ABSTRACT
This chapter provides key information on the national context, priority issues, trends, government policies, and case studies of sustainable enterprise in Switzerland. Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a small republic, positioned in the heart of Europe. Confederations, cantons and communes constitute the basis of its political structure. The country is multi-ethnic and multicultural because it is made up of three linguistic and cultural regions. Forests, lakes and mountains, cover two-thirds of the territory and agriculture employs less than 10% of the population. The Swiss government has defined some meta-targets for 2014 on environmental and social issues, from which the Federal Council has derived some strategic priority key challenges. Social issues on the Swiss agenda include the improvement of social cohesion, encouraging cultural development and integration and tackling demographic challenges in terms of an ageing population, adapting the systems to demographic trends providing security in old age.
