SGES 2025 shows: Chemistry, pharma and life sciences in transition

The Swiss chemical, pharmaceutical, and life sciences industries are driving forward their transformation—and are at a crucial point on the path to greater sustainability. The Swiss Green Economy Symposium (SGES) in Winterthur offered a central platform for this again in 2025: Stakeholders from industry, science, and politics discussed strategies for defossilization, circular economy, and biodiversity protection.

scienceindustries once again participated as a partner in this year's Swiss Green Economy Symposium from September 2 to 4, 2025, actively contributing the perspective of our chemical, pharmaceutical, and life sciences industries. One of the program highlights was a visit to our member Givaudan: The company, which specializes in flavors and fragrances, opened its doors, gave a tour of its state-of-the-art innovations, and demonstrated how it designs sustainable production processes.

In the main program, Dr. Stephan Mumenthaler, Director of scienceindustries, together with representatives from Roche, Syngenta and Nestlé, discussed the role of industry in sustainability and the protection of biodiversity. And in several innovation forums, experts from scienceindustries and our member companies – including Roche, BASF, dsm-firmenich, and Syngenta – provided practical input on topics such as the replacement of fossil raw materials and the importance of biodiversity for the chemical, pharmaceutical, and life sciences industries in Switzerland.

Integrating biodiversity into sustainable production

Biodiversity is a crucial yet often underestimated aspect of sustainability. This was highlighted in the innovation forum “Biodiversity: Innovation as the key to its sustainable use.” Regina Ammann (Syngenta), Jan Backmann (Roche), Jan Lucht (scienceindustries), and Markus Wyss (dsm-firmenich) all agreed that Biodiversity is the backbone of any sustainable economic development. This is because our chemical, pharmaceutical, and life sciences industries are highly dependent on biodiversity—not only for the procurement of bio-based materials such as plants or microorganisms, but also for access to genetic resources that are essential for drug development.

Dr. Stephan Mumenthaler emphasized: “Anyone talking about sustainability must also consider biodiversity.” In concrete terms, this means sourcing raw materials responsibly, reducing impacts in production and supply chains, and supporting measures to protect and restore habitats. By aligning themselves with international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, these initiatives strengthen the long-term health and resilience of ecosystems – a crucial foundation for the economy and society.

Reducing fossil raw materials: a key challenge

The SGES focused in particular on reducing dependence on fossil raw materials. In order to meet Switzerland's commitments under the Paris Agreement and its national climate targets, a switch to alternative, non-fossil carbon sources and energy carriers is essential. The chemical industry has a key role to play here: it traditionally uses large quantities of petroleum- and natural gas-based raw materials. At the innovation forum “Sustainable industry: How can we replace fossil raw materials?”, Jan Backmann (Roche), Anna Bozzi (scienceindustries), Stefanie Kutscher (BASF), and other experts provided insights into how the reduction of such fossil raw materials can be achieved. The focus was on biomass, green hydrogen, and technologies for utilizing CO₂.

Electrification and process innovation

Another key to defossilization lies in the electrification of chemical production. Traditional chemical processes often rely on the combustion of fossil fuels to provide the necessary heat and energy. Switching to electrically powered reactors and heating systems – using CO₂-neutral electricity – can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Electrification also opens up new opportunities for process innovation. Biotechnological processes, electrochemical syntheses, and plasma-assisted reactions generally enable milder reaction conditions, higher selectivity, and improved energy efficiency. In addition, electrically powered systems are often modular in design and more flexibly scalable, enabling decentralized and demand-driven production.

From linear to circular: strategies for sustainable value creation

The SGES also shone a spotlight on the transformation to a circular economy. Instead of the traditional linear “take-make-dispose” model, companies are increasingly turning to strategies that extend product life cycles, promote reuse, and minimize waste. Best practices include chemical recycling processes and closed-loop systems for plastics and batteries. Product design based on the "safe and sustainable by design" principle focuses on recyclability, durability and the smallest possible environmental footprint right from the development stage. These measures conserve resources and increase efficiency – an important competitive advantage in view of rising raw material costs and volatile supply chains.

Balancing sustainability and competitiveness

The Swiss chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries are jointly facing a transformation towards greater sustainability. To achieve this, they need not only technological innovation, but also reliable political and economic framework conditions:

• Harmonisation of regulations with EU and international standards – without Swiss finishing and without over-compliance
• Access to affordable, climate-neutral energy
• Promoting digitalisation and research

With these conditions in place, Switzerland can consolidate its leading role in innovation and sustainability – while achieving its climate targets.