The canton and city of Zurich have been supporting cleantech in the form of a cluster since 2009. A new report by Ernst Basler + Partner, prepared for the Office of Economy and Labour, examines the cleantech landscape in the canton. It found that 11 per cent of people employed in the canton work in cleantech activities. Cleantech contributes 10 per cent to value added, which is somewhat lower than in other industrial cantons such as Aargau, Basel and Schaffhausen.
In contrast, at 3 per cent, the share of cleantech services is higher than in the other cantons. According to the report’s authors, this is a consequence of the cluster’s proximity to the financial centre as well as universities and research institutes. The canton’s main focus is on resource efficiency as well as energy efficiency and the circular economy.
The report identifies regional priorities within the canton. For instance, industrial cleantech activities are concentrated in Winterthur, the Glatt Valley and the Furttal valley region, but can also be found in the city of Zurich. Services are mainly concentrated in the city of Zurich.
These knowledge-intensive cleantech services are precisely those with the highest development potential in the future, as are technology-intensive industrial SMEs. The report estimates a high global growth rate for cleantech in the coming decade, ranging from 4.3 per cent for energy efficiency up to 9.6 per cent for green transport.
The report recommends coordinating the different public support activities more closely. For example, business promotion activities should focus on bringing service companies to the city of Zurich, while the Glatt Valley could be marketed internationally as an important site for cleantech research and development. In general, the various education and training programmes should be better publicised.