Swiss Food and Nutrition Valley Synopsis

The SFNV aims at reflecting the dynamism of the swiss stakeholders in agro-food-nutrition and beyond. Under the SFNV umbrella, an exceptionally dense network of actors is spread along the Swiss territory. It includes multinational corporations, SMEs and startups, top notch universities, vibrant techno parks, strong supports to innovation and hyperactive specialized communities.

First, Switzerland is the home of major international companies who have set their headquarters, manufacturing facilities, R&D centers or subsidiaries to deploy their strategic activities at the center of Europe. This includes notably ADM, Amcor, Barry Callebaut, Bühler, Chiquita, DSM, Firmenich, General Mills, Givaudan, Lindt and Sprüngli, Lonza, Nestlé, Nespresso, SGS, Starbucks, Syngeta, Tetra Laval… Besides, Switzerland which is number one country for innovation, counts more than 300 startups and a plethora of SMEs focusing on high added value products.

Second, Switzerland is endowed with a high density of universities. The Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPF Lausanne) and the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH Zurich) are the 2 Swiss universities with the highest worldwide ranking (“QS World University Ranking 2020”), EPFL occupying the 14th position, whereas ETH reaches the 6th one. It is to be noted that all Swiss universities are among the top 200 universities world-wide! Interestingly, both EPFL and ETHZ include Foodtech-specific organizations such as the Integrative Food and nutrition Center (EPFL) and the World Food Systems (ETHZ).

Additional universities host food-specific research activities: the other research institutes of the ETH domain (the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), the Agroscope (Swiss center of excellence for agricultural research), the cantonal universities and the universities of applied sciences and private-public research institutions like the Centre Suisse d’électronique et de microtechnique (CSEM).

Third, Switzerland benefits from a consequent number of techno parks, incubators and accelerators, among which some have a strong focus on Foodtech. These include AgriCo, Agropole Molondin, EHL Innovation Village, PhytoArk, MassChallenge Switzerland, Biopôle, EPFL innovation Park, Nestlé R&D accelerator, CUBIC (Givaudan and Buhler accelerator), … In addition, to boost innovation forward, SFNV can boast one of the most supporting environment for startups and talents offering a wide variety of training programmes, coaching programmes and financial supports. Alongside with supports that are unrelated to a specific filed of activity (Innosuisse, Venturekick, Gebert Rüf Foundation, Foundation for Technological Innovation, DeVigier Foundation, Platinn,…), the SFNV proposes significant Foodtech specific supports such as Future of Food Programme, EIT Food, FIT-Digital by EHL…

Forth, the SFNV has shown to be an attractive environment for impactful investment. Active investors include: Blue Horizon Corporation, Hiltl AG, Good Seed Ventures, Mica Ventures, and Joyance Partners, Gurnet Point Capital, Nestlé Health Science, 4FO Ventures, Investiere, BASF Venture Capital, CapAgro, VI partners, ICOS capital management, Mahindra Partners, Agroecology Capital…

Moreover, the Swiss Foodtech ecosystem represented by the SFNV benefits from dynamic clusters and communities that act like connectors to ensure the interconnectivity and the operability between all actors. This includes Swiss Food Research, Cluster Food and Nutrition, Center of competence for Food economy, Innovaud, FoodHack, Crowd Food…

As a conclusion, because of its outstanding Foodtech infrastructures, and its highly interconnected network of research institutions and Foodtech companies, Switzerland is THE place to innovate. The SFNV proposes the best environment in the world to lead ideas and businesses to success.

200 years of innovation in food

Swiss FoodTech history starts with Cailler chocolate factory founded in 1819 by Francois-Louis Cailler, in Broc. He invented the first industrial machines that would allow to produce chocolate in large quantities, under the form of tablets. A few decades later, Rudolph Lindt refined the conching processes of cocoa to improve the taste and the texture of chocolate. He founded Lindt in 1845, near Bern.

The highly innovative Swiss environment together with the local know how in fine chemistry, pharmacy, industrial engineering and milk processing gave rise to Foodtech world leaders like Nestlé (Vevey) or Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co, who pioneered infant nutrition and condensed milk respectively in 1866 (both companies fused in 1905). Buhler a leading industrial company active in grains & food solutions was created in 1860, in Uzwil. 1895 was the year of creation of the 2 world-wide leaders in flavors and fragrances: Firmenich in Geneva and Givaudan in Zürich.

These historical, world leading companies have set the scenery for innovation in Switzerland which has never stopped since then.

N°1 hospitality management education in the world

The Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) was created in 1894, while Switzerland was experiencing a tremendous growth in touristic activities.  EHL is consistently recognized by the Industry as one of the best hospitality management schools in the world. Students, faculty and alumni are the best ambassadors of EHL’s values and commitment to excellence. Please refer to EHL website that summarizes its numerous global, individual or faculty awards and recognitions:  https://www.ehl.edu/en/rankings-and-awards

Biggest density of high-tech R&D centers from leading Food companies

Switzerland counts more than 26 R&D centers dedicated to Food technologies.

Nestlé has established a network of 11 R&D centers in Switzerland between Lausanne area, Romont and Kolonfingen (Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, Nestlé Institute of Material Sciences, Nestlé Institute of Food Safety & Analytical Sciences, Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences EPFL, Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences, Nestlé Product Technology Centre Beverage, Nestlé Product Technology Centre Professional, Nestlé System Technology Centre, Nestlé Product Technology Centre Dairy, Nestlé Product Technology Centre Nutrition, Nespresso R&D).

Buhler Groupe has 6 applications centers dedicated to food (grain, baking, chocolate, pasta, grinding,…) in its HQ in Uzwil. In addition, since 2015, Buhler Groupe operates an Innovation Satellite in the Innovation Park of the EPFL near Lausanne.

Givaudan, has set innovation and creation centers in Dübendorf, Volketswil for flavor and fragrance development. The company recently has inaugurated its new flagship Innovation Centre in Kemptthal.

Syngenta is highly active in food and agro research in Switzerland with its innovation center in Stein and its development laboratories in Münchwilen.

Barry Callebaut, headquartered in Zurich, set up an application center in chocolate research in Düberdorf. While Firmenich has inaugurated its Digital Lab (D-Lab) on the EPFL Innovation park in 2018. This autumn 2020, Lindt and Sprüngli plan to open a brand new research center in Kilchberg.

N°1 in innovation

For the ninth consecutive year, the World Intellectual Property Organization through the ranking of the Global Innovation Index (GII) has crowned Switzerland the most innovative country in the world in 2019. Switzerland is not only investing greatly in innovation, but also has a strong record in patent registrations and a high quality of local universities. Switzerland scores particularly well for innovation in knowledge and technology outputs. In the overall ranking, Switzerland is followed by Sweden, the USA, the Netherlands, the UK, Finland, Denmark, Singapore, Germany and Israel.

https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/Home

4+ Bio CHF invested in Food and AgriTech

Overall, leading Foodtech companies headquartered in Switzerland have a cumulated budget dedicated to R&D that exceed 4 Bio CHF to address the challenges that the world faces in nourishing the world in a sustainable way.
Nestlé 1.7 Bio CHF; Syngenta 1,3 Bio CHF; Givaudan 480 Mio CHF; Firmenich 330 Mio CHF; Buhler Group 150 CHF.
It is estimated that approximatively 1+ Bio CHF of this budget is spent in Switzerland.

26’000 patents held by Swiss Foodtech companies

Based on estimations from the data available at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and data provide on the companies’ websites, total approximately 26’000 active patents.

Nestlé, Tatra Laval, Syngenta, Givaudan and Firmenich hold about 6’500, 7’000, 5’500, 3’600 and 3’100 active patents respectively.

2nd most patented domain after pharma

From the data provided by the European Patent Office (EPO), Foodtech companies are largely represented in the top Swiss companies filing patents at the EPO. In 2018, Nestlé, Tetra Laval, Syngenta and Firmenich ranked among the top 25. Altogether, they filed 879 patents, while Novartis and Roche filed 956. That same year, Nestlé was 3^rd on the list just before Novartis.

More than 300 Food and AgriTech Startups

Together, Innovaud, Swiss Food Research, Food and Nutrition Cluster and Kompetenz­netzwerk Ernährungs­wirtschaft have outnumbered more than 300 innovative young companies in Switzerland active in Food and Agriculture. They innovate by developing new technologies, exploring novel business models or providing new services or products.

N°1 trading of coffee, sugar and cereals

According to the Swiss Federal department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland is one of the world’s most important commodities trading hubs. The industry, which has been experiencing rapid growth since 2002, generated annual revenues of CHF 25 billion in 2017. It is the world market leader in sugar (50% of market share), coffee (60% of market share) and grains (35% of market share).

Agropôle

Agropôle is a unique demonstration center where all the agrifood sector stakeholders, from field to plate through agri-food tech innovation, coexist.

Fields for trials and 35,000m2 of constructible industrial space: Agropôle is a campus that combines industry, service providers and innovators to accelerate the implementation of tomorrow’s sustainable food solutions.

As a real field-based ecosystem leader and market expert, the cluster accelerates the deployment of tomorrow’s sustainable food solutions by creating bridges among all the players of the agrifood sector, developing dedicated services and testing grounds for new crops or agri-food tech solutions. In 2020, Agropôle evolves and develops, with its development partner Losinger Marazzi, the construction of new buildings in order to accommodate more tenants. With the ambition of being a real high-tech and sustainable demonstrator, the Agropôle has been chosen by Bouygues Group as one of the world’s three circular economy demonstrators.

Becoming part of the Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley demonstrates how the pooling of knowledge, in Switzerland and internationally, is essential to the development of the sustainable world of tomorrow. In order to expand the agri-food tech knowledge and innovation networks, Agropôle is a collaborator of the Solar Impulse Foundation.

https://www.agropole.ch/

EHL Innovation Village

Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) launched the first business incubator for hospitality concepts and start-ups in 2009 to create a dedicated resource for the development of new hospitality and F&B concepts. The initiative was embraced by students, alumni and industry partners and it became clear that a new space was needed to house the ever-growing pool of ideas and innovators that were coming from the school and the industry.

That is why, in 2018, EHL signed an agreement with Ville de Lausanne to develop an innovation ecosystem near the EHL campus in the historical hamlet of the Quartier de l’Auberge of Chalet à Gobet. This new Innovation Village has two core missions: to support entrepreneurship and to inspire and disrupt the food & hospitality industry, and it is powered by strategic partners.

https://www.ehl.edu/en/about-ehl/innovation/the-innovation-village

FIT Digital by EHL

https://fondation-fit.ch/fitdigital/

In 2019, the Fondation pour L’Innovation Technologique (FIT) Digital and the EHL Innovation Foundation launched a tool to support:

• Start-ups that develop innovative digital solutions for the food and hospitality industries
• That are or are willing to join the EHL incubator as resident /incorporated members
• These start-ups are selected and coached by a committee and advisors from FIT Digital.

AgriCo

AGRICULTURE. NUTRITION. BIOMASS.

From research to production.

AgriCo, the Swiss Campus for Agri and Food Innovation, is a site dedicated to value creation in the sectors of agriculture, nutrition and biomass. Unique in its conception, the AgriCo site makes it possible to cover the entire range of stages involved from research to production.

Property of the Canton of Fribourg, it is the center of a strong and comprehensive ecosystem designed to foster innovation thanks to the numerous synergies between private stakeholders, institutional actors, and academic partners.

It encompasses large industrial parcels suitable for construction, as well as administrative buildings and laboratories available for rent. The site is surrounded by one million square meters of agricultural land suitable for conducting experimentation projects under real-life conditions. It is equipped to host both SMEs and larger industrial companies.

AgriCo: an attractive campus designed to facilitate the combination of efficiency and work-place well-being.

https://www.agrico.swiss/en

Biopôle

Biopôle is an innovation-oriented life sciences campus based in Lausanne, Switzerland, bringing together a strong community of industry and academic specialists. The site houses more than 90 companies and institutions, including the head offices of several multinational corporations, start-ups and clinical development teams, together with technology and service providers. It also hosts 25 world-famous research groups from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL, the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

While open to all therapeutic focuses, the Biopôle companies currently specialize in oncology, immunology, personalized medicine, digital health, nutritional health, medical robotics, bioinformatics and neurosciences.

It offers a unique combination of world-class infrastructure, a comprehensive range of services and a variety of high-quality spaces for working, innovating and engaging with other members of the life sciences community. Biopôle collaborates closely with regional and national partners. In addition, community members benefit from direct access to an established network of institutional support agencies.

www.biopole.ch 

MassChallenge/EIT Food

Since 2016 FAN Switzerland has helped 298 startups raise over 120M CHF in funding to accelerate their businesses. We have unique connections to global Food corporations actively working in our accelerator to find high potential startups to collaborate.

Our Sustainable Food Systems program focuses on startups involved in the production, distribution, packaging and disposal of food, and offers specific events and mentors dedicated to Food and Packaging. 100% of the 2019 cohort would recommend the program to fellow founders.

https://www.eitfan.eu/lausanne

Y-Parc

With more than 200 companies, 1800 employees and a surface exceeding 50 hectares, Y-PARC – Swiss Technopole is the first and the largest Swiss technological park.

Y-PARC offers complete and varied infrastructures – land for sale, space to rent, incubator –and coaching and accompanying services adapted to startups, SMEs and multinational companies with high added value. The technological park hosts all kind of companies with technological activities but outstands by its fields of expertise in cybersecurity, robotics and more recently agri-foodtech with the arrival of new startups.

This ecosystem favors the delevopment of companies and innovation in particular with the proximity of R&D institutes of the HEIG-VD, as well as with the support organizations partnering with Y-PARC

Y-PARC represents a potential of 9’000 employees and offers multiple possibilities/opportunities to extend..

www.y-parc.ch 

Nesté R&D accelerator

The Nestlé R&D Accelerator, based in Lausanne, accelerator brings together Nestlé scientists, students and start-ups to advance science and technology with the objective to accelerate the development of innovative products and systems. Internal, external or mixed teams are eligible to use dedicated hot desks at the accelerator over a defined period of time. They have access to Nestlé’s R&D expertise and infrastructure, including shared labs, kitchens, bench-scale and pilot-scale equipment. The first teams are already operational. The accelerator is part of Nestlé’s global R&D network and located at the company’s fundamental research entity Nestlé Research, which employs around 800 people in Lausanne. The initiative is being extended to other R&D sites and linked to specific business categories. 2020 Nestlé launched “Unleashed”, an accelerator program that focus on pet nutrition, health and wellness. Unleashed is a spin-off from the global acceleration program. The program aims to identify and support dynamic and creative start-ups that integrate science and technologies into innovative products and services for pets.

NestleR&DAccelerator@nestle.com

Future of Food

ETH Zurich and EPFL have launched Future Food – A Swiss Research Initiative (“Future Food Initiative”) together with Swiss food industry leaders Bühler, Givaudan and Nestlé as the first partners on board, with the possibility for additional partners to join in the near future. The goal of the initiative is to expand research and education in the area of food and nutrition sciences; the fellowship programme within the initiative aims at bringing together competences from academic and industrial research in this field. The overarching goal is to develop solutions that address grand challenges, including sustainable packaging (for example the elimination of plastics) and affordable nutrition (for example combatting deficiencies and starvation globally).

www.futurefoodinitiative.ch 

Impact Hub

The Impact Hub Switzerland association was founded in May 2019 by the five Swiss Impact Hubs with a total of seven locations in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich. The Swiss-wide community of around 2,000 members consists of entrepreneurs, creatives and techies who can now benefit from the services of the Impact Hub network throughout Switzerland as a result of the collaboration. These include coworking places, meeting rooms, events and start-up support programmes. The association’s activities focus on entrepreneurship, sustainable development, innovation and new forms of work.

The first major joint project is already running successfully: The incubation programme of the “Circular Economy Transition” (CET) initiative!

www.impacthub.ch   

PhytoArk

PhytoArk is a technology site specifically for companies whose core activity involves the commercial exploitation of natural ingredients. PhytoArk is aimed at startups, service companies and manufacturing SMEs that produce high-added-value products for the ingredients, cosmetics, food, health-food and plant-based pharmaceuticals industries.

www.phytoark.ch

EPFL Integrative Food and Nutrition Center

Our mission is to tackle the major challenges associated to food and nutrition, and maximise the positive environmental and societal impact of the science and technologies developed in the school. To this effect, we act as an interface between EPFL and the outside business actors.

https://www.epfl.ch/research/domains/nutrition-center/ 

ETH – World Food System Center

The World Food System Center was established at ETH Zurich based on the belief that the real-​world solutions needed to tackle the challenges our food system faces require collaboration from global and local stakeholders across the entire food value chain.

In order to do this, we support multi-​ and transdisciplinary approaches to addressing these challenges through research, education, and outreach activities that contribute to sustainable food and nutrition security.

https://worldfoodsystem.ethz.ch/

EHL

EHL is dedicated to supporting and driving the continued growth and innovation in the hospitality industry. Working alongside the industry to develop knowledge and address practical issues faced by today’s professionals, EHL is committed to making an active contribution to the regeneration of the industry.

https://www.ehl.edu/en/about-ehl/faculty-and-research 

Agroscope

Agroscope is the Swiss centre of excellence for agricultural research, and is affiliated with the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). Agroscope makes an important contribution to a sustainable agriculture and food sector as well as to an intact environment, thereby contributing to an improved quality of life.

https://www.agroscope.admin.ch/agroscope/en/home/about-us/agroscope.html 

Bern University of Applied Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics Department

With our competencies we support you in the generation and implementation of knowledge about nutrition and dietetics. We also support you in transferring knowledge into your research and practice environment.

https://www.bfh.ch/gesundheit/de/forschung/forschungsbereiche/ernaehrung-diaetetik/ 

CSEM – Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique

Food supply is becoming a major global issue. CSEM has entered into a strategic collaboration with Agroscope—the Swiss federal government’s agriculture, food, and environmental research organization—to ensure the optimal use of resources in the food supply chain.

https://www.csem.ch/Food 

HAFL – High School of Agronomic, Forestry and Food Sciences

Our applied research activities address the challenges currently facing agriculture, forestry and the food industry. We develop scientific and pragmatic solutions that take into account the individual needs of users of the private economy, administration and non-profit organizations. Our national and international network allows us to collaborate with research partners from all horizons.

https://www.bfh.ch/hafl/fr/ 

LIMNA – The Lausanne Integrative Metabolism and Nutrition Alliance

The Lausanne Integrative Metabolism and Nutrition Alliance, LIMNA, is a joint research initiative created by the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne (FBM-UNIL), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL), and the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV). It aims to promote research and education on metabolism, nutrition, aging and all associated diseases, such as obesity, diabetes or cancer, in Lausanne area.

http://www.limna.ch/ 

ETH – Institute of Food Science and Nutrition

The preservation of health and quality of life presents a great challenge for our society and for our health care system in particular given the demographic developments, a progressively aging population and the increasing proportion of obese persons.

https://hest.ethz.ch/en/research.html 

EIC – Engineering School Changins

We conduct R&D projects in close collaboration with the world of viticulture and oenology.

https://www.changins.ch/recherche-appliquee-et-developpement/ 

HES-SO – Valais-Wallis – Reseacrh Institute of life Technologies

The Institute of Life Technologies is part of the School of Engineering of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland Valais (HES-SO Valais-Wallis). Our activities include applied research and development (R&D), services and continuing education courses. Our partners are SMEs and multinationals from the pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics, food, cosmetic and chemical industry sectors. Our team of approx. 70 professors, scientific and technical staff members carry out a large number of research projects every year. They provide a wide range of services and consultancy that fulfil the highest quality requirements.

https://www.hevs.ch/en/rad-institutes/institute-of-life-technologies/ 

HES-SO – Vaud : HEIG-VD, Institute of Mechanical Design, Materials, and Packaging Technologies (COMATEC)

The various actors working within the Institute offer a wide range of skills, ranging from integrated and structured design methodology to mechanical and microtechnical design, including numerical modeling and analysis, the choice and characterization of materials, assembly techniques, destructive and non-destructive testing of materials, analysis of mechanical structures, as well as everything related to packing and packaging.

https://heig-vd.ch/rad/instituts/comatec 

HES-SO – Geneva : Earth-Nature-Environment Institute

The research activities of the Terre-Nature-Environnement institute are developed in the fields of agronomy and nature management.

https://www.hesge.ch/hepia/rad/intne 

FIBL – Research Institute of Organic Agriculture

The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) is one of the world’s leading research and information centers for organic agriculture. The close links between different fields of research and the rapid transfer of knowledge from research to advisory work and agricultural practice are FiBL’s strengths. The competence of FiBL Switzerland is also sought after beyond the Swiss borders. Thus, FiBL is involved in numerous international projects – not only in research, consultancy and training but also in development cooperation.

https://www.fibl.org/en/locations/switzerland/about-us-ch.html 

SCAUT – Swiss Center of Applied Underground Technology

Urbanisation is a global trend. The spread of urbanisation increases the pressure for space on the surface, and useful space is used uneconomically or for high-emission activities. The third dimension, the underground, must be used more and with greater focus. Underground industrial solutions with automatic goods and passenger transport systems, high-security data centres, low-emission treatment plants, vibration-free precision production facilities, greenhouses with a stable climate, etc.

https://www.scaut-association.com/en/Use-Concept-Studies/Category/Use-Concept-Studies/Underground-Green-Farming 

SIB – Swiss Institue of Bioinformatics

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics is an academic not-for-profit organization whose mission is to lead and coordinate the field of bioinformatics in Switzerland. Its data science experts join forces to advance biological and medical research and enhance health.

https://www.sib.swiss/ 

University of Fribourg, Departement of Biology

The Department of Biology in University of Fribourg – Switzerland – has a strong commitment to provide an outstanding research environment in life sciences with strong dedication for excellent teaching. We aim to equip our students with the best knowledge to cope with the current global challenges.

https://www3.unifr.ch/bio/en/ 

WBZW – Weinbauzentrum Wädenswil

Swiss-German center of competence for vines and wine

http://weinbauzentrum.ch/de 

ZHAW – Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Department of Life Sciences & Facility Management, Wädenswil

We observe all developments relevant to food in society, the economy, technology and nature. We focus on ‘managing the making of better food and beverages’ in teaching, research, further education and services – in close cooperation with companies, institutions and authorities.

https://www.zhaw.ch/en/lsfm/institutes-centres/ilgi/ 

WSL – The Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research

The Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL deals with the use and protection of natural and urban environments. It offers contributions and solutions for the responsible management of landscapes and forests and for protection against natural hazards typical of mountainous regions. Internationally, the WSL is at the forefront of research and is developing the foundations for a sustainable environmental policy in Switzerland.

https://www.wsl.ch/fr/a-propos-du-wsl.html 

PSI – The Paul Scherrer Institute

The Paul Scherrer Institute, PSI, is the largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences within Switzerland. We perform world-class research in three main subject areas: Matter and Material; Energy and the Environment; and Human Health. By conducting fundamental and applied research, we work on long-term solutions for major challenges facing society, industry and science.

https://www.psi.ch/en 

EMPA – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research

Materials and Technologies for a Sustainable Future. Our vision is as simple and straight-forward as it is bold and ambitious. It is a beacon of sorts that shows us where we ought to be heading and what we should strive for. It serves as a gold standard for many if not all our activities.

To cope with the manifold challenges that loom ahead, it will be crucial to deliver sustainable and resilient solutions with the help of science and technology. At Empa, we are taking on the task of developing and sketching out paths into a livable future for the coming generations.

https://www.empa.ch/web/empa/ 

Eawag – Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology

Sustainable water management means that sufficient clean water is available when and where it is needed – for example in the form of drinking water, for food production or sanitation purposes. It also means that available resources are not over-exploited, the integrity of ecosystems is protected, the costs are affordable to society, and the system as a whole is able to respond flexibly to challenges whilst at the same time having inherent stability. That is the ideal. The reality is somewhat different in many places: sanitation problems in emerging economies and developing countries, pollution from ever-increasing numbers of problematic substances, conflicts of interest between individual water sectors, and the loss of important nutrients from regional cycles are just a few examples. Eawag’s research addresses these challenges.

https://www.eawag.ch/fr/