the beginning of the year, it has been possible to cleanly separate beverage cartons and plastic bottles. This has meant that beverage cartons and plastic bottles can be collected together.

Aldi Suisse has now become the first retailer to establish the new collection: Since August 2016, ALDI SUISSE has been collecting beverage cartons together with plastic bottles - initially in the 65 stores of the Schwarzenbach branch. The nationwide introduction of the return of beverage cartons and plastic bottles is to be completed by the end of 2017.

Joint collection simplifies the disposal process

The empty beverage cartons of milk, iced tea, and fruit juices and the empty plastic bottles of dairy products, shower gels, detergents, and cleaning agents are collected together in a collection container and taken back to the logistics center by the trucks that deliver goods to the store. In this way, there are no extra trips. At the logistics center, they are compressed and taken to the sorting plant in Frauenfeld.

After sorting, the collected plastic bottles are processed into regranulate on site. This is used to manufacture new plastic bottles or other plastic products. The beverage cartons are pressed into bales and transported to the Model AG paper mill. The cartonboard fibers obtained via the recycling system can be used six to seven times in cartonboard production. Model AG uses the valuable cartonboard fibers to produce corrugated board for new packaging.

No risk has become as important in the Swiss economy as cybercrime. This is the result of a representative survey of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) conducted by the insurance company Zurich. In the meantime, 12 percent of SMEs assume that hackers represent a key risk for them. Compared to 2013, their share has more than quadrupled. Meanwhile, the proportion of SMEs that believe they are too small and insignificant to fall victim to cybercriminals has fallen significantly. Only 13 percent believe they will not be targeted by hackers in the first place.

Underestimated cyber risks

Although fear is rising sharply, the vast majority of Swiss SMEs are ill-equipped. Just 2.5 percent of the owners and managing directors surveyed state that their company has fully functional and updated protective measures. Extrapolated to the approximately 562,000 SMEs* in Switzerland, this means that 548,000 SMEs do not have effective protection. Particularly exposed are those companies that consider cyber risks to be a key risk and yet have not taken any measures. Their number is at least 53,000.

"This large discrepancy between risk awareness and the taking of concrete measures shows that the majority of SMEs are completely out of their depth and feel powerless in the face of cybercriminals," explains Christian La Fontaine, cyber risk specialist at Zurich. This, in turn, has two main reasons: "First, many management boards lack an expert in IT issues, so cyber risks have long been underestimated," La Fontaine says. "Second, effective measures are not always cheap. For a long time, SMEs were therefore hesitant to approve the necessary budgets."

Restaurants and hairdressers also affected

La Fontaine expects the percentage of highly exposed SMEs to increase in the coming years. "The more digitized companies' business models are, the more likely they are to be exposed to cyber risks." Restaurants or hairdressers, for example, who take reservations or bookings mainly via the Internet or apps, can suffer painful revenue losses after a hacker attack. "If customers can no longer make reservations online as usual, only walk-in customers remain," La Fontaine explains. While it used to be true that large SMEs in particular were exposed to risks in cyberspace, this is increasingly true for smaller businesses as well.

In the area of cyber risks, SMEs are particularly afraid of data theft. "The damage is particularly serious when criminals steal customers' credit card data," says La Fontaine. "If this happens, an SME often faces serious reputational damage and a drop in sales." In second place is the fear of forced business interruption. "This can occur when hackers overload a website with a flood of requests, making it impossible for customers to access the site," La Fontaine explains. Viruses can also force interruptions. "If an employee opens an email with a virus, an entire IT system can be blocked for days."

Source: Zurich Insurance, www.zurich.ch

More and more biogas is being fed into the Swiss natural gas grid: In the last five years, the volume has quadrupled to 262 GWh, according to industry association VSG. The gas industry criticizes the fact that only biogas that is used to generate electricity is subsidized by the public authorities - if it is used for heating, it is not recognized as renewable energy within the meaning of cantonal regulations.

VSG therefore calls on politicians and administrators to set the course so that the potential of biogas as a sustainable and climate-neutral energy source can be fully exploited.

Demand increases

In Switzerland, demand for biogas is rising sharply. In combination with natural gas, it is used not only as a fuel, but increasingly also for heating. More and more local gas suppliers are blending a fixed biogas content into natural gas. Biogas is a renewable and CO2-free energy from natural waste materials. Since domestic supply is limited, it is also imported from neighboring countries. The gas industry expects the share of biogas sold to increase substantially in the coming years. What is often forgotten is that feeding biogas into the grid achieves a higher overall efficiency than biogas-based electricity generation.

Biogas has great potential as a renewable energy; combined with natural gas and other renewable gases, it could make an important contribution to implementing the federal government's energy and climate goals.

Back in 2010, the gas industry set up a support fund into which local suppliers pay around 3 million Swiss francs a year. This is used to support investments in new production plants as well as feed-in. In the meantime, 25 plants are in operation between Lake Geneva and Lake Constance.

The gas industry wants to reduce the legal and bureaucratic obstacles that exist today in the recognition of biogas; on the one hand, in the model regulations of the cantons (MuKEn 2014) and in the import of biogas. The focus is on the recognition of biogas as a renewable energy for all uses.

Google Switzerland, as well as the life science SME InSphero AG in Schlieren, emphasized the importance of outstanding and internationally networked universities and the possibility of recruiting specialists.

Today, Switzerland is economically, politically and culturally interconnected around the globe, but especially in Europe. Numerous domestic companies drive innovation and create secure jobs because they benefit from this openness. The bilateral agreements with the EU are a central part of this fabric.

They are not only crucial for the export industry, but also for Switzerland as a research location. Thanks to these agreements, Switzerland is connected to the European research network, which is unique in the world. "However," emphasizes the Zurich Chamber of Commerce, "this connection has been under pressure since the adoption of the immigration initiative in February 2014."

Swiss relations  

Representatives from science and business discussed the significance of these agreements for business and research today at the evening event "Economic Openness - Switzerland quo vadis?" organized by the Zurich Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with Interpharma, swissuniversities and stark+vernetzt (economiesuisse).

They all stressed the importance of the bilateral agreements with the EU: Novartis country president André Wyss explained in his opening speech why the Swiss pharmaceutical industry, which makes more than half of its foreign sales in Europe, is dependent on open relations with the EU: "Losing unbureaucratic access to the European market and to European specialists would be extremely painful for all of us, also because the economy is also under pressure in other areas."

Christoph Franz, Chairman of the Roche Board of Directors, emphasized that the bilateral agreements give Switzerland "the nickel and the dime: Namely, both a solid basis for good trade relations with the 28 EU states and political independence from the EU. Prof. Dr. Michael O. Hengartner, Rector of the University of Zurich, underlined the importance of research cooperation with the EU for the Swiss university landscape.

Significant for science

Prof. Dr. Michael O. Hengartner: "In order to continue to play in the Champions League of research, we need connections to European research programs." Patrick Warnking, Country Director of Google Switzerland, and Jan Lichtenberg, co-founder and CEO of the life science SME InSphero AG in Schlieren, emphasized the importance of outstanding and internationally networked universities as well as the possibility of recruiting specialists also abroad for their companies.

The director of the Zurich Chamber of Commerce, Regine Sauter, illustrated how Zurich exemplifies the internationality of the Swiss economy: "This openness is an important factor in the attractiveness of Zurich as a business location."

Business and academia will continue to be motivated to communicate to Swiss citizens the value and importance of open trade relations for Switzerland.

www.zhk.ch

A total of 17 XING employees will drive the expansion of XING in Switzerland from the new office in downtown Zurich. Commenting on the move to the shared office at Gartenstrasse 25, XING Switzerland Managing Director René Maeder says: "By building up a top-class team last year, we laid the foundations for the successful implementation of our local strategy. The bundling of all XING business areas at a central address is another important step towards strengthening our presence in Switzerland and consistently aligning our offering to the needs of the local market."

New country manager

The Swiss XING E-Recruiting team is also moving to the shared address. With the arrival of Yves Schneuwly as Country Manager for E-Recruiting in Switzerland, this business customer area will also be further strengthened as of December 1. Schneuwly has many years of experience in the talent sector and joins XING from employer branding specialist Universum, where he managed the company's business in Switzerland.

The team from Eqipia, the Swiss specialist for employee recommendations acquired by XING in April of this year, is also moving into the new office.

http://www.xing.com

Suva has analyzed the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) of October 18, 2016, and is now implementing further measures. In the ruling, the ECtHR reprimanded another insurance company for using private detectives to monitor an accident victim. The current legal basis in Switzerland was insufficient for this.

Suva then decided not to issue any new observation orders until further notice and to discontinue all ongoing observations. It is sticking to this decision and will now consequently also destroy observation documents already received from ongoing cases. This also applies to medical assessments that were created on the basis of film material.

Suva submits draft law

Although Switzerland can still appeal the Strasbourg ruling, the Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) has already announced that it will submit a corresponding revision of the law for consultation by the end of the year. In addition, the Committee for Social Security and Health of the Council of States (SGK-S) decided last week to also prepare a draft law, which in the quickest case could be passed by parliament in the fall of 2017.

Suva welcomes a swift political decision that clearly regulates the use of detectives by law, and it wants to actively participate in the political process. It has therefore already submitted to the FSIO its own formulation proposal for a legal article on the subject of surveillance. This regulates, among other things, which conditions permit surveillance and where it may take place.

Increased field work

To ensure that Suva can continue to combat abuse in a targeted manner until a clear legal basis comes into force, it intends to monitor conspicuous cases more intensively: More medical examinations, increased cooperation with the authorities and more witness interviews are intended to provide clarity at an early stage. In addition, it wants to carry out more frequent checks with the field service if there are reasonable grounds for suspicion. There will always be expensive individual cases that can only be prevented thanks to detectives.

http://www.suva.ch

The 2015 Paris Agreement obliges all countries to formulate climate targets for the first time. The aim is to limit average global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, with a maximum temperature rise of 1.5 degrees. The agreement entered into force on November 4, 2016. At the 22nd UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, which ended on November 19, 2016, countries began discussing the modalities for implementing the agreement.

Goal: Uniform specifications

The aim of the negotiations in Marrakech was to start drawing up uniform provisions and binding guidelines - the so-called "Paris Rules Book" - namely for the definition of nationally defined climate targets and reporting. This is intended to make the progress made by individual countries and the impact on global climate policy measurable and verifiable in the future.

The negotiations have shown that the road to a common understanding is long. The pace presented was slow, but in line with the differences that still exist between the countries, some of which are fundamental. The negotiations were slowed down in particular by the efforts of various developing countries to return to the pre-Paris status and reintroduce the rigid dichotomy between industrialized and developing countries.

"Paris Rules Book" launched

Despite the delays, partial successes were achieved. For example, the next steps in the various negotiation tracks have been set in motion: subgroups will address specific issues in greater depth and submit proposals to the UNFCCC Secretariat. Based on these findings, technical workshops will be held between now and COP 23. The aim is to conclude the negotiations on the Paris Rules Books in 2018.

Individual topics such as transparency and market mechanisms were discussed in depth. In the area of climate financing, the donor countries presented the "Roadmap", which aims to provide USD 100 billion annually from 2020. USD annually to support climate policy in developing countries. With the "Climate Action Day", a platform was created for the first time at the COP to make the great commitment of non-state actors (cities, regions, companies, NGOs) visible. This is an important impulse for civil society for an ambitious climate policy. After all, private funds and initiatives are also needed to achieve the Paris goals.

The focus of the Swiss delegation was on the areas of formulation of climate targets, market mechanisms and transparency; it also led negotiations on climate finance, among other issues. At COP 22, Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard announced financial support for developing countries for reporting (CHF 1 million) and technology transfer (CHF 4 million). Both areas are central to the progress of an ambitious climate policy.

First Conference of the Parties to the Paris Convention

The first Conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) opened in Marrakech. It adopted the Marrakesh Action Proclamation and agreed on the way forward. Switzerland, which has not yet ratified the agreement, participated only as an observer, but was nevertheless able to make an active contribution. The CMA will meet again in 2017 to take stock of the implementation of the Paris Agreement. In 2018, all relevant resolutions on this are then to be adopted in a single package at the CMA. At the COP 23 climate conference, which will be held in Bonn in 2017 under the presidency of Fiji, the focus will accordingly be on further work on the Paris Rules Book.

Marrakech Action Proclamation for our Climate and Sustainable Development

At the invitation of the King of Morocco, the heads of state and government adopted the Marrakech Action Proclamation at the 22nd Climate Change Conference. In it, they underscore the urgent need for action in the face of global warming and emphasize the irreversibility of international momentum in the fight against climate change. In their call, the ministers refer to both the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN's 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. In this sense, the proclamation calls for action on poverty reduction, food security and targeted activities to address the challenges of climate change in agriculture.

Furthermore, the industrialized countries confirm the goal of mobilizing USD 100 billion annually from 2020 for climate measures in developing countries. USD annually for climate action in developing countries. They call on non-state actors to participate in the ambitious climate targets and underline the opportunities for business that arise from this process.

Source: FOEN

You may have had less of a desire to travel the land of opportunity for business this year, but you can't ignore the USA. And as soon as things return to normal mode, it's high time to think about how best to do business with the Americans - and ultimately succeed.

Years ago, the English author and thought leader Richard Lewis showed in his own analyses what business communication in the USA means. To put it bluntly, it's a fight and cut-throat competition, or to put it another way: Rugby pure and simple. With the pictogram below, Lewis explains the course of the 'exchange' of two interlocutors: from the initial contact, in the USA always very collegial with pats on the back and 'big smiles', into the fight, with provocations and sarcasm, if necessary humiliations and 'ridiculing'; up to the open exchange of blows. Just: "doing business in america". The nice thing is, and here the comparison to the rugby sport suggests itself, afterwards the world is all right again. People hug each other, congratulate each other on the successful "game" and go to the next pub for a beer.

The Wild West

Simply dismissing this as macho behavior does not properly reflect the situation. Because the rustic approach to solving the problem has much more to do with American identity than one sometimes thinks. It is true that Manhattan and large parts of California, among others, have long since conformed to a more inter-national code of conduct, but the United States of America otherwise still functions, with respect, as it did back in the Wild West. The cowboy mentality, a male thing of course, dominates day-to-day business. Big business, like everything else, must be conquered and overpowered. Large parts of America today still see themselves as world conquerors per se, even in national micro-projects.

What has been going on between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in recent months is grotesque from a non-American perspective; and probably for many Americans as well. Nevertheless, this emotional exchange cannot now be dismissed as a classic case study of communication in the USA. Even if many accompanying circumstances (the role of the media, the incredible budgets of the parties, the peculiar play of the FBI) can certainly be seen as 'typical America'.

There was a better example eight years ago, when Mitt Romney and Barack Obama fought each other in a much more civilized atmosphere. Back then, too, there was savage name-calling; back then, too, both pointed their fingers at each other and wanted to prove how unfit the other was for the presidency. But everything was done in much more style, and therefore probably more consumable than the 2016 election. In the end, the two shook hands. One congratulated Obama on his victory; the other congratulated Romney on a good fight. Both men, and probably quite seriously, respected each other and "had a beer together after the campaign." Almost literally, by the way, because Obama later invited Mitt Romney to the White House and even suggested that Romney, a Republican, work for him. How seriously that was meant can be left open. But the 2008 campaign was a better example of how people in America still do business today. Direct and confronting, then finding solutions by consensus. Win-win for both parties is perfectly acceptable, but the fight for one's own interests must come first in order to be able to conclude successfully.

No go easy

Europeans and Asians still have a hard time with this mentality in their sales and acquisition efforts. And yet they still send representatives who are "unsuitable" in terms of type and appearance. Because 'Corporate America' does not want soft-talkers, but tough & rough-movers. Intellectual approaches are less in demand than a robust rugby style: with the oval ball across the middle. It is therefore somehow understandable that large parts of US business are closer to Donald Trump than to Hillary Clinton.

So, off to America, but please with the sales people and the right tools to match the market.

To the author:

Daniel Tschudy lectures, coaches and writes about intercultural values and behavior patterns (cultural intelligence) in the global business environment. His focus is among others on the new markets in Africa and Asia; with special interest in China & Japan.

info@tschudy.com

www.tschudy.com

The Study is based on data from the Swiss Association for Household and Commercial Electrical Appliances (FEA) and the Swiss Business Association for Information, Communication and Organization Technology (Swico). It shows that there are around 17.33 million large household appliances in use in Switzerland, 28% more than in 2002 (13.57 million). However, these cause energy consumption to increase by only 1.7% (5.33 TWh in 2015 compared to 5.24 TWh in 2002). The largest electricity consumers in the category of large household appliances are electric stoves/ovens (1.39 TWh), refrigerators (1.01 TWh), and, with an increasing trend, clothes dryers (832 GWh).

The differences are even greater in the consumer electronics/IT sector. The number of devices used increased from 20.1 million to 33.6 million (+ 67%) in the last 13 years, with the strongest increases in notebooks (+ 4.9 million), tablets (+ 3.9 million) and set-top boxes (+ 2.9 million). Despite the sharp increase in the number of devices, their overall electricity consumption fell by 610 GWh (- 24%), with the biggest savings achieved by PCs (- 330 GWh) and monitors (- 280 GWh).

Large household appliances: efficiency gains through minimum requirements and energy labels

In 2015, according to FEA statistics, about 327`200 refrigerators were sold, which caused an energy consumption of 52 GWh. The consumption per liter of cooling volume was 0.72 kWh, in 2003 this value was 1.31 kWh/a (- 45%).

The heat pump made high efficiency gains possible in tumble dryers. For example, tumble dryers sold in 2015 consumed an average of 133 kWh per year. In 2008, when mainly condensation dryers were still sold, the figure was around three times higher (407 kWh).

As a result of the efficiency gains achieved, the energy consumption of large household appliances in 2015 was 1.48 TWh (or 21.7%) lower than the extrapolated consumption of the same number of appliances with 2002 efficiency.

A general sales trend toward better-quality appliances is discernible. This is due not only to technological developments but also to the establishment of the energy label, steadily increasing minimum requirements, efforts by the industries, and accompanying measures by the federal government (EnergieSchweiz).

The efficiency regulations are continuously adapted in Switzerland. In order to avoid trade barriers and the associated additional costs for manufacturers, retailers and consumers, Switzerland coordinates its content with EU law in particular. In individual cases, however, the federal government has issued more stringent requirements for electrical appliances than the EU (e.g. refrigerators, tumble dryers).
The energy label is currently being revised in the EU. The SFOE welcomes the EU's proposal to reintroduce energy labels with an A-G rating. This is the only way to ensure that the energy label remains a relevant decision-making factor when purchasing electrical appliances.

IT, office and consumer electronics equipment: electricity consumption reduced by 25% in 15 years

In the case of TV sets, a trend toward sets with LED technology has been discernible for some time. Thanks to this now widespread technology, the power consumption of TV sets is falling (- 9 GWh compared with 2000). This is despite an increase in the number of sets (+ 39%) and ever larger screen areas (+ 286%).

Personal computers (specific consumption 2015: 66 kWh/year) and monitors (26 kWh) have slowly been replaced by more energy-efficient notebooks (20 kWh) in the past. Recently, fewer notebooks have been sold and more tablets (4.4 kWh).

Despite the increase in unit sales of IT, office and consumer electronics and longer useful lives, energy consumption was reduced compared with previous years. One reason for this is probably the introduction of minimum requirements for standby consumption.

The specific consumption per appliance averaged over all appliances has decreased from 124.4 kWh in 2000 to 56.3 kWh in 2015. Higher usage times and increased comfort requirements are taken into account here.

Thanks to the efficiency gains achieved, in 2015 the energy consumption of all IT, office and consumer electronics devices was 1.79 TWh (or 48.6%) lower than the extrapolated consumption of the same number of devices with 2000 efficiency.

It is expected that the efficiency of electrical appliances will continue to improve in the future, but probably not at the same pace as in the last 15 years.

Source: SFOE