Three SMEs act for climate protection
Did you know that coffee ground can be made into a plastic substitute? Or that raw earth formerly considered waste from constructions sites can be pressed into building blocks? Did you ever wish for your office to be closer to your home? The Swiss Climate Foundation uses taxes levied on CO2 emissions to provide funding for innovative projects. Many projects are thought leaders in their field with an enormous potential in saving energy and CO2.
Bioplastics from biowaste | Organic waste can be used to create "biocomposites", a suitable substitute to petroleum-based plastics. In fact, almost all cellulosic materials can be processed. For example, cereal husks can be made into packaging and hazelnut shells can be processed into electrical boxes or even furniture. Several industries use these technologies which open up new possibilities towards a circular economic system.
More about how FluidSolids produce bioplastics from organic waste
Terrablocs, walls out of local earth | Terrabloc produces brick-like blocks out of raw soil left as waste on construction sites. The blocks are pressed and dried on site, and therefore produced with minimal transport and production energy. Today, the Swiss Climate Foundation supports the development of building elements made from raw soil to replace traditional plaster boards. The CO2 emissions generated from the production of earth blocks stand for a quarter of the emissions caused by the production of plaster boards – 7 kg instead of 27 kg per square meter.
Terrablocs have a 4x lower carbon footprint than traditional plaster boards
«VillageOffice» creates workplaces in villages | By cooperating with local businesses, municipalities and real estate owners «VillageOffice» creates attractive coworking spaces, thereby reducing work commute time and engaging with the local economy. Thus, it enables and promotes a nationwide networking platform for all actors involved. Moreover, «VillageOffice» also offers coaching to set up coworking spaces.
Locally networked "VillageOffices" reduce the work commute.
Climate protection measures in SMEs | Small and medium-sized enterprises who want to develop eco-friendly products or whose operating procedures help save energy and resources can be financially supported by the Swiss Climate Foundation. Furthermore, the Swiss Climate Foundation supports SMEs that entered a voluntary energy efficiency targets agreement with an energy agency.
More about the Swiss Climate Foundation’s offers for funding SMEs
