Would you like to find out the relevant environmental impact of your products, services or business?
Would you like to find sustainable solutions based on sound decision-making principles?
Do you want to operate in a resource-conserving and energy-efficient manner?
Carbotech’s environmental consulting team specialises in specific areas. We are trained in environmental sciences, sustainable development, economics, business administration, marketing, industrial engineering, geography, chemistry and physics and can provide specific and well-founded answers to environmentally relevant questions. We are constantly developing our expertise and methodological skills. Benefit from our experience and expertise.
The Swiss Federal Council adopted the goal of net zero greenhouse gases by 2050 in January 2021. As the building sector is currently responsible for almost 25% of greenhouse gas emissions and a good 45% of primary energy consumption, it is of elementary importance in achieving the Swiss climate strategy. This connection illustrates the great importance of concepts such as the 2000-watt society or the SIA efficiency path for achieving the “net zero” target and thus combating climate change. The question is thus: How can the ambitious efficiency targets for construction and housing be achieved? Due to the long lifespan of buildings, the potential for ecological optimisation in the area of “construction and housing” is high. And positive effects can be realised over a long period of time. Therefore, it is important to set the right course right at the beginning of the project planning. We can help you identify the most sustainable concept as early as the competition phase. With the help of a transparent decision model, which takes into account typical conflicting goals in the building sector (e.g. grey energy vs. operating energy), we can develop reliable recommendations. In doing so, we are guided by the criteria of the Swiss Sustainable Building Standard (SNBS), among others. With the help of life cycle assessments, we can also support you in individual decisions by holistically assessing the environmental impact of different building materials, heating variants, building variants or construction elements. Optimisations in the area of operation and energy consumption can also be revealed through this type of consideration. The development of missing bases in life cycle assessment for an entry in the KBOB database or even a simple development of environmental product declarations (EPD) can be a starting point here. For our analyses, we rely on proven methods such as life cycle analyses, EPDs or life cycle cost analyses. For the use and classification of information that is primarily qualitative, we work with stakeholder analyses and/or innovative tools such as the fuzzy set theory. In consulting, we also use the synergies with our internal pollutant experts who contribute valuable expertise. This can be a decisive advantage in practical implementation, e.g. through building checks, indoor air measurements or in construction monitoring. Due to the relevance for the climate strategy, it is a particular concern of ours to provide our clients with expert support in “climate-positive building”.
Recent years have witnessed radical changes in the digital world in almost all areas of life. Our communication, from VoIP to social media, media consumption with numerous streaming offerings, to industrial production and automation, as well as the financial sector with cryptocurrencies to various private sectors with IoT and smart devices (TV, car, home, grid) the digitalization revolutionises. The use of information technology itself is also changing at a rapid pace thanks to cloud services and virtualization of all technologies used. Our experience in the ecological evaluation of these products is based on self-conducted studies and on the daily use of the corresponding products and services. Electronic products often have optimisation potential in the area of energy consumption or resource use. With our extensive background knowledge, we can purposefully address the relevant problems and work on your questions efficiently. Our knowledge of information technologies paired with our experience in system modeling allows us to competently cover a wide variety of digitalization topics.
ICT services
Our many years of experience in the field of dedicated software enables us to pass on our own expertise as an IT service to third parties. Not only do we offer support for LCA software, we also make it possible to use our existing IT infrastructure in the form of software services. Here, the license and thus the right of use remain with the customer, while Carbotech provides the technical infrastructure to use the LCA software. This service is offered to both private and public institutions.
In the sector of energy, we offer you consulting services on two levels: energy policy and its implementation for municipalities and cantons, as well as restoration design for building contractors.
We develop energy concepts and energy policy measures for a 2000-Watt-Society in collaboration with environmental agencies, energy cities, energy commissions or municipal authorities. We support our clients during the implementation and monitoring phase until their individual energy goals have been reached.
Transportation and mobility – besides nutrition and living – causes a substantial part of the environmental impact in Switzerland. At the same time, there is great potential for improvements and optimisation in this area. A reduction in the distances travelled – for example by increased use of home office and video conferencing – but also the choice of means of transport can reduce the environmental and CO2 footprint of personal or company mobility by several orders of magnitude.
Carbotech AG has many years of experience in evaluating the environmental impacts of different means of transport, fuels, procurement strategies or even use and maintenance options. Our interdisciplinary team of experts from the fields of environmental sciences, geography, physics and economics examines possible sulotions in all its aspects and thus also takes into account its economic efficiency and the impact on people and communities.
Visits to museums, theatre performances and sporting events are popular leisure activities and contribute to environmental and climate pollution. In particular, mobility (public traffic, travelling by artists and transport), catering and material consumption are relevant topics with leverage effects. Waste is also a frequently discussed issue due to its visibility.
The cultural and event industry is not only a contributor to environmental problems, but also part of the solution on the way to a more environmentally friendly society. It reaches a large audience and has an influence on public perception. It can play a decisive role by setting an example of sustainable behaviour and communicating new narratives.
We will work with you to promote a future-proof and sustainable cultural and event industry. We identify your ecological hotspots, develop and evaluate measures with you, support you in developing a sustainability strategy and communicating your sustainability commitment to your target group. We utilise our network and work regularly with partners such as Tiefgrün.
Agricultural products account for more than a third of our environmental footprint. In the area of tension between land use, production intensity, water consumption and food waste, even small optimisations have a major leverage effect. Targeted measures can reduce sustainability risks and promote long-term stable business activities.
Thanks to numerous environmental studies in the areas of renewable raw materials, food and textiles, we have extensive experience in this specialised field and are familiar with the associated environmental problems. In the food sector, we can draw on our own database with inventories of agricultural production, processing, transport and packaging of around 400 foodstuffs. With our expertise, we can help you measure the environmental impact of your company’s activities or products and develop measures to achieve your sustainability goals.
Aluminum and tin cans, biomass, scrap metal, batteries, paper and cardboard, textiles, batteries, electrical and electronic devices, PET bottles and plastic bottles: we have already examined all these recycling systems from an ecological (and in some cases from an economic and social point of view). We know the challenges of recycling systems and support you in your questions, whether this is a sustainability strategy, process optimization or environmental management.
The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is one of the most important pillars of the Swiss economy. At the same time, however, the industry’s energy- and resource-intensive production makes a significant contribution to environmental pollution. Strategies to reduce the environmental impact in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry are therefore of central importance to enable sustainable development.
We carry out comprehensive life cycle assessment studies to quantify the environmental impact of your products and processes. These can be, for example, studies on the synthesis of an active ingredient, the product carbon footprint of a product or the assessment of disposal options for production wastewater. We use the studies to identify potential for improvement and help you to achieve your environmental goals.
Do you have your own sustainability department? We support you with our comprehensive advice and training in the preparation of your own life cycle assessments. We also familiarise you with best practices in the field of environmental accounting and accompany you on the path to a sustainability strategy.
Packaging is perceived primarily as waste. Accordingly, they are problematically discussed in public. The environmental benefits of packaging are often neglected because they have a protective function and make products transportable and durable at all. In over thirty packaging studies, we have used our experience in this field. A few of our findings on packaging show: There is not THE most ecological packaging.The content is often much more polluting than the packaging.The use of a packaging which protects the content, makes it storable and easy to transport, is higher than the environmental impact of the packaging itself.Therefore, design for recycling is only secondary. While a clever and light compound packaging may not be recyclable, but is still the more sustainable solution as a recyclable mono- pack.Packaging-related transport differences are enormous, but not as relevant overall as seen.The individual shopping transport is much more decisive than the packaging of products.
In our everyday life products made of wood and paper are indispensable. The renewable raw material continues to enjoy great demand, which in turn puts pressure on the resource wood. We have extensive experience in environmental assessment of wood, paper and forest management systems. In the area of tension between sustainable forest use, FSC wood plantations, forest clearing, wood processing, paper consumption and thermal utilisation of wood, we accompany you with efficient advice and find the optimum solutions.
Water is the elixir of life and the central building block of our planet. Climate change and the associated melting of large freshwater reserves are now increasingly drawing attention to the importance of water.
Our influence on water as a resource goes much further than we may realize. The average water consumption in Switzerland is around 4’200 liters per day per person. However, daily consumption within Switzerland accounts for only about 756 liters. A large part of the Swiss water footprint is not created locally, but externally, i.e. “virtually”, through the import of goods from regions where water consumption may contribute to far-reaching impacts on the ecosystem.
At 81%, the production and consumption of agricultural products account for the main share of Switzerlands water footprint. Source: 2012, WWF Switzerland
Agriculture as the culprit?
About 70% of total agricultural water consumption is used for agricultural irrigation. Due to the accumulation of longer dry periods and in times of scarce resources, the use of water for agricultural products is becoming an increasingly important issue.
The worldwide trend is showing that water consumption has increased almost twice as much as the population. However, it is not only the quantity but also the local conditions that are important. Is the resource water sustainably managed or overused? This is shown by the assessment of water consumption with the AWARE indicator. This indicator describes the relatively available water remaining in a water catchment area after the demand of people as well as aquatic ecosystems have been met.
More than drinking water
Whether as drinking water, process water, as a component of cleaning processes or an ingredient in a wide variety of products – water is omnipresent in our everyday lives. Industrial wastewater should also be considered a valuable resource.
We would be happy to support you with:
Evaluation of parameters of water footprint for food, textiles and consumer goods
Key figures on water consumption in companies, production and processing
Identifying optimization potential and consequential measures to save water in production and processing
Perform hot-spot analysis of water footprint and find risks in the supply chain
Benefit/effort analysis of the environmental impacts of different wastewater treatment technologies for industrial wastewater
Support in the development of sustainable solutions
Carbotech AG has sound expertise in the food industry, chemical and pharmaceutical industry, textile processing, steel production and processing as well as municipal wastewater treatment and drinking water treatment.
