Analysis and Quantification of Switzerland’s Material Flows and Imported Emissions

Semester Project
Dissemination
Outreach

Semester Project, available now

Aim

Switzerland imports a large share of the goods, materials, and intermediate products required to satisfy domestic consumption. Consequently, a substantial share of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with Swiss consumption occurs outside the national territory. Understanding these embodied emissions requires linking physical material flows and economic exchanges with appropriate emission factors.

The objective of this project is to analyse and quantify Switzerland’s import and export flows and the associated GHG emissions. The first part will focus on characterising Switzerland’s physical and economic exchanges to identify the main categories of imported materials and products and assess their relative importance. Particular attention will be given to data structuring, aggregation, and classification to establish a coherent representation of the flows entering and leaving the Swiss economy.

In a second step, appropriate emission factors will be assigned to the different categories of imported flows. This will allow the GHG emissions embodied in Swiss imports to be estimated and the contribution of different materials, products, and economic sectors to be quantified. The analysis should identify the main emission hotspots and provide a quantitative basis for understanding the drivers of Switzerland’s consumption-based carbon footprint.

Depending on the available time, the project will subsequently investigate potential mitigation strategies. Particular attention will be given to circular-economy measures, including material efficiency, reuse, recycling, substitution, and reduced demand for emission-intensive products. Selected scenarios will be quantified to estimate their potential contribution to reducing imported emissions.

A central component of the project is the communication and visualisation of the results. Material flows will be represented through intuitive Sankey diagrams, while imported emissions and mitigation potentials will be translated into accessible quantitative indicators. The resulting material will contribute to the climate-awareness workshop « En route vers la neutralité carbone » and support a better understanding of the relationship between consumption, international material flows, and GHG emissions in Switzerland.

Tasks

  • Analyse and structure Swiss import and export data based on physical material flows and economic exchanges.
  • Identify and aggregate the main categories of materials and products entering and leaving the Swiss economy.
  • Develop Sankey diagrams representing the main material flows associated with Switzerland.
  • Identify and assign appropriate GHG emission factors to the different import categories.
  • Quantify the GHG emissions embodied in Swiss imports and identify the main emission hotspots.
  • Investigate selected mitigation strategies, particularly circular-economy measures, and quantify their potential impact.
  • Develop intuitive quantitative visualisations and indicators suitable for integration into a climate-awareness workshop.

Skills

  • Understanding of energy, climate, material flows, and greenhouse gas accounting concepts.
  • Data processing, structuring, and quantitative analysis.
  • Interest in life cycle assessment, material flow analysis, and/or input-output analysis.
  • Data visualisation and interpretation of quantitative results.
  • Scientific communication and ability to translate technical results into accessible information.
  • Programming skills, particularly Python, are an advantage.

Administrative

This project combines quantitative research on material flows and consumption-based GHG emissions with the development of educational material for the climate-awareness workshop « En route vers la neutralité carbone ». The detailed methodological approach and scope of the mitigation analysis will be adapted according to data availability and the progress of the project.

Location

This research work will be conducted at EPFL, Sion.

Supervisors

[Anaël Perruchoud]: [anael.perruchoud@hevs.ch]

References

Relevant datasets and methodological references on Swiss foreign trade, material flow accounting, consumption-based GHG emissions, life cycle assessment, and circular economy will be identified during the project.