Teaching and research, as well as knowledge and technology transfer at the highest international level: the ETH Domain delivers all this with over 24,300 employees, over 900 professors and over 37,100 students and doctoral students. The ETH Domain consists of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and Lausanne (EPFL), together with four research institutes, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). The ETH Board is the ETH Domain’s strategic management and supervisory body.
Energy and climate
The ETH Domain aims – within the context of the Federal Administration’s climate package – to reduce the CO2 emissions from its buildings by 50 per cent compared with 2006 levels by 2030. Specifically, the ETH Domain is increasing energy efficiency, making greater use of photovoltaics and taking measures in areas including food and mobility to reduce CO2 emissions, and has set up a special fund for financing structural/technical climate protection measures.
Targets
Under the EEC initiative, the ETH Domain has pledged to meet the following targets:
1. Increasing energy efficiency
Benchmark: 2018/2019
- Target for 2026: +5%
- Target for 2030: +9%
2. Switching to renewable energies
Thermal energy and fuels
- Target for 2026: 71% renewables
- Target for 2030: 76% renewables
Electricity
- Target for 2026: 100% from renewable sources
3. Producing green power
Photovoltaics
- Production in 2021: 1.8GWh
- Target for 2026: +3.1GWh
- Target for 2030: +0.8GWh
Measures
Like all the participants, the ETH Domain has undertaken to implement the joint measures. In addition, the ETH Domain is also implementing the following individual measures:
1. Supplying the heating system and the data centre with renewable energy
EPFL; 2022: 100%
2. Energy-saving at the large-scale research facility SLS 2.0
PSI; 2025: 2,000MWh/year
3. Use of waste heat and photovoltaics
Empa/Eawag; 2026: 100%
4. Sustainable campus catering
EPFL; 2030: 80% of meals bought vegetarian/vegan
5. Reducing the impact of business flights on the climate
ETH Zurich; 2030: –30% CO2eq per full-time equivalent compared with 2019
6. Doubling of electricity production from photovoltaics
WSL; 2030: 250MWh/year
7. Expansion of energy network
ETH Zurich; 2040: –80% CO2 compared with 2006
8. Implementation of energy master plan at ETH Zentrum campus
ETH Zurich; 2023: establishment of cooling network / 2036: supplying the university district with lake water
Further information
Up-to-date information on the implementation status of this participant’s targets and measures is published in our Energy and Climate Report. The ETH Domain also provides information on its own website about its commitments in the area of energy and climate.
