myclimate Cloud Apéro #2 – The Paris Agreement, the Swiss Economy and Migros

The second staging of the series of events “Cloud Apéro”, which was brought to being by myclimate in Zurich, focused on the effects of the Paris Agreement on the Swiss and global economy. The discussion between Managing Director of myclimate René Estermann and the Head of Sustainability at Migros, Manfred Bötsch, brought interesting inside information to light as well as controversial opinions.

On Wednesday, 31 August, it was primarily representatives of various Swiss companies - such as DPD or Implenia - who met in the myclimate "Cloud Lounge". The interview was titled "The Marathon Towards a Sustainable Society - Swiss Companies Take the Lead!?" Manfred Bötsch, member of executive management at <link www.micarna.ch - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Micarna Ltd</link>. and Head of the Sustainability, QM and Health divisions at the Migros co-operative, faced questions from René Estermann as one of the most high-profile representatives of sustainability of the Swiss economy. Due to their common background as agricultural economists - Manfred Bötsch led the Federal Office of Agriculture for many years - topics like consumption, agriculture, and health and food safety placed a significant role in their discussion.

<link www.facebook.com/myclimate/photos/ - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Photos from myclimate Cloud Apéro on Facebook </link>

"We aspire to remain the most sustainable retailer in Switzerland. We want to rank among the top ten worldwide. And we don't just talk about it, we do it!" said Manfred Bötsch, summarising the sustainable focus of Migros. As specific examples of such action, he mentioned that 15,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions had been saved in the production chain for Optigal poultry products, among other things. Migros followed the talks in Paris only marginally, according to Bötsch, because it had been so strongly involved in the process of Swiss strategy development from the beginning.

A controversial discussion broke out around the question of internalising CO₂ costs. Despite all successful efforts in the area of efficiency, René Estermann insisted unyieldingly on the originator principle. Nevertheless, it was possible to find points of intersection in the Migros world. With <link www.hotelplan.ch - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Hotelplan</link> and <link www.migrol.ch/de/energiemaerkte-tankstellen.aspx - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Migrol</link>, it has both long-standing and brand-new myclimate partners in climate protection.

After the podium discussion, both participants were available to guests for further questions in a small round, accompanied by vegetarian and non-vegetarian specialities from the grill.

Cloud Apéro #3 - "Everything is Changing - Societal Transformation During Climate Change"

The last Cloud Apéro for the year 2016 will be held on 29 September and will address the effects of the Paris Agreement on society. Another renowned expert will provide an overview of the procedures during social transformation processes and opportunities to structure them with consensus. <link soziologie.unibas.ch/seminar/personen/profil/portrait/person/bergman/ - external-link "Opens external link in current window">Professor Manfred Max Bergman</link> is a tenured professor for social sciences and methodology at the University of Basel and chair of the <link sciforum.net/conference/wsf-5 - external-link "Opens external link in current window">"World Sustainability Forum"</link>. The focus of Max Bergman's research on the "interdependencies of society, the economy and politics in a globalised world" predestined him to be the interlocutor at our third Cloud Apéro.

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