Overview
The ÖBU has in the spring of 2001 - in response to the rejection of the environmental tax by the fall of 2000 - together with member companies and various federal agencies established a platform that promotes proactive climate protection measures for companies: the Carbon Creative Partnerships (CCP). The CCP sparked a variety of pleasurable, creative, voluntary-based projects that reduce CO2 emissions.
The response to a call to the ÖBU among the member companies to get involved in a CCP project was pleasingly positive. Eleven project proposals from seven companies were assessed. Chosen Creative Carbon Partners were: BAER, Greenergy, Green plant, Hunziker, Knecht & Müller, Migros, Mobility, Switzerland Petroleum Association, SILVACONSULT, Swiss Re and the Federal Office for Spatial Development, Energy, Environment, Forests and Landscape and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
The main aim of this activity is to promote, generate and analyse impacts of company-based measures to decrease emissions of CO2 and their contribution to climate change.
A platform for supporting companies to provide voluntary-based projects that reduce CO2 emissions was established and their impacts on climate change were monitored and analysed in cooperation with the respective companies.
Funding
Results
The following projects were supported and analysed:
We step on the gas (Hunziker + Co): In October 2000, Hunziker & Co. organized a large corporate event with about 220 visitors in a CO2 neutral way. The heating of the hall, transport of materials and people and the food, all of which had been procured from the local area, resulted in savings of 13.75 tons of CO2 emissions. Future Forests, a British organization that provides forest carbon sequestration projects, helped with compensation of CO2 of the event, when using the amount of CHF 247 and planted trees (one tree for CHF 13); this total amount was only a fraction of the total cost of the event.
CO2-efficient (or neutral) trips (Mobility Car Sharing): The Mobility fleet of cars consumes 37 percent less fuel than the Swiss average car fleet. Eco-efficient models such as the VW Lupo are in the acquisition but significantly more expensive than comparable small car models. When a part of purchase costs would be subsidised, the eco-efficient cars could become competitive. One of the possible tools how to subsidise the process can be a voluntary CO2 tax charged from mobility users.
Kyoto Diesel (Greenergy Conti AG): Greenergy produces a sulphur-free, low particulate diesel, which is primarily used by transport companies and other business customers. Since the combustion of diesel fuel emits carbon dioxide, an optimisation can be made only indirectly: The customers can relieve the CO2 footprint through the purchase of CO2 certificates via Greenergy. According to the CO2 Law resp. Kyoto Treaty, there is an obligation to decrease CO2 emissions by eight per cent in Switzerland.
Pass-through of costs for use of renewable energies (Knecht & Müller): The production of spectacle lenses comprises several very energy-intensive processes. In the European electricity mix, only an insignificant share of thermal power plants are based. Due to the consistent respect of electricity from renewable sources, these emissions can be prevented. The operation costs of conversion will reach over CHF 60,000 annually, which means almost 50 cents per glasses. The pass-through of costs to the final customers will be coupled with an information campaign in the opticians' shops.
CO2-neutral road surfaces (Käst
Innovation aspects
Models and measurements of decreasing the CO2 production in various transport areas.
Policy implications
Possibilities to decrease CO2 emissions to reach the targets settled by the Kyoto Treaty.