Sustainability through Open Data : Examples from Switzerland

Although the term “sustainability” can be traced back to as early as 1761 in forest management, it was unknown to most of the wider public two decades ago. Driven by publications of scientific evidence showing the potential impact of greenhouse gases on global climate change as well as the prediction of the end of the oil age, popular awareness of ecological challenges facing our planet has increased – today, the topic of sustainability has arrived in the mainstream (with all the downsides, such as hijacking of the term). While awareness alone is certainly not sufficient, it is a fundamental and necessary step towards the establishment of new models for economic, societal and ecologic development. In this paper we show how the Open Data movement can address some of the complex challenges that sustainable development needs to solve. Examples of software applications (“apps”) and data analyses and visualizations developed in grassroots projects at so-called “make.opendata.ch hackathons” in Switzerland will demonstrate how the Open Data movement can be part of the solution by bridging the realms of economy, ecology and society in sustainable development. 1 Sustainability through Open Data Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, human activity has mainly been motivated by narrow selfinterest and the pursuit of short-term utility maximization [1]. Many have given less attention to the longterm impacts of (at times seemingly unlimited) economic growth. Vital natural resources such as food, biodiversity, water and energy were assumed to be virtually infinitely supplied. In 2012, the oil production peak (“peak oil”) has almost been reached globally [2]. The current atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased by 30% from its pre-industrial values [3] and will continue to rise thus accelerating global change. The essentials for life to thrive (air, land, rivers and oceans) have experienced profound alterations in many places, affecting much of the Earth’s flora and fauna. The cooccurrence of these events strongly hints at the idiomatic elephant in the room: that our current model of economic development – of “doing business” – is not sustainable. Consequently, over the last 20 years numerous researchers have ventured to find out how economic growth and social needs can be balanced with the natural environment in order to ensure that the present does not adversely affect future opportunities (temporal dimension of sustainability). Meeting this challenge is incredibly difficult, as it requires global cooperation, technological innovation, changes in predominant cultural attitudes, and long-term commitment. In what follows we would like to show how the goals of Open Data can complement the scientific and societal efforts and how Open Data proponents can make an important contribution to the sustainability movement. 1 Antoine Logean, opendata.ch, antoine.logean@opendata.ch, @ecolix 2 Oleg Lavrovsky, opendata.ch, oleg.lavrovsky@opendata.ch, @loleg 3 Peter Gassner, Interactive Things, peter@interactivethings.com 4 Ralph Straumann, ralphstraumann.ch, ralph.straumann@gmail.com, @ralphstraumann EnviroInfo 2012: EnviroInfo Dessau 2012, Part 2: Open Data and Industrial Ecological Management Copyright 2012 Shaker Verlag Aachen, ISBN: 978-3-8440-1248-4