Our Topics
Strategy development
We support companies (and other entities) in the development of strategies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and / or their energy consumption by identifying the relevant contributors in all three scopes according to the GHG protocol and by identifying technically, economically and operationally feasible reduction potentials. We also support the implementation of these strategies.
Sustainable Transport
Transport is responsible for roughly 30% of the energy consumption, use of settlement area and greenhouse gas emissions. And the transport sector offers the largest mitigation potential in all these areas. We assess the potentials of different technologies and strategies to improve the environmental performance of individual and public transport and support decision makers on all levels.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Carbon Footprints (CF)
We use LCA and CF mainly as a tool for decision support in the context of strategies for mitigation of environmental burdens. However, we are well aware of the large uncertainties and the many shortcomings of these methods and therefore pay special attention to the robustness of the results during their interpretation and discussion.
Business and Policy advice
More Info to follow
Evaluation and Synthesis
We focus on formative evaluation and synthesis as tools for strategic learning and adaptive management of development projects and programs, primarily in the Global South. We use participative and transdisciplinary methods for the co-generation of knowledge and recognize the importance of integrating diverse knowledge sources to achieve sustainable development.
Education and Mediation
From children's books to courses for university students, professionals, and policymakers, our experience in teaching and training is extensive. We have conducted courses on climate change and natural resource management in over thirty countries across Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Our expertise also includes preparing technical guidance for practitioners and supervising master's and doctoral theses.
We have provided mediative support to over 500 students for their teamwork in solving environmental problems as part of the ETH Bachelor's degree program. Additionally, we are authors of children's books on the topics of climate change and restorative justice.
About EcoExistence
EcoExistence is an joint venture of two single-member companies:
"EcoExistence Robledo Abad Althaus" was founded in 2012 by Carmenza Robledo.
"EcoExistence Althaus" was founded in 2024 by Carmenza's husband Hans-Jörg Althaus.
EcoExistence provides environmental assessments and evaluations of projects, technologies and entities, policy and business advice and works in research and education.
EcoExistence' managing director is a hyperactive Border Collie by the name of Merlin. Obviously, he is the one responsible for the miracles we provide ;)
Who we are:
Dr. Carmenza Robledo Abad Althaus
Carmenza has over twenty-five years of experience in the areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation with emphasis on natural resource management and sustainable development. She has worked at the interface of science-policy-practice in over thirty countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, was a lead author of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and evaluated collaborative research programmes by the CGIAR system, the FAO and the World Bank. She was the team leader of the Environment and Climate change group, first in Intercooperation and then in Helvetas swiss Intercooperation, and has acted as adviser of multiple international organizations including GCF, FAO, UNDP, UNEP, World Bank, IDB, CIFOR, UNFCCC Secretariat as well as governments in Latin America Asia and Africa. She has also advised projects and organizations in the private sector including VERRA and the WBCSD. Since January 2023 she is member of the independent Technical Advisory Panel (iTAP) of the Green Climate Fund, the worldwide biggest funding mechanism for climate action.
Carmenza is Colombian and Swiss citizen. She has a multidisciplinary background. In Colombia, she studied architecture and did an interdisciplinary master in regional development. In Germany, she pursued a master in economics in Braunschweig and received a doctoral degree in geography of the University of Stuttgart. In 2021 she finalized her certificate as a conflict mediator in Basel.
Dr. Hans-Jörg Althaus
Hans-Jörg is an expert in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with extensive experience in transport, (renewable) energy and material production. In all these areas he combines knowledge of the technologies, political, economic and societal framework conditions as well as the models and data used to assess their environmental impacts. This is the key to effectively and efficiently develop strategies to reduce environmental burdens of existing and future products and services.
Hans-Jörg holds a master in material science and a PhD in environmental science, both from ETH Zurich. He worked in R&D for a producer of solar energy systems and components, in academia heading a research group on LCA and supervising doctoral students and post-Docs, in a business association developing a resource strategy for Switzerland and he was responsible for "Transport and Environment" as a partner in a research and consulting company.
Climate Change and Natural Resource Management
We focus on Nature-based Solutions for achieving climate change adaptation and mitigation.
We provide advice for climate vulnerability assessments, planning adaptation measures, and monitoring adaptation impact at the national, subnational, and local levels. Regarding climate change mitigation, we offer expertise in designing, assessing, monitoring, and evaluating activities related to REDD+, AFOLU, and ARR.
Some links and downloads to / of our work:
Member of the independent Technical Advisory Panel of the Green Climate Fund (iTAP)
- Lead Author of Chapter 11 of the 5th Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on "Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses (AFOLU)"
- Expert reviewer of the Working Group II (Vulnerability and Adaptation) of the 5th and 6th Assessment Report (AR5 and AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (here)
- How Local Communities Attribute Livelihood Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Other Causes: A Case Study in North Vanuatu
- Bioenergy production and sustainable development: science base for policy making remains limited. Paper in GCG Bioenergy
- Integrating Global Climate Change Mitigation Goals with Other Sustainability Objectives: A Synthesis. Paper in Annual Review of Environment and Resources
- Co-benefits, trade-offs, barriers and policies for greenhouse gas mitigation in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. Paper in Global Change Biology
- How much land-based greenhouse gas mitigation can be achieved without compromising food security and environmental goals? Paper in Global Change Biology
- Adaptation of Forests and People to Climate Change. A Global Assessment Report. Chapters 4 and 7. IUFRO World Series Vol 22
- The role of forest ecosystems in community-based coping strategies to climate hazards: three examples from rural areas in Africa. Paper in Forest Policy and Economics
Evaluation and Synthesis
We focus on formative evaluation and synthesis as tools for strategic learning and adaptive management of development projects and programs, primarily in the Global South. We use participative and transdisciplinary methods for the co-generation of knowledge and recognize the importance of integrating diverse knowledge sources to achieve sustainable development.
Some links and downloads
- Synthesis coordinator of the Swiss Program for Research on Global Issues for Development and Cooperation
- Promising practices for dealing with complexity in research for development. Paper in GAIA
- Utilization of Research Knowledge in Sustainable Development Pathways: Insights from a Transdisciplinary Research-for-Development Programme. Paper in Environmental Science and Policy
- Senior expert member of the team for the Evaluation of the FAO evaluation on Strategic Objective 2 (areas: climate change and natural resources)
- Senior expert member of the team for the second Evaluation of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility of the World Bank (FCPF). Responsible for institutional and social issues
- Senior expert member of the Mid-Evaluation team of the CGIAR-CRP 7 Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. Responsible for low carbon agriculture and for knowledge convergence and knowledge transfer
- Senior expert member of the Mid-Evaluation team of the CGIAR-CRP 6 Program on Forest, Trees and Agroforestry. Responsible for Climate Change, Gender and Tenure aspects
Education and Mediation
From children's books to courses for university students, professionals, and policymakers, our experience in teaching and training is extensive. We have conducted courses on climate change and natural resource management in over thirty countries across Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Our expertise also includes preparing technical guidance for practitioners and supervising master's and doctoral theses.
We have provided mediative support to over 500 students for their teamwork in solving environmental problems as part of the ETH Bachelor's degree program. Additionally, we are authors of children's books on the topics of climate change and restorative justice.
Some links and downloads
Partizipative Forschung und Prozesse der nachhaltigen Entwicklung: Demokratische Schlüsselqualifikationen von Forschenden. Book
- Transdisciplinary Co-Creation Increases the Utilization of Knowledge from Sustainable Development Research. Paper in Environmental Science & Policy
Roadmap for implementing Principles 3 and 4 as well as interactions with Principle 5 of the SWISSCO Platform (report upon request)
- ICAT Stakeholder Participation Guidance. ICAT Series of Guidance. Initiative for Climate Action Transparency
Guideline for assessing barriers to Low Carbon Technologies. ETH ans Climate-KIC
- Technical guide on the quantification of carbon benefits in ITTO projects. ITTO Technical Series #43
Methodology book for the Assessment of Investment and Financial Flows UNDP Report
Chapter 5 – Mitigation in the Forestry Sector
Chapter 7 – Adaptation in the Forestry Sector
Adaptation of forest ecosystems and the forest sector to climate change. FAO Guidelines
- Las semillas de Ylla (in Spanish). Children's Book
- Una historia de Ratones (in Spanish). Children's Book
Contact us
Write to info@EcoExistence.ch