Guillaume is our Innovation Manager, and he is responsible for guiding the development of new products and features in alignment with the needs of users, data providers, and software. He interviews stakeholders, understands their needs, translates them into requirements, and ensures implementation delivers the value expected.
As of 2024, Guillaume has been with ecoinvent for ten years. We asked him to share some insights into his experience.
I act as a subject matter expert (SME): I take part in discussions with software architects and developers.
In my day-to-day, I describe the features we need internally or from the perspective of our users. I interview users, data providers, and third-party software developers who build on ecoinvent data. I also monitor growing trends in LCA and see if we need to plan for it. My day-to-day is very diverse, but in a different way to the past.
During my ten years at ecoinvent, my role has evolved quite a bit! When I joined, there were five employees, and I was the only one who could write code.
For a few years, we exclusively hired people with a graduate degree in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Now, we are looking for a wider range of expertise to make sure we build a product that is useful for our expanded range of clients.
In this setting, I ended up doing a bit of everything. But after a few months, I saw what the most common tasks were, where the needs for automations lay, and I developed a generalized code base that could be reused in most projects. I used it to support data providers, manage Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods, compare new and previously published releases, and pinpoint what change in the source data has caused a change in scores… It was very diverse.
After a few years, I enabled ecoinvent to change the way we managed our system models. By reverse-engineering an external piece of code, I was able to develop tools that are used today by our team of fifteen data analysts.
I continue to maintain this code, responding to small bugs and implementing our analysts’ ideas for it, which makes their work easier.
When I started, ecoinvent’s clients were mostly academics and consultants who were already LCA experts. Now, LCA is spoken about outside of our bubble. People with different backgrounds and needs see the benefits of working with ecoinvent data.
Looking to the future, we aim to explore how the ecoinvent database could better support industry-specific needs such as ecodesign tools, circular economy projects, and environmental reporting. We publish a very complex and comprehensive product, which can be overwhelming for outsiders.
One of my favorite memories at ecoinvent is still an ongoing joke. Many years ago, while helping one of our more junior colleagues, he started calling me ‘master’. The name stuck, and as we hired new joiners, they simply started to mimic him, and now there is a whole group of people calling me ‘master’. I find this hilarious! But it also reminds me that even if sometimes I feel like I never know enough, that I have had a wide range of experiences that make it possible for me to have something relevant to say in many projects.
Our team is young and highly motivated, and even if we are sometimes stressed, we are always able to throw some fun in the middle of it.
If Guillaume’s ecoinvent story inspires you, check out our careers page for more information about our current job openings.
The Bike to Work Challenge is Switzerland’s largest biking promotion event, taking place in May and June every year. We have decided to engage with the challenge throughout May.
Bike to Work promotes fitness and team spirit for those brave enough to get in the saddle. The event also notes the sustainability benefits of cycling to work, as cycling produces notably fewer emissions than driving.
The scheme also supports individuals with different mobility requirements. Participants usually compete in teams, with most cycling. One team member is permitted to participate by using a scooter or skateboard, walking, or using any other muscle-powered mode of transport. Rules also accommodate individuals who live too close or too far away from their office, enabling more people to participate in the spirit of the event.
Several members of the ecoinvent team regularly commute to work at our headquarters in Zürich by bike, but last month, we added a bit of competition. Three ecoinvent teams registered for the 2024 Bike to Work Challenge:
So, how did the ecoinvent teams perform?
Our staff biked 1446 km in total! If we tried that length with standard bars of Toblerone, we would need over six million of them lined end-to-end perfectly— 6,885,714 bars precisely. That’s a lot of chocolate!
Three ecoinvent champions outdid the others:
Our three teams did exceptionally well (and kept cycling throughout a very rainy month).
We had two dedicated cyclists who managed to cycle during every workday: Special congratulations to Enrico Bonanno and Sebastian Kunde!
Did you regularly cycle to work before participating in the challenge?
Sebastian Kunde (Rolling Slowpokes): Yes, every day.
Enrico Bonanno (Pedal & Furious): Yes, I cycle to work on a daily basis. So far, only fresh snow and ice have stopped me!
Julie Kauer (Minions): No, the ecoinvent office is around 23 km away from where I live, so biking to work has never seemed like something I would do.
What was the hardest part of the challenge?
Sebastian: It’s not a challenge for me, biking is the fastest and easiest way to get to work.
Enrico: None – everything was pretty easy since I was already used to it. Also, I live roughly 3 km away from ecoinvent, so it’s not a big deal.
Julie: Definitely the distance to work. However, I figured I can take the train for a bit and then start biking once I am a bit closer.
What was your favorite part of the challenge?
Sebastian: The giveaways.
Enrico: A bike ride every morning is really refreshing for waking up and helps me clear my thoughts about the day I just had.
Julie: One day, I woke up really early and biked the whole 23 km (I did use the e-bike for this, but shhh). After work, I biked the whole way back, so I covered around 46 km in one day! It was wonderful, and once the weather is better, I can definitely imagine doing this more often; the fresh air and calmness of the early morning was so relaxing and the best way to start my day.
I also love that I am not relying on any fixed train schedules when I go to work by bike. As I only have two trains per hour, biking gives me so much more freedom.
Where is your favorite place in the world to cycle?
Sebastian: Baltic coast.
Enrico: I’m not sure I can fully answer this question, having lived in only five countries. However, I would say the Swiss mountains seem like a paradise for mountain bikers.
On the other hand, the bicycle “highways” in the Benelux region are also very nice; they really incentivize people to use their bicycles more often in cities and when moving from one city to another since they are completely separated from car roads and offer a feeling of greater safety than taking a bike on a normal road, perhaps separated from cars only by a yellow line, as is often the case here in Zürich city.
Julie: Definitely Copenhagen, their roads and system for biking are amazing, and the city is just beautiful.
If you could design your dream bike for commuting, which features would it have?
Sebastian: Extremely light and easily drivable.
Enrico: A daily bike self-scan that tells me what problems the bike has and maybe a futuristic airbag that protects the cyclist in case of an accident.
Julie: There would definitely have to be a cup holder for my morning coffee (maybe even one that keeps my coffee warm?). Also, I would design a fingerprint system for locking my bike once I arrive at my destination. I sometimes forget my key and the lock to keep my bike safe…
Our long-distance champion, Carl Vadenbo, shares his favorite place to cycle: The hills of Zürich Oberland.
The ecoinvent team is international, diverse, and committed to our organization’s mission to provide high-quality data by publishing the world’s most comprehensive LCI database.
If you’re interested in joining our team, check out our open positions or send us a spontaneous application. You can also connect with us on social media to follow our latest adventures.
This year, we’re particularly proud of the growth and evolution of our team, which has expanded to 60 passionate professionals. To celebrate the impressive group of people who make up our organization, we came together in Zürich this month to spread festive cheer and share gratitude.
Thank you for being part of our community. As we look ahead to 2024, we’re excited about the future. Here’s to a new year of growth, collaboration, and positive impact!
Check out our open positions and apply today.
Specifically, Emilia Moreno Ruiz, who very successfully acted as the interim director of ecoinvent between March 2021 and April 2022, is now appointed Chief Technical Officer (CTO). Fadri Casty, whose valuable contribution as Head of Sales & Business Development has led to the structure and growth of the organisation’s sales, is now appointed Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of ecoinvent. To complete this strong team, Nic Meyer joins the ecoinvent team as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ecoinvent.
Together, Nic, Emilia, and Fadri will lead ecoinvent and develop its future strategy.
We wish them a great start in this new chapter of ecoinvent’s journey to further support our society towards a more sustainable behaviour.