Annual Report - Sens

systematically, by prescribing not so much the means to
achieving the ends as the ends themselves.
“The existing statutory instruments are
directed at resource efficiency only in part.
This should be changed systematically.”
However, the state has other options, which it has not made
enough use of so far. Education and innovation can make
crucial contributions to solving the problem of resources.
Whereas some highly successful educational opportunities in
this area have already been created at the level of Universities
of Applied Sciences, we are still waiting in vain for a focused
research and development programme from the state itself.
“Education and innovation can make
crucial contributions to solving the problem
of resources.”
But companies can still improve their management of resources
to their own advantage, without the state having to intervene.
Very few businesses have accounting systems that enable
them to allocate resource and environmental costs directly to
the individual products incurring them. These costs are usually
allocated to overheads, with the result that ‘resource-friendly’
products indirectly subsidise ‘resource-hostile’ products,
which then become cheaper. This encourages poor investment
decisions, with the incorrect allocation of costs producing a
situation where the savings potential of behaviour that con -
serves resources is underestimated.
What do you personally do in your daily life
to conserve resources?
I try not to do too many things at once and concentrate my
options on a few, efficient measures. Two years ago we had
our house totally renovated along energy-efficient lines and
are now about to replace our oil-fired heating system. As far as
food is concerned, I am mindful of where foods come from, and
I don’t eat a lot of meat. Other ways of conserving resources
Interview
Thomas Heim
Dr. sc. nat. (Doctor of Natural Science) ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology in Zurich), Director of the Centre for Resource Efficiency (ZEF)
of the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW) (University of Applied
Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland). Managing Director of the
Effizienzagentur Schweiz (Swiss Agency for Efficiency). Expert in environmental
and resource efficiency, cleaner production and clean technology.
without foregoing any comforts are recycling, composting and
not printing out texts. It’s much more difficult when it comes
to mobility: travel is without doubt my environmental weakness
– I do get a season ticket for this though.
Swiss Agency for Efficiency
The Swiss Agency for Efficiency is an internationally operating planning
and consultancy company. A spin-off of the University of Applied
Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, it offers sustainable solutions
for enhancing the efficiency of companies and institutions, by
reducing their energy consumption and optimising the flow of materials,
processes and products.
SENS Annual Report 2011 15