Natural resources like water, soil, clean air, mineral deposits and climate stability provide the basis for our quality of life. Studies show that these resources are currently vastly overused. This pressure on natural resources is likely to intensify in the future as the economic volume and global population continue to increase.
Environmental footprint
Despite gains in efficiency, Switzerland is still a long way from using resources sustainably. Global resource consumption jeopardises the stability of climate and ecosystems worldwide. With its high per-capita resource consumption, Switzerland is a large contributor to this problem.
The environmental impact of end consumption in Switzerland can be estimated on the basis of footprint indicators. These indicators take into account all environmental impacts in Switzerland and abroad that are caused by final demand in Switzerland. This includes the entire supply chain of the products consumed, but not exports, as they meet demand in other countries.
The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) calculate environmental footprints for greenhouse gas emissions, material consumption, water consumption, nitrogen surpluses, pressure on biodiversity and overall environmental impact. More than two thirds of the total environmental impact generated through final domestic demand in Switzerland is generated abroad.
The biggest factors are:
- construction and living
- agriculture and food
- mobility
These areas account for almost 60% of the current environmental impact of Switzerland’s consumption.
The Global Footprint Network's well-known ecological footprint is often used to visualise the high consumption of resources. It calculates in a single figure the forest area (theoretically) required to compensate for fossil CO2 emissions, direct land use and wild catches of fish and compares this with the world's biocapacity theoretically available per person. According to this indicator, if all of the Earth’s inhabitants had the same standard of living as the Swiss, the area covered by more than two Earths would be needed to meet their requirements.
However, the ‘ecological footprint’ is not a fully comprehensive environmental indicator. It does not take into account fresh water consumption, biodiversity loss or the environmental impact of air pollutants, heavy metals and nitrogen. It also leads to an underestimation of the need for action and there is no reference to specific fields of action. If you compare a country's ecological footprint with its own biocapacity instead of that of the entire planet, people in different countries receive different resource budgets - depending on how much usable land there is per person in their country.
Environmental hotspots in the supply chain of Swiss companies
Today's economy is highly interconnected, with supply chains stretching right around the globe. As a result, the environmental impact of the production of goods is also felt around the world. Indeed, such impacts are often greater in a company's supply chain than at its own premises. Companies are therefore increasingly expected to transparently identify and reduce the environmental impact along their supply chains.
A study commissioned by the Federal Office for the Environment in close cooperation with industry shows the environmental hotspots in the supply chains of eight relevant Swiss sectors. These are:
- chemicals
- machine engineering
- real estate and construction
- health and social work
- food trade
- meat processing
- clothing, textiles and footwear trade
- household devices trade
Environmental hotspots in the supply chain of Swiss companies (PDF, 16 MB, 29.04.2019)Commissioned by the FOEN
The calculations were based on an economic input-output model supplemented by environmental data.
The results of the study were presented graphically in an Environmental Atlas of Swiss Supply Chains.
The results show the environmental impacts of each industry and its supply chains, from raw material extraction and processing at upstream stages through to direct suppliers. For each industry analysed, the Environmental Atlas gives an indication of roughly where an environmentally sustainable level compatible with planetary boundaries would lie.
The concept of ‘planetary boundaries’
The overuse of resources is pushing our planet’s environmental systems to the limits of their stability. The concept of planetary boundaries indicates where this is happening and to what extent. This was published by an international research group in 2009 and has since been continuously developed. The concept considers nine ecological dimensions that are important for the Earth’s system for which the transgression of defined boundaries would have grave consequences for the Earth system and humanity. At least six out of nine planetary boundaries are being exceeded worldwide – in terms of climate change, land use change (especially deforestation), nitrogen and phosphorus surpluses, changes to freshwater systems (plant-available rainwater (‘green water’) and groundwater and surface water (‘blue water’)) and overloading with new types of substances.
The report assesses selected environmental footprints for Europe based on the concept of planetary boundaries, as well as various approaches to translating global boundaries to the European level.
Is Europe living within the limits of our planet? (Summary) (PDF, 6 MB, 06.01.2025)An assessment of Europe’s environmental footprints in relation to planetary boundaries
Assessing Environmental Footprints on a Limited Planet (PDF, 10 MB, 16.04.2020)Study commissioned by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)
Which approaches lead to a One Planet Economy? The ‘One Planet Approaches’ report provides an overview of various approaches.
One Planet Approaches (PDF, 67 MB, 28.11.2017)Methodology Mapping and Pathways Forward. Supported by FOEN.
One Planet Approaches (PDF, 10 MB, 28.11.2017)Executive summary. Supported by FOEN.
Measuring progress
A number of different reports and sets of indicators provide information about the impact of consumption and production methods on the environment, as well as about the progress made:
- Federal Council environmental reports: Environmental Report
- Country report to the UN on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda
- Economy and Consumption indicator
- MONET 2030 indicator system
There are also subject-specific measures of progress, such as national and internationl climate reporting.
Environmental goals of companies in Switzerland
What environmental goals do Swiss companies set themselves? Answers are provided by a study conducted on behalf of the FOEN by engageability in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW).
For the Focused Reporting Benchmark 2021, 151 companies were analysed and the findings compared with the analyses from 2017 and 2019. The focus was placed on the companies' environmental goals and reporting. The study found that when setting environmental goals, they focus predominantly on company activities and too little on the value chain, although this is where the majority of the company's environmental impact occurs (cf. Environmental hotspots in the supply chain of Swiss companies, not available in English). Moreover, the goals relate primarily to the issue of climate; other relevant issues such as biodiversity, water and air pollution are neglected. The study also contains examples of best practices from companies in reporting and goal-setting.
Umweltziele von Schweizer Unternehmen 2021 (PDF, 5 MB, 16.03.2022)Im Auftrag des BAFU
EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR)
The EUDR applies to the commodities coffee, cocoa, products made from them such as chocolate, coffee capsules, furniture, paper and car tyres. The EUDR contains provisions governing the placing on the market and making available of relevant raw materials and products in the EU. Swiss companies that export relevant raw materials or products to the EU in accordance with the EUDR are affected by the EUDR. This website provides information on the EUDR for Swiss companies from the perspective of the Federal Administration.
Further information
Links
Documents
EBP & Treeze (2022): Environmental Footprints of Switzerland: Developments from 2000 to 2018 (PDF, 1 MB, 30.09.2022)Commissionned by the FOEN (Summary; Full version in German)
Umweltziele von Schweizer Unternehmen 2021 (PDF, 5 MB, 16.03.2022)Im Auftrag des BAFU
Die Bedeutung von Narrativen für Umwelt und Nachhaltigkeit (PDF, 2 MB, 13.04.2022)Study mandated by the FOEN (with summary in English)
Massnahmen des Bundes für eine ressourcenschonende, zukunftsfähige Schweiz (Grüne Wirtschaft) (PDF, 647 kB, 19.06.2020)Bericht an den Bundesrat
Environmental Limits and Swiss Footprints Based on Planetary Boundaries (PDF, 3 MB, 10.05.2015)Final Report, commissioned by the FOEN.
Last modification 02.09.2025
