Bern – The circular economy is only just beginning. However, pioneers such as ID Genève, OceanSafe and Vögeli are successful with business models that go beyond the throwaway economy. This is shown in the book “Circular Economy” by Günther Dobrauz and Nicolas Huras, printed according to the Cradle to Cradle principle.
Sustainability is not enough, because it only frees the throwaway economy from its grossest excesses. This is what the editors Günther Dobrauz and Nicolas Huras write in their book “Circular Economy“. We need to switch to an economy that keeps all materials in the biological and technological cycle. The publishers rely on modern technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and quantum computers. “In their diverse connections, they allow leaps in development at a previously unseen speed.” Regulatory pressure is also needed. The EU and Switzerland have already taken the first steps in this direction.
The book, published by Stämpfli in Bern in October, brings together contributions on the circular economy in Switzerland and beyond. This is how Harald Friedl describes the state of the circular economy from a global perspective. Oliver Schauer, Sara Moser and Andrea Massimiani discuss the role of logistics.
Tobias Stucki, professor at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, presents the results of a study he conducted with the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. According to the study, only 10 percent of Swiss companies surveyed invested significantly in the circular economy between 2017 and 2019, and 37 percent did not invest at all.
Practitioners such as ID Genève co-founder Nicolas Freudiger, OceanSafe founder Manuel Schweizer and brothers Markus and Renato Vögeli will be presenting their experiences on the road to the circular economy. ID Genève has developed the first watch made entirely from waste and produced using energy from the sun. OceanSafe has developed fully degradable yarns and is now making the corresponding technologies available to other companies. Vögeli is the first printing company in the world to be certified according to the Cradle to Cradle Gold Standard.
The book is also applied recycling management: it was printed by Vögeli and its cover contains flower seeds for possible flower composting. The publishers have also invested in some of the companies presented. ce/stk
