The Center for Public Commercial Law (ZOW) at ZHAW supports the DeCarbCH project on legal issues. In addition, it is involved in other projects that have a connection to the law.
For example, the flagship project "RENOWAVE" concerns refurbishing existing buildings to reduce CO2 emissions. Both the reduction of energy demand thanks to efficient building envelopes and renewable energies are easier to implement in new buildings than in existing ones. The RENOWAVE project addresses how efficient energy use can be promoted in existing buildings by technical, economic, and legal means.
The Innosuisse project "Wiederverwendung von Bauteilen" (the reuse of building components) is concerned with the indirect reduction of CO2 emissions. While in DeCarbCH, the circular economy is illuminated in particular by the generation of energy from various sources – such as waste incineration – the reuse of building materials is about closing the recycling loop at an earlier stage.
Together with other completed projects (such as the SFOE lighthouse project "Quartierstrom" (district power)) and ongoing projects (such as the Innosuisse project on photovoltaics in rural areas), ZOW is steadily expanding its broad expertise in the field of energy law.
Figure from Srinivas, Hari, "Moving toward a Circular Economy: More than Just 3Rs!". GDRC Research Output - Concept Note Series E-097. Kobe, Japan: Global Development Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.gdrc.org/uem/waste/more-3r.html on Monday, 20 December 2021.
