Dr. Ursula Renold
Director of the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology (OPET)

"Switzerland has the best qualifications for becoming the 'cleanest country'. Its capital is a unique mix of excellent research and top-quality education. The same applies to clean technology, where co-operation spanning different systems generates clever solutions. I am thinking of building renovation or efficiency with resources. A lot of dialogue is required to position innovative products better. Cleantec City is an important partner in this respect."

Dr. Walter Steinmann
Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)

"Clean technologies can change our world: buildings become power stations, appliances and vehicles consume less and less energy, communications and energy infrastructures coalesce to become smart networks and, despite economic growth, natural resources are treated more responsibly. Cleantec City shows how, working together, we can build a future world that is worth living in."

Dr. Maria Lezzi
Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE)

"In the interests of sustainable urban development, clean technology cannot be limited to technical innovations, but must also be linked in with committed town and country planning."

Bruno Oberle
Director, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)

"Our carbon footprint is far too large. Reducing the consumption of resources is a challenge for society, commerce and politics, but at the same time also a great opportunity for our country. Switzerland is already able to supply many clean technologies today. Our innovation is the best qualification for implementing efficiency in dealing with resources and therefore for creating jobs as well.

A platform such as Cleantec City can make a significant contribution to making the current level of knowledge accessible and useful to both professional circles and the general public."

Andreas Rickenbacher
Federal Councillor and Director of Economics of the Canton of Berne

"The canton of Berne is one of the leading 'cleantech' locations in Switzerland. Sustainable and efficient energy use has a long tradition in the canton of Berne. Examples include the manufacture of heat pumps, electric bikes and cars, but also hydroelectric, solar and wind power installations and energy-efficient homes to the Minergie Standard. The further strengthening of the clean technology sector is one of my political priorities for current legislation."

Hannes Germann
Member of the Council of States and President of the Swiss Association of Communes

"The high quality of life in Switzerland should also be guaranteed in future. To achieve this, the consumption of resources must be reduced in the medium to long term to a level that nature can support. With the settlement of clean technology companies, local authorities are creating attractive job opportunities and making sustainable communal development possible. This benefits the economy, the environment and ultimately all of us!"

Dr. Marcel Guignard
President of the Swiss Association of Towns

"The economic power of our country is concentrated in cities and conurbations. Urban centres are also challenged when it comes to the environment. Clean technology combines ecology and economy. No other field offers such an opportunity to combine them. As a representative of urban Switzerland, I am committed to the pioneering role of cities and conurbations in the promotion of clean technologies."

Hans Stöckli
Member of the Council of States

"Our cities face international competition. A flourishing economy, enough jobs, attractive infrastructures and a clean environment are important factors for locations. As a politician, I am in favour of smart cities: in favour of establishing the outline conditions for energy efficiency, for the realisation of a 2,000 watt society and of environmentally- friendly mobility."

Alain Jaccard
President, Communal Infrastructure Organisation

"Future-proof communal infrastructures form an important foundation for 'cleantec cities'. Cities and local authorities must get on track right away and invest in future-proof technologies so that clean cities can become a reality. Correct decisions require knowledge and information: I am committed to 'Cleantec City' because here is where the whole event kicks off and it will show communal decision makers relevant solutions."

Professor Alexander Klapproth
Head of "iHomeLab" at The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - the Swiss think tank and research laboratory for building intelligence

"Building intelligence opens up extra potential for increasing energy efficiency. This is proven by the findings of our research. Let's see to it that our partners bring clean technology products based on our research results onto the market that are suitable for mass production and that effectively reduce energy consumption and costs in both new and existing buildings."

Daniel Schafer
CEO Energie Wasser Bern (ewb)

"Yesterday it was our convictions - today we act on our convictions". For Energie Wasser Bern the decision to phase out nuclear power and the reorientation of our production strategy are centre-stage in our actions. We are active and committed wherever we can bring ecological and economic aspects into long-lasting harmony. Thanks to this commitment, we are also able to tread new paths. Therefore, just as we have to correctly assess the risks and our own actions in this respect time and time again, after all is said and done, what is also needed now is for all of those involved to have the courage and conviction to respond to the new reality by means of future-orientated actions. Energie Wasser Bern is convinced that correcting the course of our energy policy with combined effort will succeed, because we are going in the right direction."

Jürg Bucher
Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Post

"Swiss Post acts today, in view of tomorrow’s needs. By 2016 we will have replaced our entire fleet of motor scooters with electric scooters. Since 2008, 100% of our electricity has been coming from renewable sources such as wind and water power. Taking things a step further, we are now installing photovoltaic systems on top of our buildings. We are glad, therefore, to be able to support Cleantec City as our partner."

Nick Beglinger
President, swisscleantech trade association

"We are campaigning for Switzerland to take on a leading role in the field of clean technology. Towns and communities are the ideal place for the application of systematic solutions and for companies to demonstrate their know-how. Commerce and the inhabitants of our towns can both benefit equally from clean technology."

Gabi Hildesheimer
Head of the “Öbu” network for sustainable economic activity

"For 23 years, “Öbu” has been considering the notion of growth and the intelligent interaction of innovation, economic growth and sustainability. In our trade association of more than 400 businesses, which create one fifth of all jobs in Switzerland, clean technology has a central role to play today. If Cleantec City can now bring communities and businesses together, this promises lots of new stimuli for all of those involved."

Eric Plan
Secretary General of CleantechAlps

"Clean technologies represent a market that is really flourishing. Reinforced by this statement, platforms such as CleantechAlps have been developed to provide visibility, networking and concrete support for the companies and research institutions that are active in this field. A trade fair such as Cleantec City is, in this sense, an opportunity and an excellent shop window, making it possible to demonstrate the know-how of French-speaking Switzerland."

Dr. Daniel S. Christen
President ECO SWISS

"ECO SWISS, the environmental protection organisation representing the Swiss business sector, has been successfully committed to practical, economically viable environmental protection for over 40 years. Its objective is to strengthen the responsibility assumed by businesses, to configure environmental legislation liberally and simply and to support our members effectively when it comes to environmental measures relating to their operations. 12 trade associations and over 220 companies benefit from these services. Cleantec City will provide a national platform which makes it possible to get in direct contact with suppliers of products and services offering progressive environmental protection."

Dr. Patrick Hofer-Noser
President of Cleantech Switzerland export platform

"Sewage in our rivers, open waste disposal sites, glass and PET bottles in normal waste: all of these are things of the past in Switzerland. Switzerland lives and breathes Cleantech. Switzerland's position as a cleantech nation increases the attractiveness of the country as an exporter of clean technology products. We can offer project-specific support in focus markets and open the door to the world market for cleantech companies wanting to export."

David Stickelberger
General Manager, Swissolar

"Electricity and heating from the sun are important mainstays of our future energy supply. As trade association of the solar energy sector with 350 members, Swissolar champions the rapid utilisation of the great potential of this energy source and this is where the outstanding know-how of our industry can help. Local authorities also have a central role to play in the breakthrough of solar energy by using it themselves and by supporting their citizens in its application."

Stefan Batzli
Director of the trade umbrella association "A EE" [Agency for renewable energies and energy efficiency]

 "Without energy nothing would work. This has always been the case and always will be. The prerequisite for a sustainable solution to all energy problems, however, is a consistent energy policy based on renewability and efficiency. As part of a clean economy, our members are prepared to engineer an energy revolution – efficient, as well as making ecological and economic sense."

Toni Brunner
National Councillor and President of the Swiss Steel, Metal and Paper Recycling Association ("VSMR")

"Switzerland is rich in raw materials and secondary raw materials. The Swiss recycling industry supports a closed economy and sustainability. If we take care of this important sector, we can maintain a high rate of supply of secondary raw materials."

Bruno Herzog
Sales & Marketing Manager/City Account Manager, Siemens Schweiz AG

"For some time now, Siemens has been concentrating its efforts on cities. Working in co-operation with the "Economist Intelligence Unit" in 2009, the company compiled the study "European Green City Index". The city of Zurich came in 6th place in the European list which indicates that there is also still potential for improvement in this country. With its environmental portfolio, Siemens is a trailblazer worldwide in sustainable urban development – with efficient environmental technologies that are in use in urban environments around the globe and which are making a significant contribution to a sustainable future. "