Environmental consulting by area of expertise

Our way of living and the associated consumption of resources contribute up to 20% to our personal environmental footprint. This connection illustrates the great importance of concepts such as the 2000-watt society or the SIA efficiency path for setting and assessing the achievement of the goals of resource efficiency, combating climate change and towards sustainable construction. But how can we achieve the efficiency goals for construction and housing associated with both concepts?

The potential for ecological optimisation in construction and housing is high. With the help of life cycle assessments, we can support you in evaluating, for example, the environmental impact of different building materials, heating options, building options or building elements. Optimisations in the area of operation and energy consumption can also be revealed through this type of analysis. The development of lacking basic life cycle assessments that allow an inclusion in the KBOB database or even a simple development of an environmental product declaration (EPD) are a starting point.

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 also with innovative tools such as the fuzzy set theory. In consulting, we use synergies with our pollutant consulting department, which also contributes valuable expertise, especially when it comes to practical implementation, such as building checks, indoor air measurements or construction monitoring.

A special interest of ours is the support of our clients in “climate-positive building”, the definition of decision criteria for a tender and the implementation of measures to achieve the goals of the 2000-watt society or the SIA efficiency path.

Digitization

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.

Events such as theatre performances, festivals, concerts, sporting events, conferences, business meetings and gatherings are an integral part of our everyday lives and social fabric. Making these events sustainable is a crucial part of designing a sustainable future. From an environmental point of view, mobility (travel to and from events) and catering are the most important aspects. Waste, due to its high visibility, is a frequently discussed issue as well. The area of social sustainability at events includes topics such as inclusion, diversity, fair wages, safety, participation, equity and accessibility. Economically, sustainable events can support local businesses or spark useful investments in sustainable infrastructure.

Increasingly, audiences are expecting events to align with a sustainable lifestyle. Event organizers who share these expectations are looking for sustainable event solutions and a strategy to communicate their commitment. We support you in developing a sustainable strategy for your event or your organisation and support you in communicating your sustainability commitment in a way that reaches your target group. Access to vast audiences makes events a key player in spreading the word about sustainable behavior.

Together with the association Vert le Futur, our experienced team works towards a sustainable culture and event industry fit for the future.

Agricultural products contribute more than a third to our environmental footprint. Thanks to several environmental studies in the field of renewable raw materials (NaWaRo) and food we have a broad experience and know the environmental problems associated with it. Between the poles of land use, production intensity, water scarcity, working conditions and food waste, small optimizations also have a great leverage effect. For your problems and questions we use the most effective method from our experience.

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.

Sorry, this entry is only available in German.

Als Experten können wir Sie im Bereich Ressourceneffizienz unterstützen. Unsere Beratungsarbeit in der Schweiz wird dabei vom Bundesamt für Umwelt BAFU über das Netzwerk Ressourceneffizienz (siehe www.reffnet.ch) finanziell unterstützt. Das BAFU möchte die Umsetzung von Ressourceneffizienzmassnahmen in der Industrie steigern. Interessant sind deshalb laufende und neue Projekte und Vorhaben, welche darauf fokussieren, Material- und Energieeinsatz und somit auch die Kostenstruktur zu verbessern. Insbesondere bei den KMUs, dem Rückgrat der Schweizer Wirtschaft, sind grosse Effizienzpotentiale vorhanden. Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass Unternehmen ihre Ressourceneffizienz innerhalb von zehn Jahren um 25-30 Prozent verbessern können.

Unsere Expertenleistung wird vom BAFU mit einem Auftragsumfang von  5 Manntagen finanziell unterstützt. Aufgrund unserer Erfahrung kann mit diesem Arbeitsumfang schon viel erreicht werden: Wenn man zum richtigen Zeitpunkt in der Produktentwicklung, in der Beschaffung oder beim Optimieren der Produktionsprozesse Verbesserungsmassnahmen erkennt und die richtigen Massnahmen festlegt, kann einiges an Umweltressourcen und meistens auch an Geld eingespart werden sowie die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit erhöht werden. Hier möchten wir interessierte Firmen unterstützen.

Dank professioneller Beratung direkt vor Ort und erprobten Tools wie der Potentialanalyse oder BasicLCA können wir Ihre Effizienzpotentiale rasch erfassen und realisieren. Dabei analysieren wir zuerst die vorhandenen Potentiale, berechnen die ökologisch-ökonomische Wirtschaftlichkeit und priorisieren zusammen mit Ihnen die wichtigsten Massnahmen. Nach erfolgter Umsetzung erhalten Sie eine Zusammenstellung der erzielten Umweltwirkung.

Ihr Nutzen:

• Gesteigerte Wettbewerbsfähigkeit
• Effizienzgewinne und tiefere Materialkosten
• Geringere Abhängigkeit von volatilen Rohstoffpreisen
• Zugang zu vergünstigter Beratung und Know-How

Was bieten wir im Zusammenhang mit Reffnet.ch:

• Identifikation von Effizienzsteigerungspotenzialen
• Erstellung von Massnahmenplänen und Begleitung von deren Umsetzung
• Professionelle Beratung
• Erfassung der Umweltwirkung der umgesetzten Massnahmen als Grundlage für z.B. Ihre Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung

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.