The idea behind the Sustainability Research Initiative
News from the Sustainability Research Initiative
News related to sustainable development

“Today, sustainability is also understood as a market”
Heinzpeter Znoj, professor of social anthropology at the University of Bern and president of the CDE Board, will transition to professor emeritus status. How does he view today’s sustainability debate and the role of transformative science? A conversation about lessons from the past, new horizons, and tasks in teaching and research to address the current crises.
Image: zvg Heinzpeter ZnojTransforming Europe's food system – Assessing the EU policy mix
Europe’s shift to a sustainable food system will involve huge changes in the way we produce and consume food. According to this European Environment Agency (EEA) report, achieving this depends on ambitious and coherent EU policies to promote and guide innovation and behavioural change, phase out harmful practices and ensure a just transition.
Image: EEA
CHIPP/CHART Workshop on Sustainability in Particle Physics
We will bring together several communities : CHIPP, CHART, and those interested in sustainability to one three-day workshop.
Image: CAMPUS SURSEE Seminarzentrum
Förderprogramm Nachhaltige Entwicklung 2023: «Nachhaltiges Wohnen»
Das Förderprogramm Nachhaltige Entwicklung unterstützt innovative Projekte von Gemeinden, Kantonen und privaten Institutionen in der ganzen Schweiz. Diese Projekte tragen zur Erreichung der Ziele bei, welche in der Strategie Nachhaltige Entwicklung 2030 (SNE 2030) des Bundesrates priorisiert worden sind. Das Förderprogramm ist ein konkretes Instrument des ARE für die Umsetzung der Agenda 2030 in der Schweiz.
Image: https://www.are.admin.ch/foerderprogramm
Sustainability Research + Innovation Congress 2023 (SRI 2023)
The Sustainability Research & Innovation (SRI) Congress is the world’s largest transdisciplinary gathering for the global sustainability community. The third edition of the SRI Congress, SRI2023, will be hosted by the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Republic of Panama (SENACYT) and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) in June 2023, bringing this global event to the Latin American and Caribbean Region.
Image: https://sricongress.org/
Lighthouse programmes to support societal transformation
The SCNAT Sustainability Research Initiative will organise an online session at the Sustainability Research + Innovation Congress 2023 (SRI 2023) on 27 June, 15:30 - 17:30 CEST. The central objective of this dialogue session is to learn from experiences on how large integrated research programmes designed to support societal transformation can be shaped.
Image: https://sricongress.org/
23rd Swiss Global Change Day – Meeting Report and Conference Documents
On 19 April 2023, the Swiss climate and global change science community met for the 23rd time at the annual Swiss Global Change Day. About 200 participants attended the event and 60 posters were exhibited. Distinguished researchers presented scientific highlights and the programme provided enough time for discussions and networking. Young researchers also had the opportunity to broaden their skills in dealing with journalists and debunking fake news in a workshop.
Image: Andres Jordi, SCNAT
Research−Implementation Organisations and Their Role for Sustainable Development
Swiss TPH, KFPE and partners are identifying and describing a group of research institutions in Africa and Switzerland that pursue problem-oriented research and practical project implementation for sustainable development side-by-side. By harnessing research outcomes for improved project effectiveness, outcomes and quality, those "Research-Implementation Organisations" (RIOs), make a significant contribution to sustainable development, locally, regionally and internationally.
Research Priorities for Sustainability Science
The German Committee Future Earth (Deutsches Komitee für Nachhaltigkeitsforschung in Future Earth, DKN) is an independent scientific advisory body of the German Research Foundation (DFG). At the same time, it is the national contact point and platform for developments and activities within the international research program for global sustainability "Future Earth" and the "World Climate Research Programme" (WCRP). The DKN fosters interdisciplinary, integrative sustainability research in both a national and international context and thus promotes cooperation between the disciplines. It also offers to the German scientific community a platform for exchange and networking related to sustainability research and promotes its further development.
Unleashing Science
We need to urgently redouble efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Business-as-usual approaches – to science and science funding – are no longer appropriate to this massively complex and urgent challenge. Effective action will require broad and bold engagement, and commitment, from science funders, but also from the decisionmakers and influencers in governments, in the private sector and in civil society. The international funding community is ready for the challenge and has requested the International Science Council to lead on the development of a process to convene the necessary voices, jointly designing the way forward. This report is an input into that process It is intended as a strawman, to disrupt our thinking and to inspire ambitious and achievable outcomes.
A Synthesis of Research Gaps
The intention of this particular synthesis is to identify, on the basis of a careful analysis of the literature, research areas and themes that can make particularly significant scientific contributions towards implementation of the SDGs in the next decade.

Young Academics Award 2024
Research and innovation are key elements for promoting sustainable development in the Alps. Young academics play a crucial role in this, helping to shape the future of the Alps. The Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention recognises this role by awarding outstanding master theses carried out on relevant Alpine topics. This biennial prize is regularly supported by the Presidency of the Alpine Convention, the Permanent Secretariat, and the Infopoints of the Alpine Convention and is carried out in collaboration with the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps, ISCAR.
The New Global Connect: Mega-Infrastructure Projects and Their Local Impacts
The construction of large infrastructure for rapid and efficient means of transportation or green energy production from large wind or solar farms is often tied to hopes of development and prosperity for local communities. However, often, such developments do not meet these expectations, because local communities are excluded from the decision-making process and lose access to their resource base, their living space and livelihood opportunities. Co-determination is an essential prerequisite for local sustainable development through infrastructure projects. Such a process ensures that due consideration is given to different impacts and consequences, perspectives, power dynamics as well as opportunities for participation. Research is necessary to better understand these important dimensions and how to enable, facilitate and implement effective and equitable co-determination.
Contact
SCNAT
Steering Committee Sustainability Research
House of Academies
PO Box
3001 Bern
Switzerland
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File Sustainable development
Get an overview of scientific contributions to sustainable development and especially to the Agenda 2030: The Sustainability Research Initiative of the SCNAT provides researchers, research funding agencies and political decision-makers with important synthesis reports, projects, event information and news from the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences and other institutions.