This research focuses on enhancing Switzerland’s economic and social competitiveness by addressing sustainability challenges across several sectors. The project identifies strategies to bolster the energy transition, agricultural efficiency, and alignment with the UN SDGs among Swiss MNEs. We explore appropriate policies and corporate strategies through literature reviews, policy analysis, corporate strategy assessment, case studies, system dynamics modelling, and causal analysis. While our work is still in progress, we have some preliminary results. On energy transition, we demonstrate, through system dynamics, how the irresponsible sourcing of critical raw materials temporarily exacerbates Swiss carbon emissions while permanently leading to several social ills and biodiversity loss in mineral-rich countries. The Staggered Synthetic Difference-in-Difference (SSDiD) investigation on photovoltaic installations provides insights into the effectiveness of local PV policies and highlights the importance of considering both the timing of implementation and the interaction with broader national policies. We also investigate the impact of rising energy prices on electricity consumption across Swiss cantons, offering essential insights for designing resilient and adaptive energy policies. On agricultural efficiency, we employ Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), finding that organic agricultural efficiency in Switzerland is highly heterogeneous, with certain cantons demonstrating optimal use of resources, while others could benefit from targeted policy interventions to enhance productivity. On the alignment with the UN SDGs among Swiss MNEs, we have conducted a systematic literature review that juxtaposes academic and practitioner literature to understand the engagements and disengagements of MNEs with SDGs and provide a research agenda. This research also focuses on SDG 5, employing Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to identify distinct configurations of corporate strategies and characteristics associated with progress toward gender equality goals. Additionally, we collaborate with La Mobilière on a Mobi-Case that provides insights on how businesses incorporate sustainable development in their mandates. Our next steps include additional data collection, refinement of current analyses, preparation of publications, and drawing of policy recommendations.
Quand? | 27.05.2025 12:30 - 13:30 |
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Où? | PER 21 A404 Bd de Pérolles 90, 1700 Fribourg |
Contact | Mobiliar Cluster for Resilience steve.heinke@unifr.ch |