CarboPHOS develops a technological solution for the recovery of phosphorus from sewage sludge using the hydrothermal carbonization  process. An overview of the availability of P-species in Swiss sludges is being compiled and the technology chain HTC - filtration - crystallization is demonstrated in pilot scale.  ...

The research collaboration ‘ShopHero’ proposes a novel, scalable and tailored approach for consumers (1) to track and monitor the sustainability of their groceries and food waste, and therefore, (2) to change their behavior. We plan to process automatically-collected digital receipts from grocery purchases to ...

Nowadays consumers of cocoa and chocolate products are not only interested in safe high-quality products but also in products which are sustainable and produced under fair ecological and social conditions. The demand for transparency of information on the condition of cultivation, production and trade as well as on ...

It is undisputed that every human being must make his or her contribution if global warming is to be limited to less than 1.5 degrees. However, neither research nor practice is clear about which behavioral patterns are best for each individual. It is also unclear how people are ultimately to get involved. The ...

The goal of this project is the development of a model that calculates the environmental impacts of food systems. This is important to evaluate measures that reduce the resource consumption of food systems and avoid food waste. Through various user interfaces with different levels of complexity the model can be ...

Extending the service life of smartphones and other Internet-enabled mobile devices could significantly reduce their ecological footprint. In pursuit of this, it will be necessary to develop innovative approaches that are both economically viable and appealing to consumers.

The proposed seed project consists of two main parts: In the first part, a life cycle assessment (LCA) is conducted to analyze the environmental impact of tourism activities in Thailand. Based on the analysis, practical recommendations for providing these services more sustainably are developed. In the second part, ...

The debates in 2004-2007 on the tax exemption of fuels from renewable raw materials focused mainly on 1st generation fuels. Consequently, the instruments are also geared to this type of fuel. At that time, however, the legislator made it possible for fuels from renewable energy sources to also benefit from the tax ...

The aim of the research study is to extend the study by Eymann et al. (2015) of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) by selected substrate components and substrate mixtures which, based on defined criteria, have a high potential as peat substitutes. Analogous to the 2015 study, the present research ...

The start-up financed project is a research cooperation of the research groups Life Cycle Assessment, Geography of Food and Geoinformatics for the development of a competence focus "Regionalised Agricultural LCA". The feasibility of a regionalised life cycle assessment will be examined with regard to technical and ...

Globalisation of the food trade leads to various impacts on the economy, the environment, and society. Emerging economies that have expanded their agricultural trade and have become net agricultural exporters are particularly affected. The proposed research collaboration aims at combining interdisciplinary research ...

Which processes in a hospital are particularly resource-intensive? How can cost-efficiency in hospitals be increased and environmental impact be reduced? How can life cycle innovation be applied in the health care sector in order to increase its sustainability? The Life Cycle Assessment Research Group of the Zurich ...

Hero AG is producing more than 100 different jams in various packaging sizes, whereof Mini-, Midi- and MaxiJars are available. Basically, three packaging options are good solutions: aluminium, glass and plastic. Recently, Hero was confronted with critique, regarding to the use of aluminium Cups, which are ...

Within this subproject in the framework of the National Research Programm 70 regarding energy turnaround, an environmental sustainability assessement of power-to-gas (PtG) methane will be conducted by applying life cycle assessment methodology. In the PtG technology, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are converted to ...

There are currently just over 30 large wind turbines in Switzerland, with strong expansion of wind energy in the next few years as part of the Energy Strategy 2050. Wind turbines are designed for a service life of approximately 20 years. The plants are then dismantled and disposed of. There are different views on ...