Bring in your ideas to tackle local climate challenges in Zurich.

In a country where food is abundant, it’s easy to forget the journey it takes to land on our plates. Did you know? Every Swiss wastes a shocking 330 kg of food annually.

In our pursuit of net zero 2040, addressing food waste emerges as a pivotal priority. How can we raise awareness about food’s true value – its labour, its cost, its essence? How can we nurture a culture that reveres the sustenance we often take for granted?

The arrival of a child often prompts parents toward car ownership. Young parents seek quick solutions to balance work, leisure and childcare – a space where a car still seems to check all the boxes.

Yet, to truly transform mobility choices and environmental impact, we need to ignite a shift in adult behaviour and pass on these values to the next generation. The city’s vision? To rewrite the mobility playbook for a cleaner, more vibrant tomorrow. Can we change the game, making sustainable choices just as easy and compelling?

A staggering 30% of emissions stem from consuming goods, mainly from textiles, food, and electronic devices. Predominant linear business models (produce, use, and dispose) often lead to the premature disposal of fully functional items.

As we strive for net-zero by 2040, it’s imperative to significantly reduce consumption-based emissions. How can we amplify the perceived value of pre-owned goods? How can we simplify the process of reusing goods? How can we integrate life cycle costs as a decision criterion for consumption?

In 2022, 150+ people celebrated 21 teams and their ideas at the Festival of Ideas.

6 winning teams received a total funding of CHF 40’000 by the City of Zurich directly at our Climathon Closing Ceremony.

After Climathon, > 8 other teams were funded by partners from the Impact Hub Zurich ecosystem with a total of another > CHF 110’000 and consecutive incubator programs.

Every year, Impact Hub Zurich brings together 150+ Zurich impact-driven citizens to tackle local climate challenges. The event is perfect low-barrier opportunity to access climate topics and creates a lot of visibility. Join us as event partner!

Climathon Zurich is a great opportunity to drive Zurich’s net zero journey.

Climathon is a worldwide movement of people who actively combat climate change and is held in cities around the world. In Zurich, Climathon is organised by Impact Hub Zurich in collaboration with the City of Zurich and Climate-KIC. 

During 32h, participants have the chance to meet inspiring people, work on climate challenges and share their ideas to inspire others. Either they create a new idea from scratch or they co-create and boost an existing climate project.

Thanks to our Impact Hub network and our collaboration with our partner the City of Zurich, we have great coaches, experts and a lot of experience to support everyone during the Climathon journey.

At Climathon, participants are on a journey from climate challenge to climate solution. Although each Climathon is a new inspiring experience with new challenges to tackle, the event itself is always built upon the following three elements.

During the team work, there is the option to visit workshops. Our workshop leaders coach on topics like «How to Pitch» or «How to Prototype».

Recharging batteries during Climathon is crucial. Therefore, we include recreational elements such as a guided yoga flow or mediation in the program, too. 

All Climathon participants grant the Climathon Zurich Organizer, its subsidiaries, agents and partner companies, a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, distribute, publicly perform, create a derivative work from, and publicly display the submission. Of course, all participants maintain the ownership and property rights of the work that they created during Climathon (e.g. source code).