Sustainability through Open Data : Examples from Switzerland

Abstract

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.