This is why DSwiss is committed to climate protection
Following the Paris Agreement, 195 countries around the world have ratified the international treaty, which, in addition to strengthening climate resilience and steering financial flows away from carbon-intensive investments, sets the 1.5-degree target: The rise in global average temperature must be slowed and limited to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
To achieve the 1.5-degree target, global CO2 emissions must be halved each decade so that net greenhouse gas emissions reach zero between 2045 and 2060. This means: every year, greenhouse gas emissions must decrease by 7% so that the melting of glaciers, the rise in sea levels and many other negative consequences of climate change can be stopped in the long term.
As an IT company, we at DSwiss also see it as our responsibility to make our contribution to achieving the goals. On the one hand, we want to reduce the CO2 emissions that we cause through our business activities. On the other hand, we want to actively support climate protection by financially promoting CO2-reducing climate protection projects.
How DSwiss reduces CO2 emissions
DSwiss is an IT company and cloud provider that operates its own server infrastructure in various data centers. Therefore, electricity and IT equipment are among the most important items in our greenhouse gas footprint. This is where our main efforts to reduce CO2 emissions come in.
DSwiss operates three server infrastructures in two data centers in Switzerland, all of which draw their electricity from hydropower. Compared to conventional electricity, hydropower saves 64% of CO2 emissions.
DSwiss has deliberately chosen an office location in Zurich with very good public transport connections, so that all employees have the opportunity to avoid commuting by car.
A good quarter of our electricity consumption is attributable to our offices in Zurich and Roveredo (Grisons). To keep CO2 emissions low, we have been sourcing our electricity from 100% certified natural power since 2022.
Instead of using our own company cars, we use the car-sharing service of the Mobility cooperative for our business trips to the data centres, and drive climate-neutrally thanks to the voluntary "Cause we care" initiative.
How DSwiss actively contributes to climate protection
DSwiss AG links the financial support of climate protection projects of the MyClimate foundation to the amount of CO2 emissions generated by its business activities. The carbon offset projects reduce or eliminate CO2 emissions from the atmosphere in a systematic, measurable and sustainable manner. Myclimate uses eleven different carbon offset technologies for this purpose: sustainable waste management, biogas and biomass as substitutes, efficient stoves in third world households, improved energy efficiency, provision of solar, hydroelectric and wind technologies, water (purification & conservation), sustainable land use and forests.
In addition to reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, the carbon offset projects of the Myclimate Foundation pursue various sustainability goals of the UN (also known as Sustainable Development Goals or Agenda 2030). The goals include fighting poverty, famine, access to health infrastructure, gender equality and many more.
Some of the climate protection projects we support
Biogas replaces firewood and artificial fertilizer in India
MyClimate builds small biogas plants for 9,000 families in India. On the one hand, the biogas replaces the burning of wood for cooking. On the other hand, organic fertilizer is produced, which reduces the use of artificial fertilizers. By eliminating firewood, 6.5 tons of CO2 are avoided per biogas plant and year, and 3.7 tons of wood are spared. No more soot is produced in the houses, sparing the health of the cooking women in particular. And in the surrounding area, the air quality improves, from which 50,000 people have benefited since the project began.
Compost avoids methane emissions in Bali
The climate protection project in Bali composts organic waste that would otherwise have been disposed of in a landfill and emitted methane during the decomposition process. 85% of the waste in the region consists of organic material and can be composted aerobically, resulting in no methane emissions. The project collected over 125,000 tons of organic waste by 2022, producing 16,000 tons of compost that replaced the use of artificial fertilizers. Nearly 80,000 tons of CO2 have been avoided by the project so far. To put this in perspective, this corresponds to about 1,100 times what DSwiss emitted in CO2 in 2021.
Solar energy in Tanzania replaces kerosene lamps
In Tanzania, many people live without reliable sources of electricity and use paraffin lamps, which give little light, are expensive, and can cause burns and respiratory and eye diseases.This project promotes a business model centred on Solar Home Systems (SHS), which are sold to households in Africa, each containing a solar panel, battery, light source, and mobile phone charger. The size of the SHS is based on the household’s needs and can be financed through micro-credits to lower the investment hurdles for customers. 107,746 households benefit from clean light and save an average of USD 134 per year per household on 167 litres of paraffin, and USD 42 on mobile phone charging.
Community-based reforestation in Nicaragua
In this project, smallholder families from 292 communities in Nicaragua are working to reforest unused land over an area of 86 square kilometers. The more than 10 million trees planted store over 1.5 million tons of CO2 over the course of 15 years. In addition, the trees are part of land use planning to form important watersheds that reduce flooding in the rainy season and store water for the dry season.
DSwiss finances emission reductions amounting to 200% of the greenhouse gases emitted
For every ton of CO2 that we have emitted through our business activities since 2021, we provide financial resources for climate protection projects that are needed to save two tons of CO2 again. In this way, DSwiss AG also acknowledges responsibility for those greenhouse gases that DSwiss AG has emitted through its business activities since the founding year 2006.
Myclimate confirms: DSwiss actively contributes to climate protection
With the label "Myclimate neutral company", the Myclimate foundation recognizes DSwiss' contribution to active climate protection. Active climate protection is expressed in the financial support of Myclimate carbon offset projects, which proportionately save more CO2 than DSwiss AG emits through its business activities.
Climate protection certificate
