ETH Sustainability
ETH Sustainability is the central hub for the coordination and management of sustainability activities at ETH Zurich. It makes knowledge about sustainability available for ETH Zurich itself and for society.
ETH Sustainability was created in 2008 and has since shaped numerous groundbreaking projects and processes (see archive below). In the organisational structure of ETH Zurich, the ETH Sustainability team is today anchored within the Office of the President.
As central strategic-operational unit, we at ETH Sustainability are committed to increasing ETH Zurich's contribution to sustainable development and to communicating this internally and externally. We coordinate the ETH Net Zero activities and are responsible for sustainability reporting, the management of the ETH Air Travel Project and the Sustainable Gastronomy Project, compiling the catalogue of sustainability-related lectures, and organising the Public Lecture series "Sustainable Development Goals in Context" in collaboration with ETH4D.
We maintain relationships with national and international networks and with the external pageSustainable Switzerland platform. We co-create and facilitate internal and external events, among others for the programme external pageU Change (Sustainable University Day 2024), external page“Vorbild Energie und Klima” (awareness campaigns), together with ETH Public Tours or with external pageGreenBuzz. As a central hub, the ETH Sustainability team supports the integration of sustainability initiatives at ETH Zurich as well as projects and individuals that contribute to sustainability at the University.
The Sustainability Office - a meeting place
Our office is located at Weinbergstrasse 41 in 8092 Zurich. We offer Open Office hours every fortnight, during which our ears are open to any ideas, concerns or questions. On request, you can also co-work with us and benefit from short ways of communication and the working atmosphere in our shared office.
WES
Weinbergstrasse 418092 Zürich
Team ETH Sustainability
As a small team of sustainability experts we manage a diverse and abundant portfolio. This is only possible with a mutually supporting and enabling working attitute. Our working principles include:
- Agile and resource-conscious: to navigate complex topics and structures
- Reflective and synergistic: to enhance and connect the conceptual and practical levels of expertise
- Collaborative: to develop with others impact-oriented processes and projects that inform, sensitise, motivate and move
- Supportive and accelerating: to strengthen the ETH community on its way to becoming a sustainable and climate-friendly university
While each of us has specific focus areas, we all have a good overview of the entire portfolio.
Dr. Claudia Zingerli, Head of ETH Sustainability
Focus areas: Development of the sustainability portfolio and governance, Net Zero process, education for sustainable development and transformative learning, political affairs and activities related to sustainability in the ETH Domain and ETH Board (i.e. consultations), communication and representation, chair of IARU Sustainable Campus Initiative, member of ISCN Advisory Committee, ETH Sustainability team lead and team development.
Isabelle Castagna, Sustainability manager
Focus areas: Sustainable events, sustainable gastronomy, Net Zero process, awareness campaigns, community engagement.
Dr. Sebastian Kahlert, Sustainability manager
Focus areas: ETH Net Zero programme coordination, Greenhouse gas emissions reporting, GreenLabs project, Sustainability rankings, events organisation, strategic networking and stakeholder management, community engagement.
Dr. Giuliana Turi, Sustainability manager
Focus areas: Air Travel Project, Net Zero process, data dashboards, sustainability reporting and statistics, internal and external peer relationship management.
Julia Ramseier, Communications manager
Focus areas: Communication and public relations, community engagement, sustainability and arts.
Details and contact
Saskia Lichtin, Portfolio Collaborator
Focus areas: All-rounder in process and project development, communication and social media.
Lucas Flores Gutierrez, Intern (10/2023-05/2024)
Focus areas: Data dashboards, sustainability statistics, Public Tour ETH Net Zero, Student Sustainability Committee relations, events organisation, web publishing.
Sarah Benz, Intern (03-09/2024)
Focus areas: Sustainable Events, Public Tour ETH Net Zero, public relations, events organisation, web publishing.
Networks
ETH Zurich strives to promote sustainable development on a national and international level in networks and with partners in core university areas and society. ETH Sustainability is involved, on behalf of ETH Zurich, in various alliances and works closely with partner organisations, which currently includes:
International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN)
A network of over 100 universities from all over the world, ISCN provides an international forum to support higher education institutions in the exchange of information, ideas, and best practices for achieving sustainable campus operations and integrating sustainability in research and teaching.
International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU)
The International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), established in 2006, is a network of eleven international research-intensive universities from nine countries across the globe.
IDEA League
The IDEA League is a strategic alliance between five leading European universities of science and technology.
Sustainable Switzerland
Under the umbrella of Sustainable Switzerland, the NZZ company operates the topic-specific dialogue platform Sustainable Switzerland. In cooperation with renowned partners from business and science, the initiative supports sustainable development in Switzerland and aims to make it visible.
SDSN Global and SDSN Switzerland
The Sustainability Solutions Network SDSN Switzerland links science, business, civil society, politics and administration to advance the implementation of the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Switzerland and beyond.
Race 2 Zero
Powered by the UN Environment Programme, EAUC & Second Nature - Race to Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and action in the education sector
focus sustainability
Focus Sustainability is the national centre for student engagement with sustainability in Switzerland. The centre was launched in February 2021 by the Swiss Association of Student Organisations for Sustainability (VSN-FDD-FSS) and the Swiss Student Union (VSS-UNES-USU).
Climate-KIC
Climate-KIC is a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon, climate-resilient society.
Archive
Since 2008, ETH Sustainability has developed and implemented numerous projects and formats, some of which have now been completed or integrated into various areas of the university. A selection is listed here.
ETH Seed
Sustainability
ETH Seed Sustainability promoted student research on sustainability-related topics, successful collaboration between scientific theory and practice, and brought together the needs and expectations of research, teaching and business. The students' work was supervised by scientists and partners from practice.
Ecoworks
Ecoworks was a project platform through which employees and students could submit project ideas to improve environmental performance. The combination of different perspectives and experiences led to creative solutions on campus (e.g. Seed City garden on Campus Hönggerberg).
A platform where student projects can be implemented today is ETH Zurich's Student Project House.
Pioneers in
Sustainability
In the "Pioneers in Sustainability" event series, participants learned how to be professionally successful and advocate for sustainability at the same time. They learned first-hand about pioneering ideas in sustainability and were given the unique opportunity to meet exceptional people and learn from their experiences. The format has been continued in cooperation with ETH4D since 2022.