ceo magazine energy 1/2015

ceoThe magazine for decision makers

June 2015

Energy

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The next issue of “ceo” will appear in November 2015 and focus on the topic of “Africa”.

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Have you had your power nap today?*

Publisher: PwC Switzerland, Birchstrasse 160, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland

Layout: PwC Switzerland, Melanie Wettstein, Birchstrasse 160, 8050 Zurich, Schweiz

Lithography/print: Linkgroup, Mühlebachstrasse 52, 8008 Zurich

© 2015 PricewaterhouseCoopers AG. All rights reserved.

The opinions expressed by the interview-ees may vary with those of the publisher.

This issue of our “ceo” magazine is available in German, French and English. Circulation: 18,000.

An energy- packed magazine

Sustainability is an important topic at PwC. So when it comes to publishing our “ceo” magazine, we make sure that the printing and shipment processes are accomplished in the most energy-efficient, environmentally friendly way possible.

For that reason, the magazine you hold in your hands right now has been:

• printed on FSC-certified recycling paper;

• produced with energy-efficiency in mind: this magazine came to life at Switzerland’s first and to date only MINIGERIE® printing plant, Druckerei Linkgroup (linkgroup.ch) – the greenhouse gases generated throughout the production chain are offset via certified projects, for example through the financing of a wind power station;

• wrapped in environmentally friendly packaging: the protective plastic foil can be disposed of without damaging the environment;

• dispatched in a climate-neutral way – as attested by the Swiss Postal Service’s “pro clima” label: international as well as domestic compensation projects gain support from this programme.

* How an energy-efficient household works, man can also learn from animals – like the sloth. This South American mammal is a very efficient creature, not only because it moves and eats very slowly, but also because it digests food much slower than man does.


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Have you already tanked up on energy today? With your morning coffee or a power nap after lunch? By pumping iron in the fitness room, pumping petrol at the local service station or pumping your legs on an evening jog? Energy – in both a literal and figurative sense – influences our life in many ways.

At the global level, the topic of energy has long since taken on the status of a world-wide megatrend: expressed in a nutshell, “climate change and the scarcity of natural resources”. The mean sea level is on the rise and extreme weather conditions have become more frequent across the globe. Climate change is a reality. To illustrate: in 2030, 8.3 billion people will inhabit our planet, the demand for energy will be 50 per cent higher than today, we’ll need 40 per cent more potable water, and the supply of foodstuffs will have to increase by 35 per cent. The task of governments and leaders in the real economy will be to safeguard these indispensable yet finite resources by providing incentives for sustainable business activities and through the advocacy of creative technologies.

Energy plays a central role not just as a global megatrend, but also for each and every individual. We at PwC acknowledge that fact and are addressing it with our “Energy to grow your own way” campaign. In connection with this programme, we have created an environ-ment that enables our employees to top up their energy level whenever and in whichever form they so desire – even during hectic times. Because only when our people have sufficient energy for everything that’s important to them – both professionally and personally – can they do their best at work, on behalf of our clients, and during their leisure time. The pro-gramme offers a wide range of energising opportunities: our employees can participate in on-site meditation or yoga classes, enjoy healthy meals at the “PwC Inn” restaurant, take their choice from a balanced array of snacks in our lounges, as well as benefit from R&R zones and flexible working hours.

This issue of “ceo” is devoted to energy and its various aspects. You can look forward to reading interviews with and articles about fascinating personalities from the world of politics, business, education and gastronomy: from Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard to the management team of running shoe manufacturer On, to Switzerland’s Cook of the Year, and even a former snowboard pro who today is a sports mental coach. For each of them, energy in one form or another is high on their daily docket.

I hope you gain interesting insights and lots of positive energy from these colourful stories!

Urs Honegger

Urs Honegger CEO PwC Switzerland

Editorial

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PwC’s energy expert Marc Schmidli is convinced: The energy supply businesses of the future will have little, if any, similarity with the utility companies we know today. To remain competitive over the long run, these companies will need to devise new business models.

So how will the energy com-pany of tomorrow look? The archetypical energy supply company of today will no longer exist decades from now. Those that survive will have developed new business models and redefined themselves, at least to a certain extent.

To master this transformation successfully, the utilities and their employees need to go with the flow. They need to alter their mindset, without losing focus on their existing business. The competition isn’t sleeping: many new market entrants are discovering their own niche in the energy industry. In particu-lar, competitors from other commercial areas such as telecommunications and retail sales will bring about change in the energy sector by using modern distribution channels to sell new products and new approaches to end-users.

Which renewable energy sources have a realistic chance of gaining a foothold in the Swiss energy market? Historically, hydroelectric power has played a key role in Swiss electric power generation. This leading position will remain in the years ahead, but the possibil-ities for expanding capacity are limited.

As to the more modern renewa-ble sources, I see the greatest opportunities in wind and solar energy. Energy from biomass is also quite promising.

However, it’s difficult at present to estimate the ultimate poten-tial of these newcomers, given that the future of renewable energy sources also depends on other factors – especially political ones connected to the Energy Strategy 2050. In the exploitation of renewable energy, it’s important to bear in mind that the related decentrali-sation of power generation involves significant investments, above all in the distribution grid infrastructure.

What gives you energy? I try to integrate into my daily routine a combination of physical activity, relaxation and time with my family. Added energy comes from balanced nutrition. I’m in the fortunate position of having a motivated team of colleagues at work. Each day, we work with fascinating projects in a dynamic environ-ment – and for me, that’s an important supercharger for my batteries.

An industry in a state of flux

Marc Schmidli PwC energy expert [email protected] ch.linkedin.com/in/marcschmidli

Current PwC studies on the topic of energy:

The road ahead – Gaining momentum from energy transformation

Power & Renew-ables Deals – 2014 outlook and 2013 review

Energy transfor-mation: The impact on the power sector business model

The above studies can be accessed at pwc.ch/energy

What do you perceive as the greatest challenges for the energy sector in the next ten to twenty years?The energy industry throughout the world is in the midst of a transformation process. The causes of the far-reaching changes we’ve witnessed in recent years can be found in today’s prevailing megatrends; for example, new technologies, climate change, demographics and urbanisation. What’s more, customers are changing their behaviour. When it comes to choosing their energy supplier today’s customers are attaching greater value to non-monetary aspects like sustainability. At the same time, alternative distribu-tion channels are cropping up – social media comes to mind. New competitors are encroach-ing on the market and making things tough for existing energy providers.

All these changes have an impact on the overall market environ-ment. For energy companies, this means they must fundamen-tally revamp their business models across the entire value chain in order to remain competitive.


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06 Doris Leuthardhas high hopes for the “Energy Transition”.

30 Nina Vetterli-Tremlputs the pedal to the metal – in cars and on stage.

50 Ruedi Noserstresses positive stress.

14 Michael Kaufmannmerges music with energy.

34 Suzanne Thomais betting on renewable energy sources.

52 Tanja Granditscooks at the highest level.

18 Thomas Blindenbacherhas a vision.

38 René Estermannoffsets our CO2 emissions.

56 Alfred Beerlitalks about his PET fashions.

10 Olivier Bernhardoffers runners a "Wow!" experience.

42 Gerry Hofstetterilluminates the world.

60 Claudia Sauter and Michaela Christian Gartmannbring energy to everyday office life.

24 Alex Rübelknows what humans can learn from nature.

48 Cla Moscagets the flow going.

22 Markus Portmannhas built a house that supplies its own energy.

64 SurveyWhat gives you personal energy?


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Text: editorial staff “ceo” Images: Markus Bertschi

Toward a turnaround

Ms Leuthard, in your position as Federal Councillor, you’ve opted for an electric battery-powered Tesla S85 as your state limousine. What has been your experi-ence with it thus far?I can only recommend it! Of course you need to adapt your driving style, because a noiseless car requires heightened alertness. But travelling in a Tesla is extraordinarily relaxing. For me, the technology was the main reason for my decision, plus the fact that I would be on the road in a CO2-neutral vehicle.

What role does technological progress play in the effort to conserve energy?It’s extremely important. The average Swiss household spends 930 francs each year on electricity. That outlay is relatively small, which is why we tend to consume electric power without a second thought. Therefore, a sustainable reduction in energy consump-tion will have to be driven by technological progress. The automobile industry has demonstrated that significant reductions are possible, and the same applies to household appliances and lighting. The way I see it, fostering technological progress is a better approach than forbidding or capping consumption.

Which technological developments do you expect will make the biggest difference?The storage of energy poses one of the greatest challenges. For inconsistent sources such as wind or solar radiation there is a wide cleft between production and need. If we can achieve a breakthrough in storage capabilities, the problem would be solved for many countries. For that reason, one of our seven competence centres for research and development devotes its efforts entirely to energy storage.

Considerable energy savings are neces-sary to accomplish the energy transition as resolved by the Federal Council. What measures will make that possible?Today, Switzerland imports roughly 80 per cent of the energy it needs; fossil fuels account for the lion’s share. Reduced consumption should be quite possible in this area – thanks to more efficient engines, lighter vehicles and our well-developed public transport system. Reducing energy consumption in existing buildings will be the more difficult task: the pace of renovation work is still too slow. On the other hand, overall power consumption will continue to increase, due in part to the ever-growing population.

Oil and gas are steadily being replaced by electric power. At the same time, a phase-out of nuclear energy is envisaged. Don’t you fear a supply crunch?

Energy Minister Doris Leuthard places great hope in technological progress for mastering the energy transition. But it will also take a shared awareness by Swiss

citizens and businesses that a change is necessary. She has no fear of an energy supply shortage – but people need to take a step outside of the national perspective.

For years, people have worried about a potential electricity shortfall. The fact is, today we have an oversupply of electric power. We need to take a step outside of the national perspective. In general, no one expects to see a supply shortage of oil, gas or other resources anytime soon. Otherwise, in light of Switzerland’s 80 per cent import level, we’d already have tremendous concerns today. There’s a worldwide market for energy, and Switzerland has access to it. So the security of supply is given, and there’s no difference when it comes to electric power.

But won’t Switzerland’s dependency on foreign countries increase?No. With our proposed measures, energy imports will fall from 80 per cent to below 60 per cent by 2035, even though we expect to see a slight increase in the amount of electricity we import. You need to take a look at the bigger picture. In terms of electricity, our level of domestic power generation will probably ease from today’s 90 per cent to something like 85 to 80 per cent, depending on price developments.

Businesses doubt whether it’s possible for them to cope with the energy transition. How do you respond to that?The cost of electricity for end-users consists of several components. More than half of the total is attributable to network charges. The grid providers represent a natural monopoly,


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“We need to take a step outside the national

perspective. In general, no one expects to see a supply shortage of oil, gas or other resources

anytime soon.”

Doris Leuthard Energy Minister


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“We can’t simply tear down vintage buildings,

despite the fact that they’ll never reach the

highest standard in terms of energy consumption.”

and they earn good money. That price has increased in recent years. Moreover, the grid providers are obliged to maintain energy reserves. The related procurement expendi-tures account for only 40 per cent of the electricity costs, and they’ve decreased continuously in recent years due to height-ened competition. That applies to industrial electric power just as much as it does to household electricity. For the latter, we pay something like 20 centimes per kilowatt hour; in Germany, the price is roughly 29 cents. As to industrial electric power, the cost in Switzerland is close to the European mean as many European states artificially lower the price of that electricity. What’s more, today many large companies can gain exemption from the grid surcharge. None-theless, we intend to cap the production incentive at a maximum of 2.3 centimes/kWh.

And this in addition to the fact that many domestic manufacturers are already suffering under the strong franc?Power-intensive companies are exempted from the grid surcharge. In addition, large customers who consume more than 100

megawatts per year are free to cover their needs in the open market and at present can procure electricity in the EU for all of 4 cents. This applies to about 50 per cent of the domestic market. A sizeable SME that doesn’t quite meet that criterion currently pays roughly 27,000 francs a year for electricity. But providers’ prices vary by up to 40 per cent. In 2014, the costs did actually increase by roughly 500 francs, and that’s not an insignificant amount. But there are probably a number of other expense items that have a

much greater impact on the books. At the same time, we should not forget that we import 20 billion francs’ worth of fossil fuels per year, yet the price of crude oil has halved within a one year period. That represents savings of some 5 billion francs.

The Energy Strategy 2050 seeks a reduc-tion of energy consumption to 2,000 watts per person. How do you picture the 2,000-watt society in Switzerland at that point in time?This is a matter of a vision, and we’re still far away from realising it. But it’s important to set long-term, ambitious goals. No one knows how things will be in 35 years’ time. But one thing is certain: we can’t just carry on as before. Our planet’s resources won’t allow it. So it takes total awareness on the part of individuals and businesses that changes are necessary. Technological progress will help us along the way.

What potential do you see in the energy remediation of older buildings in Switzer-land?Many new structures already meet the Minergie-Plus standard and generate more

Doris LeuthardFederal Councilwoman Doris Leuthard (*1963) heads Switzer-land’s Department for Environ-ment, Transport, Energy and Communications (UVEK). She has more than 1900 federal employees under her purview. Before changing to UVEK in 2010, Ms Leuthard was head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs. An attorney and registered resident of the Canton of Aargau, she was elected to the National Council in 1999 and as of 2004 presided over the Christian Democratic People’s Party of Switzerland until her ascendancy to the Federal Council.


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Doris Leuthard Energy Minister

energy than they consume. They also don’t cost much more than a conventional dwell-ing. With new building materials and the use of smart grids, additional savings can be achieved. The vintage buildings are of concern to us, though. We can’t simply tear them down, despite the fact that they’ll never reach the highest standard in terms of energy consumption. For their renovation, the building programme is in place and the cantons have developed their own building standards. Also, reconstructing the original should be possible in many cases. But it will take quite some time until the desired effect is noticeable.

You’re counting on renewable energy sources, hydroelectric power being one of them. Given the low price of electricity, it makes no economic sense to build new plants at present. How do you, neverthe-less, want to achieve your goal?We have time. The distortions in the Euro-pean electricity market will even out at some point. It’s true that hydroelectric power plant operators are in an extremely difficult position right now. They produce at costs that exceed the European price for electric-ity. In the same vein, the question arises as to whether we should loosen the subsidy purse strings – after the four decades during which the operators generated handsome profits? I’m of the opinion that this is not a matter for the state.

But there are no investments being made right now.We’re convinced that hydroelectric power is an important resource for Switzerland – a pearl in fact – even though it’s in rough shape right now. For that reason, I can fully endorse the Federal Council’s proposal to support new construction and larger renovation projects. Those who invest in a power plant do so with a time horizon of 60 to 100 years. Opting not to invest would be just as wrong as subsidies. As soon as the European economy gets back on track, the demand and hence the prices will pick up again, thereby rapidly restoring the competitiveness of hydroelectric power.

Since the beginning of the year, the EU’s internal electricity market is officially in place. However, the electric power agreement between Switzerland and the EU has yet to be signed. What do you expect the consequences will be?We haven’t achieved a breakthrough thus far. The institutional issues are still up in the air. An added burden is the 9 February 2014 “Yes” to the mass immigration initiative. If no agreement were to be reached, it would mean that we can continue to buy electricity in the EU, but under less favourable condi-tions. For large-scale users accustomed to buying their electricity directly in the open market, this would pose a competitive disadvantage.

With the north/south link and the proven reliability of its grid, Switzerland holds two trump cards. Can’t you play them?Naturally we’re doing that. Today, a good 16 per cent of the European electricity stream flows through Switzerland’s high-voltage network operated by Swissgrid. We make a considerable contribution to the stability of Europe’s power grid.

Switzerland’s transport infrastructure is also overloaded. How do you want to ease that situation?As to public transport, last year we laid the political groundwork for the necessary investments through the adoption of “FABI” (see box). Based on the same concept, we’ve now submitted to parliament the proposal for motorways. It is envisaged that a fund will finance the maintenance, investments and elimination of bottlenecks.

A reduction of the commuter flows is also intended as a means of unburdening the transport infrastructure. To that end, you’ve propagated more flexible working hours and the home office concept. How have businesses reacted to those ideas?No one denies that it would be right to reduce the commuter flows. But exerting an influence on those flows is very difficult. In bygone years, we lived closer to our place of work; today, great distances can be travelled within an hour’s time. That trend will be very hard to break. We’ve eliminated false

incentives like the federal tax deduction for commuting expenses. Also, in their land-use planning, the cantons are attempting to coor-dinate their respective community and traffic policies. But one should harbour no illusions that we can get around the problem without adding to existing capacity.

When do you take advantage of the opportunity to work at home? I work everywhere, be it Bern or in the car, because I have the privilege of being chauf-feured around. In the department, we’re also flexible in this regard. For me, it’s all the same where my people choose to work, as long as they get the job done properly. There is one exception, of course: meetings. No company can get by without them.

The job of a federal councillor is very exhausting and time-intensive. How do you tank up on the energy needed to accomplish all your tasks?I’m very thankful that I have a really exciting position. And I draw a lot of energy just by doing my job. But relaxation is also very important to me. Once in a while, I intention-ally take a weekend off. In a beautiful environment, with some exercise, a delicious meal, and no rushing from one appointment to the next – that’s when I can really tank up on energy for my job.

FABIOn 9 February 2014, the Swiss people and cantons approved the Federal Resolution on the Financing and Expansion of Railway Infrastructure (FABI). As a result, a new, permanent railway infrastructure fund will be established to ensure that sufficient money is available for investment in the maintenance, operation and expansion of the Swiss railway network.


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Turn it On


Top athletes and hobby joggers alike thrill to the revolutionary foot-feel of “On” lightweight running shoes – a Swiss work of genius, of course. Former world-class athlete Olivier Bernhard, together with his colleagues David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti, puts a lot of energy into “running” this young company. After the first five years of going the distance, the trio can look back with pride on what they’ve achieved.

Olivier Bernhard On


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The whole thing started with a wink from above: Bernhard, a three-time long distance duathlon world champion and multiple Ironman winner, coincidentally met an ETH engineer who’s working on a new technology for running shoes. The two of them cobbled together, tested and produced the first prototype. The result is convincing. Soon, what once was just an idea become a plan. During the prototype phase, Olivier Bern-hard onboarded his friends David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti – the three of them knew each other from the time they spent together at a management consulting firm.

With a heap of energy and a healthy portion of enthusiasm, the trio founded Zurich-regis-tered On AG in January 2010. Their goal: using their Swiss “CloudTec” technology to garner a foothold in the global market for running shoes. This 17 billion dollar business is dominated today by just a handful of major players, but the pace of growth (5–10 per cent p.a.) also allows room for newbies with new ideas.

Lookin’ good at the point of saleIn its marketing efforts, On prioritises sport consultants and people who know what they’re talking about. Today, the brand is available at more than 1,500 specialised running sport retailers in 30+ countries. At trade fairs such as Ispo, the company regularly receives design and technology prizes and launches new products. Mean-while, On now employs a workforce of 60 and has established a satellite office in Portland, Oregon. The company is present with its own sales team in the key European markets of Germany, France and Great Britain. In other countries, distributors are helping to market the On sensation. And the shoes shouldn’t just feel good – they also have to look good at the point of sale. With 50 of its own shop-in-shops, On is there where the rubber meets the road.

The shoes are produced in Vietnam, a country that many sporting goods manufac-turers rely on not just out of cost considera-tions: it’s the hub of know-how and the supplier industry, and On’s partners are high-quality producers. The company drives the further development of materials and its globally patented shoe-sole technology through collaboration with specialists at the ETH in Zurich and the University of Calgary’s Human Performance Labs. While conven-tional running shoes are either soft-and-slow or hard-and-fast, On’s Cloud shoes are at once soft and fast. The patented CloudTec system converts running energy into forward movement.

Bernhard asserts that purchasing a running shoe is an emotional thing not just for top athletes: “As a runner, when you slip into an On shoe you immediately feel the differ-ence.” Also for his team, everything revolves around that special feel. As an equaliser, the office crew at On get together during their lunch break and jog a few laps – because they like running on Clouds.

At a much-too-small head office situated in a residential hamlet on the outskirts of Zurich, we meet for a talk with Olivier Bernhard and David Allemann. Both of them effervesce energy. They apologise for the absence of On’s third founding father, Caspar Coppetti. “He’s in Tokyo today, probably gazing at the cherry blossoms and counting the On shoes worn by joggers in Yoyogi Park,” Allemann jests. A laid-back atmosphere prevails: no individual offices; instead, long tables where a mostly young team are busily tapping away at their computers. The walls are a veritable photo gallery of footwear. “The entire team appreciates this familiar yet entirely sporty spirit,” says marketing manager Allemann.

“The first thing we hear when an athlete tries on our shoes is Wow!,” chuckles Allemann. The flat tube-like “clouds” on the soles of these running shoes cushion the forces of the down-step and provide traction for the forward thrust. That appeals to hobbyists just as much as it does to the pros. Many of them run better with Ons and swear that henceforth they’ll rely on the “Engineered in Switzerland” technology. This footwear also stands out in another way: the airy pads and luminous colours of On shoes make them a real eye-catcher.

Understanding the differenceLots of people want to try them. At dozens of running events – from Ironman on Hawaii to the Zurich Marathon just down the hill from the company’s headquarters in Zollikon – the young entrepreneurs invite passers-by to test how it feels to “Run on Clouds” (the compa-ny’s motto). Olivier Bernhard seeks closeness with his potential customers and listens to their initial impression. “We actually run a few laps with each of our new dealers; after all, they need to know the difference Ons offer in comparison to other products,” says the former top athlete.

Olivier Bernhard, David Allemann and Caspar CoppettiFormer top athlete Olivier Bernhard (*1968) chanced upon the basic idea for a revolution-ary running shoe thanks to a Swiss engineer. Subsequently, he and his friends David and Caspar mustered the courage to found an innovative company called “On”. After his career as a pro, Bernhard had worked as a coach and organisation consultant before turning his attention solely to On. Co-founder David Allemann (*1970) completed his law studies, began business life by working at Internet and advertising agencies, and went on to become a management consultant and marketing manager before devoting all of his efforts to the On project. The third member of this merry band, economist Caspar Coppetti (*1976), worked during his university years as a sport journalist, actively helped in the organisation of the Gigathlon Switzerland, and then moved to the consulting and marketing business. The trio received the 2014 Swiss Economic Award in the category “Product”.

“Purchasing a running shoe is an emotional thing not just for top athletes.”


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on-running.com

Olivier Bernhard On


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“Musicians need to know more than

notes and technique to succeed.”


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Text: Eric Johnson Images: Markus Bertschi

How do we make things last? This is one of the great questions of Western society. It very obviously applies to energy supplies. Far less obviously, but nonetheless convincingly, it also applies to the human resource of musicians. Michael Kaufmann has made a career out of conserving both.

Raising the energy bar After a patchwork career (see box) Kauf-mann took up work in the 1990s as a planning specialist. One of his projects was to help Switzerland’s Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) prepare a successor to its ‘Energy 2000’ programme. Here, in what was eventually named ‘SwissEnergy’, he found a spiritual home.

“How to manage our resources is one of the biggest questions facing the planet,” Kauf-mann notes. “It’s about energy, food, everything – it can make the difference between peace and war.” Kaufmann got so involved that in 2004 he became Vice

Michael Kaufmann Lucerne School of Music

Michael KaufmannAfter studying agricultural engineering at Zurich’s ETH in the 1970s, Michael Kauf-mann (*1954) did a variety of jobs in Bern. He organised and helped run a health-food cooperative, covered national politics as a journalist and was elected to the Cantonal Parliament. While working at the Naturaqua consultancy he began advising the Federal Office of Energy, and was the office's vice-director from 2004 to 2011. This change is also due to his reflection, that a society without fuel or nuclear power is imaginable, but never a society without music. Since then, as Dean of Lucerne School of Music, Kaufmann is more than ever able to find time for his personal passions of piano and choral conducting. Often at lunchtime he’ll slip into a practice room for a private rehearsal. “After 45 minutes I am reborn,” he enthuses. “My head is clear, I’m ready to go. It’s my best way to renew my personal energy.”

Over the past two decades Michael Kaufmann has strived for conservation in two areas that, at first glance,

seem unrelated: energy policy and musical education.

Making things last

Director of SFOE, leading SwissEnergy and the promotion of its two main themes.

The first was to pioneer Switzerland’s support of new types of renewable electric-ity. The country was and still is a large user of alpine hydropower, but a key challenge now is to encourage additional novel technologies. Kaufmann’s solution was to shepherd through government something called feed-in-tariffs. These are minimum prices (tariffs) that utility companies must pay small generators (say, windmills or solar panels) who want to feed in their excess production to the electricity grid.

For the second theme, energy efficiency, Kaufmann’s SFOE introduced a mandatory Energy Label. Although the rainbow-like markers are now seen on appliances, cars, building materials and everything in-be-tween, Kaufmann concedes that by them-selves they are not enough. “It’s really hard for politics to change people’s behaviour,” he notes. “We live in luxury, so it’s still easy for people to waste energy.”


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Right from day one, concert and stage performances are key elements in the study of music.

Whether it is with the aim of becoming a music teacher, composer, member of a philhar-monic orchestra or simply a free lance musician: learning how to read and write the notes is a must for any music student.

gently to provide a plan B and maybe even a plan C. “Musicians need to know more than notes and technique to succeed,” he points out. “How to sell, what are the markets, who is the audience, what are the prices and costs – all this needs to come into a musician’s education.”

You could call it conservation of energy. “Musicians are a resource,” he says, “just as fuels are.” And it’s a waste of that resource to put them through years of schooling, only to find that they can’t land a job. Thanks to his energetic efforts, this is less likely to happen.

After about a decade of government work, Kaufmann then decided to turn his personal energy to a topic that might sound com-pletely different.

Face the music Everyone has heard of starving artists; Kaufmann decided to do something about it. As current Rector of Lucerne School of Music, he knows how slim the chances are that any of his 550 masters’ candidates would bag a seat in a leading orchestra such as Zurich’s Tonhalle. Competition is global: in China alone, he notes, there are some hundreds-of-thousands of world-class pianists.

So while becoming a top-flight performer still remains plan A for many Lucerne students, he has steered the curriculum


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Appearing before an audience is part and parcel of music life – for instance, at the university’s on-campus jazz club.

More than 200,000 copies of sheet music, sound recordings, films and magazines can be found in the Lucerne school of Music’s library.

hslu.ch/musik

Michael Kaufmann Lucerne School of Music


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Text: Madeleine Stäubli-Roduner Images: Markus Bertschi

Mr Blindenbacher, with the rallying cry of “Fortunately it doesn’t take much”, advocates of the 2,000-watt society point out the significance of Benjamin Frank-lin’s frugality principle. Can you explain what’s actually meant here?The continuous annual energy usage by a single citizen of our planet today averages out at 2,000 watts, or 48 kilowatt-hours per day. In Switzerland, that reading lies much higher at roughly 6,000 watts per person. Yet numerous studies have shown that, at levels in excess of about 2,000 watts, the physical quality of life no longer increases appreciably despite the added energy consumption. Of course each of us defines prosperity and happiness in our own way. For that reason, the concept of a 2,000-watt society steers clear of answering for others the question of what happiness actually should constitute. I personally am convinced however that, in the pursuit of our physical well-being and personal balance, we can make do with much less energy consumption than the amount we currently use in modern society.

What fascinates you about the topic of energy?Energy plays a key role in the economy, our society, the way we spend leisure time, as well as our comfort level. But energy is also

power in another sense – the kind of power that is often abused and can lead to armed conflicts. Our society consumes energy beyond its means, with potentially severe consequences. Helping to turn this tide is a privilege, opportunity, challenge and respon-sibility all in one.

What lies at the root of your commitment?A deep appreciation of our natural resources. I’m sickened by the mere thought that one day I could be trekking with my young son across stony deserts in the Jungfrau-Aletsch area, having to explain to him what a glacier is. And even worse is the notion of handing him a barrel full of atomic waste and telling him, “Sorry, I wasn’t able to get rid of this.”

So we need to go from 6,000 down to 2,000 watts of continuous energy usage and also reduce our CO2 emission to one tonne per year, per person. How are we to accomplish this radical about-face?The 2,000-watt society is emblematic for energy efficiency, the exploitation of renewable energy sources, as well as lots of innovation – not just in terms of technologi-cal inventiveness, but also with respect to social conditions and moral values. It takes trailblazers to show that the trend reversal is economically viable and already realistic today. Switzerland has a strong set of cards in its hands for playing this innovative trail-blazer role on an international scale.

Zurich voters approved already in 2008 the anchoring of 2,000-watt goals in the municipal code. What effects has this decision had so far?Quite a lot, actually. For instance: since then, public facilities may only be built in accord-ance with the strict energy-conservation standards set by EnergieSchweiz, regardless of whether they’re construction, renovation or modernisation projects. Another example: city-owned power plants are now obliged to divest their financial interests in nuclear power plants as soon as possible.

But the vote in Zurich mainly triggered a lot of political action. Many cities and communi-ties – and even cantons – are following Zurich’s example. Meanwhile about 100 “energy cities” and 23 cantons have an-chored the 2,000-watt society concept in their municipal codes and energy usage policies.

Has the project been also embraced internationally?Yes. What once was just an ETH research project has turned into a country-wide political programme with thousands of movers and shakers; and it’s also gaining tremendous momentum outside our borders. For example, 15 cities around Lake Con-stance have launched their own energy policy programme under the slogan, “We live 2,000 watts”. We’ve also received inquiries

The 2,000-watt visionThomas Blindenbacher of the 2,000-watt society agency talks about how a far-sighted sustainability

strategy can be translated into reality.


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Thomas BlindenbacherThomas Blindenbacher (*1978) is Partner and Division Manager Sustainability at Amstein + Walthert AG in Zurich. He heads the 2,000-watt society agency at the behest of the Federal Office of Energy. Thomas Blinden-bacher lives with his partner in Zurich and has a one-year-old son.

from the USA, Austria and Singapore. The byword “2,000 watt-compatible” has become an established metaphor for the sustainable development and responsible use of energy.

What does 2,000 watt-compatibility mean in the construction field?It's already possible to construct buildings which, viewed over their entire lifecycle, generate more energy than they use. Houses like that are certainly compatible with life in a 2,000-watt society. But in assessing this 2,000 watt-compatibility dimension, one takes into account today not only the energy consumed to construct, operate and ulti-mately demolish a building, but also the mobility induced by its location.

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Thomas Blindenbacher 2,000-watt society


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Many public authorities have already endorsed the goals of the 2,000-watt

society. The 2,000-watt society agency was founded in 2010 and today has

contact points in Switzerland’s three main language regions. It is part of the

“Energiestadt” programme of EnergieSchweiz. This platform of the Swiss

Federal Office of Energy co-ordinates and supports the various players in

the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

The 2,000-watt society

1998 2100

The concept of a “2,000-watt society” was introduced in 1998 by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and has been deemed technically feasible by numerous Swiss scientists.

Its goal is the sustainable usage of energy and natural resources and their fair global appor-tionment. By the year 2100, the overall average continuous energy consumption per person in the first world should be no more than 2,000 watts (i.e. 48 kilowatt-hours per day).

Annual per capita emission of CO2: one tonne

At that level, the annual per capita emission of CO2 would be

one tonne – which, according to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), is the threshold for preventing drastic climate changes.


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It will also take investors who are not just interested in short-term gains, but who want to invest their money sustainably in new technologies.

What are the concrete measures?We posit the following principles for inclu-sion in public, business and private planning: due to their high CO2 intensity, fossil energy sources should only be used for manufactur-ing processes. For normal room heating, considerably lower temperatures suffice today thanks to improved insulation technology. The exploitation of ambient and environmental heat is enough to do the job; therefore, high-grade energy sources – in-cluding wood – should no longer be viewed as a top priority for heating purposes. Moreover, by networking the systems and to a certain extent through seasonal energy storage, closed energy cycles can be estab-lished and the overall draw on energy reduced. This minimises not only green-house gas emissions, but also the vulnerabil-ity to increases in the energy price.

What potential does the renovation of existing buildings offer?Here lies the greatest potential for energy conservation; we need to renovate Switzer-land’s entire aggregation of buildings. The first step in most cases is to give the struc-tures a “pullover” in order to minimise the energy losses. Then, with a reasonable investment of time and expense, renewable energy sources such as solar and geothermal warmth can be used to cover any added energy needs, – and, depending on the local circumstances, also residual heat or wood. Which precise combination makes the most sense ultimately depends on various factors.

What will it take at the political and institutional levels to achieve the goals of a 2,000-watt society? Politicians must pave the way for new technologies through a healthy mix of sponsorship, regulation and incentive/steering systems. However, it will also take investors who aren’t just interested in short-term gains, but who want to invest their money sustainably in new technologies. An important, indispensable contribution will certainly come from higher costs for energy.

But frankly speaking: given the cost constraints faced right now by many of the parties involved, isn’t this proposition a bit utopian?Not at all. The building programme under-way at the national level is already a first step. The government levies a surcharge on energy sources and applies that money towards compensation for those who renovate their buildings in an energy-effi-cient manner. This way, systems that lead in the socially desirable direction are being established collectively and enable future- oriented measures to be implemented at the national, cantonal and municipal levels.

Aren’t those measures too costly for the communities?No, especially not if they’re approached in a state quota-neutral way. For example, the city of Basel has had the electric power steering fee system for quite some time now. We’ve also been able to present the first labels for “Energy cities on the path towards a 2,000-watt society”. Those cities have adopted or already realised a range of selected energy-efficient measures. As a result, they’re generating added value for their residents.

What can I as an individual do to improve my energy balance?One thing is clear: the more insular the setting, the more difficult it will be to get something going.

Energy needs to have a certain price tag. Today, it’s too cheap. As long as people have no idea of how much they spend on their energy needs, it will be hard to change their habits.

But shared, self-imposed restraint as part of a greater whole could work. For me, a brilliant example of this can be seen at a number of housing cooperatives. Their rules essentially say: for those who reside with us, a living space of 35 square metres per person is sufficient. That’s a shared approach to self-restraint. If measures like that are adopted jointly and therefore not perceived as a unilateral edict but instead actually as trendy, they can be realised more success-fully. Collectively agreed sufficiency – that’s not a utopian vision.

How do you constrain yourself? In my opinion, asceticism is not the be-all and end-all. Rather, I push for conducive con-ditions and incentive systems that encourage us to be frugal, in keeping with the spirit of sustainability. Everyone should deliberate for him or herself and then decide: is a two-week holiday on Fiji – including four days in transit – really a refreshing experi-ence? Or would ten days in the Engadin actually be more relaxing? I, in any case, would go to the Engadin – by train, naturally.

And what gives you, personally, energy?Movement. Mountain air. A tall glass of dark wheat beer after an exhilarating ski tour. Friends and family.

Thomas Blindenbacher 2,000-watt society


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activity in response to the available solar energy. The system incorporates and responds to the subscribed MeteoSchweiz weather forecast. “If a sunny day lies ahead, the washing machine postpones its wash cycle from night to day,” says Portmann by way of example.

The building consists of white pine wood that was harvested from Lucerne forestlands and processed in the region. That saved a lot of grey energy thanks to the short transport route. According to Portmann, the flats are fit for the market and comparable in price to other similar projects. “It’s not a question of costs, but rather intelligent planning where everyone has to pull together,” he emphasises.

As House 2050 is now consid-ered to be a pilot and demonstra-tion project, the government covers a portion of the non- amortisable added costs that are booked as development expense. “From this project, we’re gaining added know-how and experience that we can apply in future projects,” says Portmann the practician. “The entire science of sustainability is not a self-serving endeavour; rather, it must always be viewed as a service to the populace.”


House 2050 on Kirchrainweg in Kriens fulfils very special criteria: it actually supplies energy. As a result, this Minergie A-Eco-Bau house, which was constructed in 2013, has been awarded the Watt d’Or 2014 and Hans Sauer Prize 2014. “We’re unique with our very sustainable approach, which is essentially based on increased density towards the inside of the building,” says construction supervisor Markus Portmann.

Thanks to the building’s out-standing thermal insulation and high-quality windows, the amount of energy needed for heating is low indeed and is supplied by an air-to-water heat pump. The power for that comes from a solar energy system integrated into the roof. When first applied for as a pilot and demonstration project, it was rejected by the responsible federal authority. The reason being, that the equipment envisioned for the building didn’t exist and the planned control system would be impossi-ble to set up. In fact, they were wrong: the washing machine, clothes dryer, dishwasher and heat pump are programmable in such a way that they can independently steer their

Markus Portmann (*1962) and his wife Marie-Theres built a residential property entirely in keeping with the spirit of a 2,000-watt society.

Power, homemade.The sustainable Minergie A-Bau in Kriens


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Thanks to their size and placement, the

windows shed lots of light inside.

The building consists exclusively of construc-

tion materials that consume little energy in their manufacture.

Markus Portmann e4plus

The electricity gener-ated by the rooftop solar power installation is used directly for appliances in the building.


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Alex Rübel Zurich Zoo

Animal efficiencyMan can learn from nature how to run an efficient energy household. Dr Alex Rübel should know: he’s director of the Zurich Zoo, and sus-tainability is something that’s very close to his heart – especially when it comes to the topic of energy.


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Text: Vanessa Georgoulas Images: Marc Wetli, Peter Bolliger, Jean-Luc Grossmann, Corinne Invernizzi

A tropical rainforest in the midst of chilly Switzerland? Those who visit Zurich’s famous zoo during the winter months wonder whether a project like the Masoala Rainforest makes sense from an energy standpoint, especially north of the Alps. Absolutely, according to Alex Rübel, director of the Zurich Zoo. “In terms of energy, the Masoala Rainforest is a simple project because solar rays provide practically all of the warmth it needs. We get through the year mostly without any additional heating.” This is in contrast to the older animal compounds: “They aren’t very well insulated and therefore require lots of energy. That’s one of the reasons why we built the new elephant park. The old one was a real energy-guzzler.”

But the greatest amount of energy is consumed by the aquariums, where the water needs to be maintained at precise temperatures and the pumps run constantly. Much easier to care for are the animals that have made the sprawling grounds their home: “We’re probably one of Zurich’s lushest living spaces and offer plenty of room for creatures with minimal energy needs,” Rübel is pleased to say. “Among the ‘conventional’ zoo animals, the ones that require the least energy are those which feel at home in our climate; for example, the wolves.”

Plastic enclosures for the apesSince 2010, a stand-alone department has been in charge of conserv-ing water and electric power at the Zurich Zoo. “We’re a big operation with many buildings. That’s why we created this department – to address all of the issues relating to energy.” And with some success. “To date, we’ve managed to save a lot on energy as well as water. Both are very important, given that we’re situated atop the hill here and offer potable water throughout the grounds that first needs to be pumped up the incline. That’s costly, so we do the best we can to reduce consumption,” says Alex Rübel and proudly points out: “We have a greywater plant for the toilets and we also collect rainwater. Moreover, we transport our bio waste to a bio power plant and work with geothermal energy wherever it makes sense to do so.”

The energy managers’ tasks are extensive. They also have to come up with solutions when conflicts – for instance, animal welfare issues – arise. An example: the freedom of choice of animals inhabiting 24-hour enclosures with continuous access to the outdoor areas; this potentially conflicts with the zoo’s efforts to save on energy. But the zoo director isn’t concerned: “There are many ways to resolve such conflicts. For the apes, we have plastic outside enclosures; for the elephants, a draught barrier. Sure, these measures also consume energy, but the loss is smaller.”

“As an institution, we consider ourselves to be in the nature conservation business, and for that reason we also need to be a role model in the way we deal with natural resources.”

Alex Rübel“I had no idea what to expect as a zoo director,” admits Dr Alex Rübel (*1955), who has steered the affairs of the Zurich Zoo since 1991. A veterinarian who grew up within a stone’s throw of the zoo, he was already dream-ing of working with animals at the age of five. “First I wanted to be a farmer; then I wanted to work at the zoo – even though at the time I would never have dreamed of actually becoming a zoo director,” he recalls. But no sooner said than done: in 1980, he began as an assistant at the University of Zurich’s clinic for zoo, domestic and wild animals; in 1988, he was promoted to chief assistant with lectureship. As a zoo veterinarian, he became well acquainted with the Zurich Zoo long before being named director.


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“A zoo should always have a dash of avant-gardism.”


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CO2-neutral, and committed to itThe Zurich Zoo is heated largely with wood harvested from the nearby forests. Nonetheless, the use of heating oil is unavoidable in peak periods. Alex Rübel emphasises in this regard: “But we also have high-tech systems in place to optimise consumption. Our goal at the zoo was to be CO2-neutral, and we’ve already accomplished that today. As an institution, we consider ourselves to be in the na-ture-conservation business, and for that reason we also need to be a role model in the way we deal with natural resources.”

For Alex Rübel, this also means sensitising zoo visitors to the topic of environmental protection. One way of doing so was with the “EWZ Energy and Animal” exhibition in partnership with Zurich’s electric power company; the exhibit showcased the efficient energy balance inherent in animals. “We’re also an educational institution and, together with our sponsors, want to organise meaningful activities.” A good example of this is the zoo’s collaboration with the public transport services: “We’re working to increase the number of visitors who get to us with public transportation.” In 2014, that proportion rose significantly. And among this group, 62,700 passengers trav-elled to the zoo with an SBB “Railaway ticket”.

A dash of avant-gardismAlex Rübel candidly admits that Zurich Zoo’s transition to a nature conservation centre was a Herculean task: “We not only changed our methods, but also our goals. That’s a major makeover, and it can be seen in the personnel as well as in the design of the compounds. It was a challenge that took a lot of energy. I have an advantage because I’ve occupied this post for quite some time. We take a long-term view, and for that reason we can also bring about a change of culture.”

The zoo’s new look and feel has not always been greeted with applause. “Today we have many 24-hour enclosures that are essen-tially broad landscapes. For the animals, that’s of course an advan-tage – they now have twice as much room to roam. But it took a bit more energy to convince the visitors of the benefits. ‘We can’t see the animals anymore’ was a common complaint in the early days. For sure, you need to search around and look more closely these days.”

Realising the highly-vaunted Masoala Rainforest project also took quite a lot of convincing: “At the outset, we faced some pretty harsh criticism. Many people were asking, ‘Does it really have to be so enormous?’ But yes, it had to be; otherwise, there would have been no balance in the rainforest. Some peopled called the project megalomaniacal. But a zoo should always have a dash of avant-gard-ism. You need to have a vision.”

The animals show us how Man can also learn from animals how an energy-efficient household works. Alex Rübel waxes euphoric: “The sloth is a very efficient creature, not only because it moves and eats very slowly, but also because it digests food much slower than we do. The digestive process in humans takes about one day; in a sloth, a whole month. That’s very efficient, and its success is evidenced by the numbers: of all mammals in South America, sloths constitute the largest collec-tive biomass. In other words, if you added up the body mass of all sloths there, the sum would be greater than that of all jaguars and tapirs in South America. But there are also very energy-efficient birds – for example the hummingbird, which powers-down its bodily functions by 90 per cent during the night.”

And what can man learn from animals in this regard? “In nature films, you often see antelopes standing right next to their predator rather than bounding for the bush. This only happens if the antelope senses its adversary isn’t particularly hungry right then. That’s also energy-efficient. You see, fear is always the wrong guide. It’s far more efficient to keep calm and observe. You have to figure out what actually poses a real threat.”

Zurich ZooThe Zurich Zoo was founded as a cooperative society in 1929 and converted into a joint-stock company in 1999. Perched atop the Zürichberg overlooking the city, the zoo’s 67 acres are home to more than 400 animal species. In 2014, roughly 1.42 million people visited the Zurich Zoo, with its staff of 200 employees and 280 volunteers.



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Text: Vanessa Georgoulas Images: Markus Bertschi

Ms Vetterli-Treml, privately you drive an old Porsche. Could you imagine trading it in for an energy-efficient car?Nope. But if I had the money, I’d splurge on a second set of wheels. It could even be an e-car. There are some pretty cool models out there.

What weight does the energy issue carry in the automotive industry these days?Aside from the driverless car and digital interlinkage, it’s the top topic. There’s a lot of spare change involved in paying CO2 penalties.

But the e-car market share is still negligi-ble at present...E-cars are not yet competitive. The prices are high and their limited range is a huge disadvantage, even though it has been statistically shown that the average person doesn’t drive more than 30 miles a day. But an automobile symbolises freedom, and in this regard there isn’t a sufficient network of roadside recharging stations for e-cars.

Which trends will shape the future of the market?Currently, downsizing is the thing – in other words, reduced cubics, fewer cylinders and more turbochargers. The internal-combus-tion engine is far from being obsolete.

In your view, how does the energy source of the future look?Which technology gains the upper hand, and when, is hard to say right now. Through the medium term, downsized engines will account for the lion’s share. However, electrification in the form of hybrid vehicles will make steady progress. A good alterna-tive could be natural gas powered cars; but there I see an image problem: namely, the lack of sex appeal. I find the new fuel-cell technology exciting – we’ll see what develops in that area.

When will we sit in fully automated cars?Tesla has announced for this year a car that can drive itself autonomously up to 90 per cent of the time on a given journey. In principle, the technology is already there. How long the regulatory approval process will take is something I can’t estimate at this point.

Fast and furiousNina Vetterli-Treml loves fast sports cars and

makes loud music. “For me, they have one thing in common: energy,” says the automotive journalist, whose

high-octane brain gets its kicks from trends and challenges in the automobile market as

well as from the power of music.

“E-cars are not yet competitive.”

Nina Vetterli-Treml Automotive journalist


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facebook.com/nina.vetterlitreml

As an automotive journalist and musician, you’re on the road quite a lot. How do you keep your physical and mental energy household in order?I need my seven hours of shuteye and have relatively healthy eating habits. Plus I go on frequent walks – I live right next to a forest.

Your presence on stage is remarkable – is music energy-consuming or actually a source of energy for you?Music is something that’s very emotional and by all accounts a source of energy. Only on very rare occasions is a stage appearance energy-depleting – for example, when the audience isn’t hot-blooded. Normally the opposite is the case, and the people potenti-ate that energy.

What do you consider to be a waste of energy?Thinking about what other people could think about me.

How do you recharge your batteries, day in day out?I don’t do anything special. I guess I’m like a car battery: the motor’s got to run.

“I guess I’m like a car battery: the motor’s got to run.”

Nina Vetterli-TremlFor Nina Vetterli-Treml (*1978) driving a car is both a profession and a passion. As an automotive journalist, the former ad writer today travels the world in order to test the latest sets of wheels. Each Sunday, she puts the pedal to the metal on Swiss TV’s “Tacho” telecast. Together with her father, she co-authored a book on Switzerland’s auto racing scene. In private life, her heart belongs to just one type: her 1980 Porsche 911. Driving that vaunted beast is something the South-Korea-born, Singa-pore-raised Swiss bundle of energy views as a basic need; just like her second passion, music. On stage, the singer/songwriter recharges her batteries as front vocalist and bass guitarist of the heavy metal band “69 Chambers”.

Nina Vetterli-Treml Automotive journalist


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Think pragmatically


Ms Thoma, the energy industry is com-plex. How do you keep fit in terms of your energy know-how?I try to get to the root of the various issues, and when it comes to technical questions, I focus on the essentials. By doing that, I can get a better grip on the complexity – because it’s almost impossible for me to dig deeply into all of the details.

Why is it important to you that the public also embraces the topic?The public? – They’re our customers. They take decisions, for example in the energy modernisation of their own family homes. They’re affected, at least tangentially, by infrastructure projects such as hydroelectric power plants and grid configurations. Those projects can only be realised when the public has an understanding of the whys and wherefores.

BKW Group states as one of its manage-ment principles: “The results count.” What does that mean from an entrepre-neurial standpoint?BKW is in the midst of a fundamental transformation process. We’ve been a private-sector company ever since our founding, but to a certain degree we still perceive ourselves as a public-sector com-pany. We now are faced with a substantially deregulated market and want to grow by means of fully deregulated ancillary services. This transformation involves far-reaching changes for us. That’s why today we say: in the end, the results have to be right – for our customers and for us. As a company, we need to develop further, invest and grow.

Switzerland’s federal energy policy is also aiming to bring about major changes: lower energy usage, reduced consumption of fossil fuels, greater energy efficiency. Is an energy revolution in the making?The deciding factor is whether or not a change of awareness and attitude will take place; in other words, whether or not the frugal approach to everyday energy con-sumption remains desirable even if it means personal limitations and inconveniences. This willingness on the part of the public has yet to be put to the test. Take for example a wind park that’s being proposed for a certain location – it doesn’t take long until the public outcry sets in. It’s the not-in-my-backyard mentality that rapidly supplants reason.

CEO Suzanne Thoma on the reorientation of BKW Group as an electric utility and infrastructure services provider and on the contribution the people of Switzerland can make towards the energy transition.


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Suzanne Thoma BKW


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So each route has its price.Yes. But the discussion today is still too ideologically driven and influenced much too much by particular interests. Both factors pose a threat to the energy transition. But you see, even if the energy revolution were to be called off today, nothing much would change. You’d still be unable to find investors for new nuclear power plants. The power from wind and photovoltaic sources is already on the grid in Germany and has a dominating influence on the price of electricity. So ultimately what would happen is that Switzerland would become progres-sively “powered” from abroad.

A further problem: the EU is threatening to decouple Switzerland from the Euro-pean electricity market. Can energy become a decisive issue in Switzerland’s relationship with the EU? No, I don’t think so. Brussels has of course sent a signal. But I can’t imagine the EU taking measures against us that would cut into its own flesh. From an international political standpoint, the electricity market is rather a subsidiary business.

Your trading activities take BKW into many different countries. Does energy build bridges between nations and bring people together? Energy is a unifying force as long as there is enough of it. Everyone is pleased to help themselves to the European electricity market. Nonetheless, each country is devising a strategy for what today is the unlikely event of a power supply impairment.

Is it realistic for Switzerland to strive to become as independent as possible in terms of energy production, for example by producing more hydroelectric power? We recommend a middle-of-the-road approach. Yes, we should generate as much electricity as needed to cover the “basic requirements” in an emergency scenario. But we shouldn’t need to be capable of covering each peak demand situation all on our own – that’s too expensive. For our basic needs, we’re well positioned with hydro-electric power; nuclear energy plants will have to be at least partly replaced.

You’re betting on renewable energy sources. Is the changeover to non-fossil power generation technically and finan-cially feasible? As a wealthy nation, we bear a certain responsibility when it comes to CO2 emis-sions. Technologically, the transition is doable; but financially, it has its price. The way I see it, the main problem in this debate is that players at both ends of the political spectrum are associating electric power generation with many different issues. But as I previously implied: what’s the alternative?

Given these problems, how can we achieve the targets of the Federal Council’s Energy Strategy 2050?The energy strategy encompasses a 50-year time frame. Therefore, I advocate a prag-matic route that progresses in small steps and takes ideologies out of the matter. What is actually possible, and what are the costs? To what extent can and will the populace contribute to the effort and support new projects? If something fundamentally new appears on the technology horizon, we dare not close our minds to it. In my opinion, that also applies to nuclear energy.

How does BKW Group want to position itself?We want to create a broader base for BKW. The market has changed dramatically. Our main product, electricity, today has only half the value it had five years ago. For that reason, our strategy concentrates on regulated electric power generation, smart grids and services relating to energy infrastructure. That’s where we have an immense store of know-how and can make an important contribution.

How heavily is BKW also dependent on the level of deregulation in the electric power industry?We’re less dependent on the degree than we are on the specific aspects of the liberalised market. Is the deregulation genuine, or are there still regulatory provisions in force that could make life difficult for us as a basic power provider with its own grid?


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What role does the phase-out of nuclear energy play in terms of your company?Mühleberg will be taken off the grid at the end of 2019. Due to today’s surfeit of electric power, that shutdown will not have an impact on the electricity supply. In ten to twenty years, however, the German atomic energy plants will also be off the grid. The same applies to many coal-fired power plants. At that point, Switzerland will need to address much more concretely than today the question of how to replace the power proportion attributable to Swiss nuclear reactors. Energy efficiency and improved infrastructures will help, and those are interesting business fields for BKW.

BKW wants to move away from nuclear energy and is showing companies how they can conserve energy. Both used to be part of the “leftist” agenda. Will there no longer be trench warfare between the left and right in a future energy policy?Both sides have to get over their ideological trench warfare. Without a cooperative mindset, they’ll continue to block each other and Switzerland will end up having to procure 40 per cent of its electricity from foreign countries – assuming of course that those countries can and will supply it ten to twenty years from now.

In terms of our energy supply, where will we stand in 2020?By 2020, we’ll have found a way to use renewable energy sources for power supply purposes more efficiently than today. Local, decentralised batteries will be cost-effective and thereby add to the relevance of renewa-ble energy sources such as photovoltaics.

How do you, as an individual, conserve energy?I either walk or take the tram to work. I don’t eat meat – that’s my greatest contribution to resource conservation. But naturally I frequently travel for business, so I also consume energy. However, I really don’t care about ideologies in connection with the environment; they’re dinosaurs in our globalised world. We need a basic set of values that we hold deeply – one of them could be that we bequeath the planet to our grandchildren in the same shape we’d like to find it in.

And what gives you energy on fully booked days?I rarely perceive my workdays as exhausting; I take pleasure in the entrepreneurial challenge. In private life, I care for my family and circle of friends. And I also take time for myself – at the end of the day, that gives me the most energy. By stepping away from my mobile phone, the media, the internet, and consciously settling into a state of peace.

Suzanne ThomaSuzanne Thoma (*1962) followed up her studies in chemistry at the ETH by spending twelve years at Ciba Specialty Chemicals. She held the post of CEO at Rolic Technolo-gies and subsequently headed automotive parts supplier Wicor in Rapperswil. In 2010, she joined BKW as the head of its Networks business unit. Thoma has been the CEO of BKW Group since January 2013 and is in charge of the company’s Group Control unit. 53 years of age, she is the mother of two grown-up daughters and lives in Bern.

BKW AGThis internationally active energy and infra-structure enterprise has its headquarters in Bern, employs close to 3,500 individuals, and supplies electric power to approximately one million people. BKW conducts the classical business activities of a utility company, including power generation, trading, transmis-sion and marketing. It operates the largest distribution grid in Switzerland and renders services in the area of power generation infrastructure.

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Suzanne Thoma BKW


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Do good, and offset

Text: editorial staff “ceo” Images: Marc Wetli, myclimate

This agricultural economist René Estermann estimates that he alone is accountable for five to ten tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year, albeit mainly due to his business travel. Approximately ten times that amount, i.e. 100 tonnes per year, is generated by his myclimate team in Zurich who, under the aegis of René, conduct carbon-offset projects as well as consultation and educational programmes. myclimate currently reduces 6,000 times that amount of CO2 each year thanks to its climate protection activities throughout the world. This odourless and colourless gas, a chemical combination of carbon and oxygen, is considered one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect and climate change.

myclimate, a charitable foundation whose full name is “myclimate – The Climate Protection Partnership”, came into being 13 years ago as a spin-off from ETH Zurich. It is committed worldwide to climate protection through education, consulting and the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions by means of highly effective carbon offset projects. The guiding principles behind this quest are threefold: Avoid – Reduce – Offset. “We record and calculate the CO2 emissions, assign them a value, motivate companies and private individuals to adopt in-house reduction measures, and offset the rest of their emis-sions through climate protection projects in other places,” is the way Estermann explains the basic concept, which largely relies on voluntary action. Presently, the foundation attends to thousands of customers and more than 70 climate-related projects in 30 countries worldwide.

Down-to-earth environmental protection: the greenhouse gas emissions we cause as a result of our everyday energy

consumption can be offset by sensible projects elsewhere. The myclimate foundation has firmly established this means

of CO2 compensation. CEO René Estermann put a lot of energy into realising the concept.

A climate-neutral SwitzerlandEarly on, “climate tickets” were the most familiar means of owning up to the ecological impact of one’s air travel. Today, Estermann pleads the case for a totally climate-neutral Switzerland. “Compensating – in other words, internalising – the consequent costs in the consumer price of all commercial sources of greenhouse gases is something that we in Switzerland can very well afford. In fact it actually pays off at the end of the day,” surmises the head of myclimate. Just a few centimes per kilometre of motorised travel, several francs per square metre of building space, fractions of a centime per kilowatt hour of fossil fuel energy: this would make it possible to achieve the international “two- degree” goal – meaning that global warming should be capped at a level of less than two degrees centigrade above where it stood at the beginning of the industrial age – even as it


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René Estermann myclimate


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offers interesting new markets for future technologies and the Swiss economy in general.

Estermann, born and raised in Olten, notes that environmental damage can be repaired through rigorous application of the polluter- pays principle, as exemplified by Switzer-land’s lakes and streams where people can swim again: “When I was young, the Aare was so polluted that nobody would ever have thought of swimming in it.” Today, that’s possible throughout Switzerland thanks to sewage fees and environmental measures.

Biogas stoves a great successMany of the “offset” projects initiated to date have been great successes, much to the delight of Estermann. Using the example of cli-mate-friendly stoves for India, the 42-year-old conservationist explains how the concept is implemented: myclimate sponsors the construction of small biogas reactors in southern India (near Bangalore). With cow manure as their active agent, the units produce gas that can be used much more efficiently for cooking purposes than the traditional fire pit. The end result: women no longer need to search for wood hours on end each day and in the process cause deforesta-tion; they have more time for other tasks; and their children no longer suffer from acrid plumes of smoke in the kitchens, which has triggered respiratory diseases in millions of people. “With our projects, we strive to achieve that kind of multidimensional effect: health, income, education and climate protection,” says Estermann.

Good ideas catch on Some of the foundation’s undertakings, such as the introduction of biogas stoves in India, are so successful – simply because the solution functions well and catches on like wildfire, so to speak – that Estermann needs to rein in the local officials in various countries. “Unfortu-nately, we have too little funding at present to support all sensible offset projects,” laments the CEO, who has been in charge of the foundation for nine years now. The latest readings show that myclimate compensated approximately one million tonnes of CO2 per year; voluntary offsets accounted for roughly 700,000 tonnes.

What impels Estermann the most are high-impact climate protection projects, the closely knit partnerships the foundation has with companies and institutions from various sectors, and in particular the highly motivated team at myclimate, which today has its own branch offices in Germany, Japan and Turkey and is active on-site in ten other countries. The potential is huge, according to Ester-mann: “Currently, with our educational, consulting and offset activities, we’re tackling only one-tenth of a per cent of what’s actually possible.” The man certainly has enough energy – if he had it his way, he’d offset a billion tonnes of CO2.

“With our projects, we strive to achieve multidimensional effects.”


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Currently, myclimate attends to thousands of customers and is involved in more than 70 climate-related projects in 30 countries throughout the world.

René Estermann An agricultural economist, René Estermann (*1966) has headed the myclimate founda-tion since 2006. Founded in 2002, this climate protection organisation is one of the world’s leading proponents of voluntary CO2 compensation. The myclimate business office in Zurich has a staff of 55 people. Prior to his engage-ment at myclimate, Estermann ran his own engineering and planning firm, which played a major role in Switzerland’s introduction of greenery recycling.

myclimate.org

René Estermann myclimate


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Tripping the light fantastic‘Light art’ takes image campaigns to a whole new level of energy. ‘Light artist’ Gerry Hofstetter makes them happen.


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Text: Eric Johnson Images: Marc Wetli, Frank Schwarzbach, Jonas Baumann, Mike Kessler

Mission control is an unassuming office suite that sits under a low-rise block of flats, squatted just down the lake from Zurich. There, in an office crammed with memorabilia and photos, buzzes a bundle of energy known as Gerry Hofstetter. The fifty-something, local-boy-made-good (see box) has over the past decade established a global reputation as a ‘light artist’.

Hofstetter’s metier is to project images and colours onto landmarks. These can be made by man, for instance Switzerland’s capitol building in Bern. Or they can be made by nature, for example, the side of an iceberg floating in the Arctic Ocean. Either way, the projection is on a truly massive scale, and it is meant to be under-standable to anybody. Travel, hospitality, music, the arts, the church, you name it, almost any topic can be highlighted by light and beamed out to the public. Images, Hofstetter reminds us, speak far more loudly and clearly than words.

And they can reach an awful lot of eyes. Given their very public settings, audiences for Hofstetter’s projects can be downright huge. In a 2014-15 campaign by a leading Swiss airline as culture partner, landmarks in London, Hamburg, Vienna, Barcelona, Paris and Milan were each lit up for one hour in the evening. The Hamburg spectacle of December 2014, which was centred on a harbour-side hotel, picked up tens of millions of media mentions in a period of only four days.

Step lightly Such events are chock full of dynamism – both human and inani-mate. “Light is the only visible kind of energy,” Hofstetter says, noting that it is a key element of existence. Lasers, for instance, are used in all sorts of applications, from eye-surgery to measurement of dimensions (in construction), to motion detectors that are used as control and security systems in homes, businesses and museums. The energy of light, he adds, also can mean hope. Think bright rays of sunshine, or candles in a darkened church – both are a form of artwork.

Projecting light energy calls for a lot of personal energy. In the course of an animated discussion, Hofstetter’s is completely obvious, and it takes various forms in his projects. For instance, there was the time he illuminated a European Space Agency rocket – as a first test to light up the exhaust cloud during a take-off. For protection, he had to hide the diesel generator that powers the lights in a huge trench, while his projectors squatted nearby in a blast-proof bunker. Another time, to illuminate a mountain from an airborne helicopter, the qualified chopper pilot choreographed the entire fly-by, including his own participation as a projectionist, – in the open door of the aircraft at sub-freezing temperatures, thousands of metres aloft.

Gerry Hofstetter Light artist


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Hofstetter’s projections are meant to be understandable to anybody.


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This obviously is not a job for everybody. Hofstetter’s unique qualifi-cations come from his background as an artist, investment banker, businessman, top athlete and adventurer, all of which are needed to make his projects succeed. “I’ve been able to unite all these various skills,” he notes, “under the mantle of a light artist.”

Eco-friendly, too One of the major, recurring themes of Hofstetter’s work is conserva-tion of the natural environment. His several expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic were even themed explicitly on climate change. Images were projected that raise consciousness of global warming, how it is causing polar ice caps to melt and how this in turn affects the fragile ecosystems at the top and bottom of the planet.

Compared to other methods of artistry, Hofstetter’s leaves a rela-tively small footprint. He points out that unlike some other media, light leaves no tracks. Yes, projectors and transport are needed to put them into action, but these make a relatively small environmental impact compared to the huge cerebral impact they have on the minds of the viewing public and their long-lasting photos.

Moreover, he tries to implement his events in as low-impact a way as possible. In a 2013 campaign for the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), Hofstetter and his team avoided the use of helicopters and other mechanised transport, even though their projections were taking place high up in the Alps. To a great degree, they relied on public transport, on pack animals and on their own legs – either in hiking boots or on skis. Hofstetter personally lugged loads of equipment between 38kg and 55kg on his back up the sides of mountains.

Making hiking cool The same campaign shows the subtle power of Hofstetter’s light art. In the public’s pre-imagination, SAC members are mostly hikers who wear short trousers with long red socks and stay overnight in outdated mountain quarters aptly named ‘huts’. Completely passé, right?

Wrong, according to Hofstetter’s re-imagination. He literally lit up 26 SAC huts, one for each canton, with his signature gesture – an evening light show – that made them look downright trendy. So cool, indeed, that a Swiss lifestyle magazine named the campaign the

year’s third-most important in-country event. Other media piled in with coverage, and the images ended up everywhere, over 82 million reach-outs in Switzerland within two years.

All in all, it’s the ultimate image campaign. Yes, it projects images, but it does not come off as a campaign, rather as a ‘must-see’ event. In today’s world of relentless ‘sponsored’ messaging, ‘light art’ is a great opportunity for jaded consumers just to sit back and enjoy the show. Or, in other words, to lighten up and think – outdoors, in the arms of Mother Nature.

“Light is the only visible kind of energy.”

From banker to light artist: hundreds of photos and mementos evidence Hofstetter’s multifac-eted career.


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hofstetter-marketing.com

Gerry HofstetterGerry Hofstetter (*1962) grew up in the country-side. He earned his first real income as a teenager – by painting: one day, he came to the realisation that local horse enthusiasts wanted to have portraits of their mounts. Not merely a snapshot or two, but real paintings. And they commissioned him to do precisely that. So he set about creating equine oils-on-canvas, and from there was no turning back on a career that is as successful as it is improbable.

His next move was to become a banker. From the mid-‘80s to the mid-‘90s, Hofstetter worked in London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong and ultimately led the investment bank unit of a Swiss financial institution. He had learned how to do deals as well as deal with the nuts-and-bolts of balance sheets, income statements and all the other fine points of project funding – which is of course critical to his current work.

Meanwhile, he rose to the rank of Captain as Mountain Grenadier in the Swiss Army Mountain Corps. As a member of this elite unit, he became a demolitions expert and sniper and qualified as an instructor for guerrilla warfare as well as mountain combat search and rescue. He also trained foreign elite teams in those disciplines and was co-organiser of inter- military competitions such as the Swiss Raid Commando. This Special Forces experience rounds out the CV of a man who, today, is at once a creative artist, a hard-nosed business-man and the head of small, flexible teams that bear the Swiss flag as they master real challenges in the most hostile to the most hospitable reaches of this world.

With that background, Hofstetter’s not-so-obvi-ous choice in 1995 was to start up a ‘marketing, event and design’ agency, located in Zumikon. He now also organises his own events, such as the ‘Live on Ice’ Christmas time wonderland, as well as holding lectures and producing cinema and advertising films. His way of communicat-ing by means of ‘light art’ is in demand through-out the world, which is why his latest move was establishing a subsidiary office in the art district of Los Angeles.

Gerry Hofstetter Light artist

Full physical involvement in the SAC campaign: Gerry Hofstetter climbing his way up to the Albigna Hut in Bergell.

In connection with the “Huts in Alpenglow” tour – the 150th anniversary of the Swiss Alpine Club was marked by the awe-inspiring illumination of the Monte-Rosa Hut in Zermatt.


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Panta rheiFlow manager Cla Mosca knows where energy is

fruitlessly spent in everyday life and how people can recharge their batteries in the most efficient way. In fact,

it takes surprisingly little to retrieve lost energy.

Text: Tina Fassbind Images: Marc Wetli

Mr Mosca, what does a flow manager actually do?My aspiration is to show people, teams and companies the various ways they can get their energy and potential to flow and keep it flowing. I wracked my brains for a hyponym that would cover all the areas I address in my work, and ultimately came up with this handle.

What characterises you as a flow manager?In earlier days I was a top athlete; a world champion, actually. Then I slipped a disc. So I know how it feels to be on top of the world and then suddenly land on your back, to put it nicely. That’s the kind of experience I bring to the table in the work I do. My knowledge is certainly first-hand – so I’m authentic in what I do, and have efficient tools for getting the job done. I convey the kind of focus it takes to set energies free and achieve a goal.

What differentiates you from other coaches in this field?I create an environment that facilitates further development. For that reason, it’s very rare that I conduct classical coaching sessions within the confines of four walls; rather, I get the people out into nature. In the open air, it’s easier to gain new perspectives and experience an aha moment. I work very intu-itively and can sync well with the people I train. That leads quickly to a trustful relationship and then it’s easier for me to recog-nise where the energy of my student has bogged down and the methods that are needed to get it flowing again.

Many people don’t have the time to be coached in the great outdoors. How can a person keep the energy flowing in hec-tic everyday business life?

By getting their priorities straight. First comes you; then comes family; then friends; and only after-wards, work. But most people think and plan in

precisely the reverse sequence. Yet it’s absolutely necessary to recognise your personal needs and make room for them in daily life. Taking breaks can help in this regard, but unfortunately we don’t have a siesta culture here in Switzerland. What’s more, muscles really want to be used. For that reason, companies should stipulate that their employees stay fit.

Companies should dictate regular physical activity?In the job profile, employers specify a lot of requirements – so why not movement as well? Naturally that should be possible during working hours. A meeting can easily be held outdoors during a walk.

Your coaching is also aimed explicitly at top-level manag-ers. How can a CEO benefit from your know-how?Good performance can only be achieved in a relaxed state. I know that awfully well from my experience as an athlete. I specialise in unblocking mental log-jams, because people fail as a result of those blockages – due to what they think, not because of a lack of skill. Mental and emo-tional burdens foul up the energy system. Only once those block-ades are eliminated can energy flow smoothly again.

“People fail as a result of their

blockages – due to what they think, not because of a

lack of skill.”


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Cla MoscaCla Mosca (*1969) devoted seven years of his early life to professional sports. In 1993, he wedeled his way to the world championship title in snow-board giant slalom. One year later, a ruptured disc put him out of action. During his therapy, Mosca resolved to learn the healing methods of his chiropractor and use those skills to help others. In 1996, he withdrew entirely from World Cup competition and devoted his efforts to complementary medicine. His experiences from the world of sports flow into his work as a therapist, coach, trainer and advisor. He lives together with his wife and four children in Scuol, his place of birth.

This puts energy into daily life:

• Enough sleep – at least seven to nine hours

• Regular breaks – if possible, in the fresh air

• Proper nutrition – essential instead of nonessential food and beverages

• Focus throughout the day – set a goal, and keep your eye on it

• Positive attitude – question any negative thoughts, and don’t take things so seriously

clamosca.ch

Cla Mosca Flow manager


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Positive stress

Text: editorial staff “ceo” Images: Marc Wetli

It’s not without a touch of pride that Ruedi Noser reveals the statistics recorded on his fitness app. “I walk 10,000 paces each day, regardless of where I am,” says the 54-year-old businessman and legisla-tor. The app keeps an eye on his training progress and helps him to stick to his balanced diet. With this strategy he’s managed to lose twelve kilos without doing sports. “Keeping that weight down takes a lot of discipline – after all, politicians get to eat for free from morning to night, wine included,” he chuckles.

Pragmatism instead of ideologyIt comes as no surprise that Ruedi Noser relies on software as an aid. The graduate in electrical engi-neering and business administration became a disciple of telecommunications and informatics back in the early 80s. “Like many other start-up companies, I was nothing more than a backyard beginner 30 years ago,” he recalls. But over those three decades, the erstwhile garage operation has grown to become a group enterprise with 80 million francs of gross income, more than 500 employees and several foreign subsidiary companies. It designs and sells informatics and software products that come to market fully developed and work dependably without a constant flow of necessary updates – just the way engineer Noser knows it should be.

“If I were to found a company today, I’d probably take a different approach,” the entrepreneur admits. In the intervening years, the business world has changed dramatically; rules and regulations are stiffer than ever before. “Building a company like we did back

then simply wouldn’t work today – at least not without a legal-eagle perched on your shoulder all the time,” Noser quips. Accordingly, he has no desire to serve as a role model for young entrepreneurs or offer them any well-intended tips. With one exception: “Entrepreneurs should be free of ideologies. It takes values of course, but you need to be open to new solutions as well as think and act pragmatically.”

A heavier burden in politics A bit more sober-mindedness would also do well for many a politician. “Pragmatism, not ideology, has made Switzerland strong over the decades,” he says. For that reason, he recommends that young people first gain a strong foothold in the business world and only then seek political office. Otherwise they’ll have no idea of how life really functions. What’s more, in business one learns how to deal with available liquidity in a frugal manner. Nonetheless, Noser views as nostalgic the idea that Swiss business leaders should be more politically present in Bern. “The pressures in the political domain have in-creased significantly in recent years,” the national councillor from Zurich affirms. The time involved today is much greater than it was 30 years ago and the issues are more complex, which is why legisla-tive matters need to be prepared meticulously. Due to numerous meetings, some of which are called at the very last minute, the parliamentarians quickly lose control of their own agenda. And in Noser’s opinion, this doesn’t leave room for customer contacts or employee guidance. “Switching back and forth between business and political activities is

Ruedi Noser: one of the few Swiss parliamentarians who is at once an entrepreneur and a politician. His activities have been the source of the energy he needs to play this

demanding dual role. In addition, 10,000 paces a day and a disciplined diet see to it that he stays physically fit. Since the beginning of the year, he’s focused his efforts entirely on politics, and, unfortunately, his family once again takes the back seat.

“Switching back and forth between business and political activities is hardly possible anymore.”

“Entrepreneurs should be free of ideologies.”


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hardly possible anymore,” says the FDP representa-tive. After years of bearing this dual burden, Noser decided that as of 2015 he would make do with just the chairmanship of his group. A long-time col-league has taken over as COO. In keeping with a predefined shareholder strategy, the new operating head is running the company without dependence on its owners. Today, Ruedi Noser devotes his time fully to politics and is seeking election to the Council of States this coming fall.

Health must not be neglectedHis family still takes the back seat. “They suffer tremendously. For me to dispute that fact would be dishonest,” Noser confesses. Politics requires almost constant presence if things are to get done, and planning activities with the family is practically impossible. The father of four, Noser works six days a week. Only in summer and winter does he take several weeks off, time which he devotes to his family, reading, catching up with friends and perhaps playing a little golf. He took up the sport after his older brother was diagnosed with cancer and his fellow parliamen-tarian, Martin Bäumle, suffered a heart attack. For Noser, both occurrences were a wake-up call; an alert that he should pay more attention to his health and maintain a more auspicious work/life balance. “I realised that I can’t put everything off until later,” he acknowledges.

Today, Ruedi Noser feels fit as a fiddle, energised for politics and ready to hit the campaign trail. The secret, he says, lies in the “positive stress” associated with his activities. “When you do something that’s needed, that you’re skilled in, and you do it with gusto, then it’s not a burdensome turn-off; it’s an exhilarating turn-on!” says Noser. He illustrates this principle by taking a pencil and drawing three overlapping circles – um … there’s no smartphone app yet that can compute and illustrate positive stress.

Ruedi NoserRudolf “Ruedi” Noser (*1961) is owner and chairman of the board of Noser Group. The company develops information and telecommunications (ICT) software and operates a number of subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany and Canada. With its workforce of more than 500 employees, Noser Group is one of Switzer-land’s largest ICT companies.

From 1997 until 2004, Ruedi Noser was a board member and for a certain period chairman of the Canton of Zurich Liberal Democratic Party (FDP). From 1999 through 2009, he was also an executive board member of FDP Switzerland, six years of which as its vice president. Until 2003, he was a member of parliament of the Canton of Zurich before being elected in that year to the National Council, where to this very day he still represents the Canton of Zurich. This year, he is campaigning for election to the Council of States. Ruedi Noser is married and the father of four children aged 10 to 15 years.

ruedinoser.ch noser-group.com

“I realised that I can’t put everything off until later.”

Ruedi Noser Entrepreneur and parliamentarian


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stuckibasel.ch

Haute cuisineTanja Grandits – highly appreciated by her guests; lauded by restaurant critics – is one of the few women to have made it to the top echelon of international gastronomy. For seven years now, she has headed the renowned restaurant “Stucki” in Basel’s Bruderholz quarter. This 44-year-old magistra of haute cuisine tanks up on the energy she needs for her strenuous job by practising yoga in the morning.

Cooking at the highest level and simultaneously running a restaurant requires lots of energy. Where do you get that power? As an optimistic person, I primarily see all the good aspects of my work, which go far beyond just cooking. I’m a host, bear responsibil-ity for the 30 people in my crew, write cookbooks, run a small shop and am frequently a guest at special events and the homes or restaurants of befriended cooks. But the energy needed to do all that comes right back to me, for example in the form of positive feedback from my guests and my guild.

You’ve already received many honours for your achievements. A person doesn’t get that far alone. What does your team mean for you? I couldn’t possibly do it all on my own. My crew is tremendously important to me. I need to feel good in my frequently strenuous work. And to achieve that, I try my best to create an amiable work environ-ment. I love to share good moments with my people. Many of them have been with us for a long time – some since we took over Stucki seven years ago; some even longer. They know me, I know them, and we can rely on each other.

How do you motivate your people; with which incentives? With positive energy. In our kitchen, we laugh a lot – bad moods have no place here. But interpersonal communication is also important. I take the time to speak with each and every one of my crew members. When they tell me they’re happy at work, then I am too. We always celebrate our successes together. Appreciation is also shown by affording them the time necessary to simply chill-out: each of our people is entitled to six weeks of holiday time plus Christmas.

You create miniature artworks out of vegetables, meat and fish. A feast for the eyes. What do you feel once the plate is ready to be served?Appearance is indeed very important: food must please the eye as well as the palate. And I love colours. Each creation should have a certain colour scheme, a harmonious one rather than a kaleidoscope. Then the guest is free to savour the flavours. My style is characterised by round shapes – from the tableware to the delicacies. When a prettily arranged plate leaves the kitchen … well, that makes me really happy.

Tanja Grandits Chef

Tanja GranditsTanja Grandits (*1970) has been chief cook and bottle-washer at Basel’s renowned restaurant “Stucki” since 2008. She grew up in Tübingen near Stuttgart, and soon after completing her cooking apprenticeship, Grandits left for foreign climes: stopovers in her professional journey included Claridge’s in London and Château de Montcaud in Bagnol-sur-Cèze. Then came the Landhaus Thurtal in Eschikofen, where in 2006 Tanja Grandits was named “Chef of the Year” by Gault Millau, an award she again received at Stucki in 2014. 18 Gault Millau points and two Michelin stars today decorate the walls of Stucki. Grandits is also a columnist and author of numer-ous cookbooks.



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At Stucki, guests are quite willing to pay more for something special. But you have to calculate down to the penny. How does that work out?Fortunately, I have little to do with the financial side of the business. But it’s a tightrope walk and the calculation is challenging. You don’t get rich from high-end gastronomy. Our advantage here at Stucki comes from the fact that we can seat 70 guests; in other words, far more than other restaurants in our league. On weekends, we’re regularly booked out.

For many people, eating plays only a secondary role in everyday life. What significance does nutrition have in today’s society? I recently read that in many households there isn’t even a dining table these days. People eat in front of the window or on the sofa. And I’m concerned about the fact that only rarely are warm meals served at home. Eating is not just a matter of energy and nutritional intake; rather, it’s also about socialising, table-talk and shared moments together. On the other hand, I also witness the tremendous amount of time and expense food enthusiasts go to: we have guests who travel thousands of kilometres just to enjoy one of our gourmet menus. For those people, this is the epitome of pleasure; a luxury. I miss the in-between: the completely normal – or should I say tradi-tional – way of dealing with nutrition in our everyday lives.

Nutrition is also energy intake: while we count our calories, hunger and malnutrition are still the sad reality in vast regions of the world. What responsibility do we, as citizens in the satiated industrial nations, bear? I’m quite aware of the tremendous responsibility. In countries like Switzerland, we live in overabundance. The quality and availability of food is practically unmatched. My quest is to waste nothing, throw nothing away. That’s part of my professional ethic. I also participate in initiatives such as “Spitzenköche für Afrika” (“Top Chefs for Africa”) and other projects.

Word has it that you fancy Asian cuisine. Dishes with a dash of the Far East regularly appear on your menu. Where did that penchant come from? In London, when I was working at Claridge's, I saw cooks from all round the world and learned from them. But my travels also inspired me: for example, the Vietnamese kitchen with its fresh and simple creations. People there treat food lovingly and mindfully, and that impressed me. By the way, though, my favourite cuisine is Japanese. I really like to add elements of it to my dishes.

Back to Stucki. You’ve created a warm atmosphere in your restaurant. Your regulars are not the only ones who feel comfort-able here. What role does the host play in that ambiance? A major one. The guests expect my presence. I make it a point to meet and greet each guest personally, ideally when presenting them with the amuse bouche.

And when your guests have finally taken their leave and the kitchen is once again spotless: what do you feel after a 16-hour day? How do you recharge your batteries at that point? I live here in the same building. After a long hard day, I reflect on it, make notes in my diary, and write down new ideas for menus. Most of the time, I can wind down without a problem. Almost always by midnight. Maybe a spot of tea is in order, but TV is taboo – that would take up much too much of my time. I don’t need a lot of sleep. When I nod off, it’s quick, deep and sound. And if I have some time after waking up in the morning, I use it for yoga exercises.


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“My quest is to waste nothing, throw noth-ing away.”

Tanja Grandits Chef


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PET à porter Alfred Beerli virtually radiates energy – but at his

company, he prefers to conserve it. He uses polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to manufacture clothing, has had

his business processes certified under various standards, and motivates his employees to save energy. He does this not

only out of high-mindedness, but also because it makes good economic sense.

Text: Sandra Willmeroth Images: Markus Bertschi

You use recycled PET in the manufacture of clothing. How did you come up with that idea?We’re an innovator in various areas and like to try out new approaches. A couple of years ago we heard for the first time that polyester can also be produced from previously used PET. We tried it out, and yes: polyester is polyester. The chemical formula is the same regardless of whether it’s polyester from petroleum-based granulate or from sec-ond-life PET bottles. Together with a producer from northern Italy, we devised a way to fabricate yarn out of recycled polyes-ter shredded into tiny chips. We then use the yarn in our clothing production process. And that’s how we began making shirts that may be the progeny of the mineral water bottles you tossed into the bin at the super-market last year.

Alfred Beerli Workfashion

What’s the environmental bottom line of this process? From a pure manufacturing standpoint, the eco-balance of recycled PET is no better than that of conventionally produced polyester. But if you think about the finiteness of the underlying raw material, you quickly arrive at a different result. Because here the basic resource can be reutilised instead of simply being thrown away. Bear in mind, though, that PET can’t be recycled ad infinitum – the material is subject to degradation; in other words, it loses quality each time you recycle it.

“Here the basic resource can be reuti-lised instead of simply being thrown away.”

Alfred J. BeerliDr Alfred J. Beerli (*1967) took over as CEO of Workfashion AG in 2007 and today is a co-owner of the company. A judo expert in his youth, he originally sought a career in professional sport, but a number of injuries held him back. So he returned to school to complete his A-level exams and then studied economics at the University of St. Gallen, where he earned his doctorate. Alfred Beerli is married, has two sons aged nine and eleven, and lives with his family in the vicinity of Winterthur.


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You’ve had your company certified under ISO 14001 for environmental manage-ment. Which concrete measures have you taken in order to use energy more effi-ciently?Where should I start? Last year we changed many of our lighting fixtures from halogen to LED. We’ve also asked our people to shut down their PCs in the evening, use the copiers sparingly, not leave the lights on unnecessar-ily, and so forth. All of this has helped us to achieve a significant reduction in electric power consumption. In addition, we replaced our entire fleet of company vans with low-emission, economical BlueTec vehicles. Since then our average fuel consumption has decreased noticeably, which saves on costs and cuts the amount of greenhouse gas that escapes into the atmosphere.

Are you undertaking these efforts in the area of sustainability due to pressure from your customers?No, for customers it’s ultimately the price that counts most. But I have a duty in life, I’ve

“It gives employees the feeling that they work for a good, far-sighted employer who cares about social, ecological and economic sustainability.”

“Claims to social and ecological responsibility are all well and good, but the economic dimension may not be forgotten. It helps nobody if the company goes bankrupt.”

got kids, and I want to leave them an environment worth living in – so sustainabil-ity is part of the deal. What’s also part of the deal is instilling this awareness in other people. Because it achieves little if I’m the only one who thinks that way.

And your people catch that pitch?Indeed, because it gives them the feeling that they work for a good, far-sighted employer who cares about social, ecological and, above all, economic sustainability. Of course, claims to social and ecological responsibility are all well and good, but the economic dimension may not be forgotten. It helps nobody if the company goes bankrupt.

What’s the source of your personal energy? A lot of it comes from my people. I have an obligation towards them, and I fulfil it very gladly. Moreover, I like to work hand-in-hand with our employees because I want to be successful together with them – I can’t be successful all on my own.


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Alfred Beerli Workfashion

Workfashion AGWorkfashion AG is a manufacturer and full-service provider of professional clothing and workwear management services. The company came into being upon the merger in 2000 of Hagendorn based Plustex and Fehlmann Kleider-fabrik, whose origins date back to 1854. Workfashion employs 60 individuals at its facilities in Hagendorn near Cham.

workfashion.com


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“Our pro-gramme brings attention to the many available

sources of energy out there.”


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pwc.ch/energytogrow

PwC Switzerland

PwC Switzerland Careers

#energytogrow

«Energy to grow your own way»

#energytogrow

PwC Switzerland: Megatrends – Energy

Claudia Sauter and Michaela Christian Gartmann PwC Switzerland

EnergiseWith the new “Energy to grow your own way” programme, PwC Switzerland has invigorated its corporate culture by

focusing more intently on the well-being of its employees. The programme’s “mothers” of invention are a dynamic duo from the

firm’s communications and human resources departments.

Claudia Sauter and Michaela Christian GartmannClaudia Sauter (*1972), with PwC Switzerland since 2001 and Head of PR & Communications, lives with her husband and 8-year-old daughter on the shores of Lake Zurich.

Michaela Christian Gartmann (*1973) has been Head of Human Capital at PwC Switzerland since 2012. She is married and lives with her husband in the Zurich Oberland.

Text: Tina Fassbind Images: Marc Wetli

The Head of PR & Communica-tions and the Head of Human Capital at PwC Switzerland have joined forces to devise a new energy programme for the firm. How did that come about? Michaela Christian Gartmann: We got to know each other better in a management development programme and since then have been working together more closely. We set our minds to the questions of how our firm can even better differentiate itself as an employer and what it takes for the ongoing professional develop-ment of our employees. And voilà: Energy! In other words, having the vitality to do the things that count – not just at work, but in all aspects of life.

Claudia Sauter: Our employees are the heart of the PwC brand. Only through their skills and devotion to clients can we differentiate ourselves from the competition. If they make a vigorous, favourable impression on our clients, those clients feel that they are in good hands with us.

So you’re making employee well-being a corporate prior-ity?Christian Gartmann: In a certain sense, yes. We put in a lot of hours and need to be able to endure tremendous pressure. That makes it all the more important to have a work environment where people can assimilate energy. Our programme is holistic and includes offerings in the areas of nutrition, movement and relaxation, as well as courses where employees can learn how to positively influence their attitude.


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“We want a work environment that’s totally energised.”

Are your people actually taking advantage of those opportunities?Christian Gartmann: Absolutely! The feedback is positive at all hierarchical levels.

Sauter: We’ve even had to repeat a number of sessions because the demand was so great. Our workout rooms are practically bursting at the seams, and we have a lack of bicycle stands because more and more of our people are biking to work these days.

What’s the secret of this success?Sauter: “Energy to grow your own way” isn’t a passing gimmick, but rather a forward-looking programme with an appearance that catches the eye: its theme colours stand for creativity, individuality and innovation (pink) and intellectuality and analysis (black). Those are precisely the qualities we want to address. And by the way, the programme has been fully integrated into our corporate culture – the entire management team is setting the example, and that’s the key to its success.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to reduce the work load rather than establishing a pro-gramme like this?Christian Gartmann: Everyone copes with work pressure differently. The PwC “Energy to grow your own way” programme shows our people practical ways to shoulder the burden. As a company, we’re constantly assessing our work methods and how we can optimise them now and in the years ahead.

Do your people even have time for rest and relaxation in today’s utterly metronomic business environment?Christian Gartmann: Of course there aren’t suddenly more hours in a day because of this pro-gramme. We just want to use that time better and more consciously. R&R is a key factor in maintain-ing our energy balance. For that reason, we have a relaxation room where employees can grab a quick power nap.

Sauter: What’s more, our programme can be integrated into all of our daily routines with relative ease. For example, yoga or other sports courses are held right here in our offices.


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ActionYoga

PwC Running Shirts

keep moving!

Foodmixed nuts and ginger tea in break rooms

RestTicketcorner for staff members

SpiritBooster

Sessions

Motivation

memory training

Together, Claudia Sauter and Michaela Christian Gartmann developed the “Energy to grow your own way” programme: employees should have the energy they need for everything that’s important to them, both professionally and person-ally. The programme was introduced in July 2014 at all operational levels. Although holistic in nature, it focuses on four specific areas: activity, attitude, relaxation and nutrition. These four elements gain expression in various ways – they shape the firm’s approach to recruiting, continuing education and imparting an understanding of leadership; and they also take the form of themes in the employee canteen and at client events. Bootcamp

Meditation

Claudia Sauter and Michaela Christian Gartmann PwC Switzerland

Ginger


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A What gives you personal energy – especially after a long, hard day at work?

B How do you go about recharging your inner batteries on a regular basis?

We asked

David Moran British Ambassador to Switzerland and

Liechtenstein

A I am lucky enough to live within walking distance of my workplace in Bern. The fresh air and the view as I walk through the park never fails to revive and reinvigorate me, even after a very long day. It also helps to have a highly stimulating job which takes me all over Switzer-land and Liechtenstein and constantly enables me to meet new people.

B One of my main passions is my music. I always feel better after playing the blues on the piano. It reduces stress, and makes a good mood even better! I get absorbed by the music and feel refreshed as a result.

Ernst Kohler CEO Rega

A The key is being happy with your job. When I do something with pleasure, with gusto, there’s hardly any risk that I’ll run out of energy.

B If nonetheless I actually do need an energy kick, movement is my remedy of choice – prefera-bly in the great outdoors, trekking, mountain climb-ing or bicycling.

Julie Fitzgerald Head of Growth & Markets

PwC Switzerland

A I get the most energy from my children and my family in general; and then of course togetherness with friends and the fascinating discussions I have with clients of ours – that gives me the added boost.

B I recharge my store of energy regularly by hiking in the mountains and skiing.

Dr Regine Sauter Director

Zurich Chamber of Commerce

A and B The same applies to me as it does to a device that runs on electric current: flipping the on/off switch and occasion-ally letting the whole apparatus cool down is important so that afterwards everything runs just fine again. In other words, switching to phases with no e-mails, no telephones and no work. I use that downtime to repower the batteries: by filling them with new impressions, emotions and experiences. That gives energy that lasts and lasts. A walk through the side streets of Rome, immersing in one of Puccini’s operas, a dinner with friends, or creating a five-course menu works especially well.


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Christian Berner Commercial Director Zurich Opera House

A I have the good fortune of working at Zurich’s Opera House. After the workday is done, I frequently attend performances here. I love musical theatre and, for me, being able to combine work with pleasure is a tremendous privilege. The energy recharge takes place almost by itself.

B I do a little sport, go to the cinema, read regularly and keep up with my circle of friends. But I can reenergise best at home, without pursuing any particular activity. More and more, I enjoy simply having time at my disposal and not always being completely booked out.

Ralph Siegl CEO

Confiseur Läderach

A The certainty of having done things that bring joy to others, as well as to me. When I reflect in the evening on whether I actually achieved that and made a personal contribution, a “yes” answer gives me the drive for the next day.

Monique Bourquin CFO

Unilever DACH

A My job itself energises me because (most of the time) it’s really enjoyable. I also tank up on energy in the evening by savouring a fine meal and having good chats with my family and friends.

B I can wind down wonderfully in front of the television while simultaneously surfing the Internet or leafing through a magazine; but reading detec-tive stories or lazing in the sauna work equally well. One thing that can’t be omitted is outdoor activity: biking and hiking in nature, rollerblading, skiing or clipping the hedges – that’s what I call a full recharge!

B I take time for myself, even in hectic phases. As an epicure, I intentionally make room for minor and major “aha” moments at natural energy sites – my favourites are in the mountains of Valais and Glarnerland.

Simona Scarpaleggia CEO

IKEA Switzerland

A After a long day of work, we can usually look back on having put a lot of effort into the things we’re passionate about – new ideas, new concepts or products. When I get home, being together with my family replenishes my energy levels. The many different things we talk about spark my imagination and sometimes change my perspec-tive on things I deal with at work. Connecting with friends has a similar effect.

B I try to channel my energy towards the things and relation-ships that are really important to me. The technique of mind-fulness helps me a lot to sharpen my focus and hence make good decisions. My husband practises and coaches that technique and he’s taught me some very good exercises for regaining focus and awareness and consequently energy.

If those techniques happen to fail, I have my backup in the form of music. A tune exists for each occasion or mood, so my “repertoire” varies a lot from Sting to Keith Jarrett, from Rock to Jazz and the three geniuses of classical music: Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Music always provides enough energy to get me revved-up for just about everything.

Stefan Linder CEO

Swiss Economic Forum (SEF)

A After a hard day’s work, I relax by jogging in the forest or mountain biking over hill and dale.

B I take care to get enough regular sleep and exercise. For me, travelling and enjoying the sights with my family are valuable sources of energy.


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Prof Dr Thomas Bieger Rector, University of

St. Gallen

A What gives me energy? My job; the sense of doing some-thing that’s truly useful. But there are also role models, current and past. I therefore like to read biographies – lots of them.

B I intentionally plan time off to spend with my family. I also enjoy long walks and ski touring. But I might add: not to unwind; rather, to think through complex problems in a struc-tured manner.

Robert Schmuki Director

Pro Juventute

A At our organisation, we’re focused on youth development. What fills me with joy as well as energy is when our specialists come up with new prob-lem-solving approaches. Administering only the same-old, same-old simply doesn’t work for me.

B Apart from those energising ideas, I recharge my batteries through sports and travelling in an effort to gain the necessary distance from my work – in order to judge right from wrong, important or unimportant.

B I like most of all to drain my batteries first by means of cross-country skiing; paradoxically, that actually recharges them at the same time. I also enjoy keeping on the move in the forest or on the lake – sa-vouring nature, especially in the mountains.

Urs Rickenbacher CEO

Lantal Textiles AG

A Interesting and challenging tasks keep me fit and on my toes! Personally, I feel really fine in the company of my family and friends.

B What does me especially good is my daily round of jogging at 5 in the morning.

Cornelia Ritz Bossicard Member of the Board of Directors, Valora

A Spending time with my family, doing sport, listening to music, reading an exciting book, tackling new chal-lenges – each of these things gives me personal energy.

Paul Norton CFO

Helvetia Group

A Not every day at work is as strenuous as the previous one – and that’s important. As long as stressful periods are regularly followed by quieter phases, my performance level remains high.

B At the weekend, I take time for myself: breakfast with the family, an English football match on TV, a jog around the Vita Parcours. But the mountains are where I can really tank up on energy. What also helps is working with my hands. Doing carpentry is a wonderful way of shifting into neutral.

Nicola Spirig Triathlete and Olympic

gold medal winner

A and B Apart from training, preparing for competitions and my lengthy travels, I take time for my family and friends. That’s where I get the energy I need to keep me successful in the long run.


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Have you had your power nap today?*

Publisher: PwC Switzerland, Birchstrasse 160, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland

Layout: PwC Switzerland, Melanie Wettstein, Birchstrasse 160, 8050 Zurich, Schweiz

Lithography/print: Linkgroup, Mühlebachstrasse 52, 8008 Zurich

© 2015 PricewaterhouseCoopers AG. All rights reserved.

The opinions expressed by the interview-ees may vary with those of the publisher.

This issue of our “ceo” magazine is available in German, French and English. Circulation: 18,000.

An energy- packed magazine

Sustainability is an important topic at PwC. So when it comes to publishing our “ceo” magazine, we make sure that the printing and shipment processes are accomplished in the most energy-efficient, environmentally friendly way possible.

For that reason, the magazine you hold in your hands right now has been:

• printed on FSC-certified recycling paper;

• produced with energy-efficiency in mind: this magazine came to life at Switzerland’s first and to date only MINIGERIE® printing plant, Druckerei Linkgroup (linkgroup.ch) – the greenhouse gases generated throughout the production chain are offset via certified projects, for example through the financing of a wind power station;

• wrapped in environmentally friendly packaging: the protective plastic foil can be disposed of without damaging the environment;

• dispatched in a climate-neutral way – as attested by the Swiss Postal Service’s “pro clima” label: international as well as domestic compensation projects gain support from this programme.

* How an energy-efficient household works, man can also learn from animals – like the sloth. This South American mammal is a very efficient creature, not only because it moves and eats very slowly, but also because it digests food much slower than man does.


ceoThe magazine for decision makers

June 2015

Energy

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The next issue of “ceo” will appear in November 2015 and focus on the topic of “Africa”.


ceo magazine energy 1/2015

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