Six "Joint Initiatives" from D-USYS approved by the ETH Board
At its meeting on 13 July, the ETH Board approved a total of ten "Joint Initiatives" on the Strategic Area of "Energy, Climate and Environmental Sustainability" and on "Engagement and Dialogue with Society". Six of them come from the Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS).
A total of six Joint Initiatives within the Strategic Area "Energy, Climate and Environmental Sustainability" are being cofinanced with a budget of around CHF 30 million. These include initiatives to develop sustainable materials using waste from food production and to promote the use of wood in the construction industry. Various other initiatives aim to find solutions for the challenges that climate change presents for ecosystems and biodiversity as well as for energy security. There are also plans to set up a Swiss centre for net zero emissions.
Approved Inititiatives submitted by members of D-USYS
In the Strategic Area "Energy, Climate and Sustainable Environment":
- Scaling-Up Wood in Construction, Jaboury Ghazoul
- Sustainable Pathways of Environmental and Energy Development towards Net Zero Switzerland (SPEED2ZERO), Reto Knutti
- Reactive nitrogen at the CLimate, Energy, Agriculture, water, and health Nexus (ReCLEAN), Lenny Winkel
In the Strategic Area "Engagement and Dialogue with Society":
- Jurapark Aargau as Real-world Lab for Sustainable Development, Christian Pohl
- Evidence-based dialogue on trade-offs in wicked societal problems (Engage), Bruno Studer
- Translational Centre in Biodiversity Conservation, Alex Widmer
Joint Initiatives on Engagement and Dialogue with Society
In the Strategic Area "Engagement and Dialogue with Society", a total of four Joint Initiatives will receive total cofinancing of around CHF 7 million from the ETH Board. This includes a platform for dialogue between science and society in order to promote mutual understanding and develop educational opportunities for researchers as part of the cooperation with civil society. Further dialogue formats are being planned, together with exhibitions on important themes such as energy and cutting greenhouse gas emissions. A real-world laboratory is being set up in conjunction with Aargau Jura Park, enabling researchers to discuss sustainability issues directly with the 32 municipalities of Jura Park so that they can work together to develop local measures and solutions. There are also plans for a national centre for the preservation of biodiversity, which will collect scientific knowledge about this topic and share it with all interested parties.
With the Joint Initiatives, the ETH Board is boosting the activities covered by the Strategic Areas of the ETH Domain, as defined in its Strategic Plan 2025–2028. The initiatives strengthen the cooperation and coordination between the institutions of the ETH Domain in relation to the selected Strategic Areas.
external page ETH Board develops Strategic Areas in the fields of sustainability and dialogue with society: Media release by ETH Board, 15 July 2022