Sustainability in practice: What we do at Angestellte Schweiz

Development is sustainable when today's needs are met without risking that future generations will not be able to meet their needs. This is what we work for every day. We want our members to be able to improve their social and economic position in the company and in society. And that the ecological structural change gains momentum.

Sustainability begins with concrete steps: for us at the Olten office. On a social, ecological and economic level. That is why we are also committed to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals: Everyone in our team has taken on the sponsorship of one of the 17 goals and raises awareness for it in their daily work.

Social role model

We see ourselves as a role model when it comes to working conditions:

• with staff regulations that anchor annual working hours, mobile working, paternity and care leave.
• by promoting part-time work and creating space to realise different life plans.
• by allowing up to 60 per cent of working hours to be spent outside the office.
• by providing concrete incentives for further training so that we remain fit for the labour market.
• by fully implementing equal pay within the office.
• with our pension fund, which offers above-average benefits.

Ecologically optimised

Over the last few years we have significantly reduced our ecological footprint. The central location of the office in Olten allows shorter travel times for members from French-speaking Switzerland. Located directly at the railway station, visits by train are attractive. We also have our own meeting rooms here. In return, we have given up external office space. The company car park and business vehicles are also history.

To save energy, we use many possibilities:

Over the last few years we have significantly reduced our ecological footprint. The central location of the office in Olten allows shorter travel times for members from French-speaking Switzerland. Located directly at the railway station, visits by train are attractive. We also have our own meeting rooms here. In return, we have given up external office space. The company car park and business vehicles are also history.

To save energy, we use many possibilities:

• Lighting is controlled by motion detectors, and we have replaced conventional lamps with LEDs.
• We have installed power rails so that no appliances remain in stand-by mode unnecessarily.
• We do without air conditioning and monitor the temperature in the offices.
• We have had triple-glazed windows installed in the individual offices.

Economically sustainable

We focus on strengthening our membership base. In this way, our association stands on a stable foundation. And we can guarantee the tasks for the members.

We pay specific attention to the careful use of all resources. We manage our members' money efficiently and sustainably. This is also reflected in the focus of our topics: We work on the contents in such a way that we can use synergies, especially when we work together with partners.

With 11 full-time positions, we offer our members a comprehensive service at a very low membership fee. This is also possible because many people in the member organisations support our association.