Zurich opens energy efficient headquarters adapted to flexible ways of working

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is celebrating the opening of its new global headquarters, a symbol of the Group’s ambition to be one of the most sustainable and impactful companies in the world. The Quai Zurich Campus property is built to achieve the highest environmental, energy efficiency and employee wellbeing certifications.

The Campus is a mix of modern and heritage buildings, including the lakefront office at Mythenquai in Zurich, Switzerland, that the Group has called home for 120 years. It is designed to facilitate Zurich’s new hybrid working model, which foresees a healthy balance between remote and on-site work.

Public spaces including courtyards, a café and the Heritage Center underscore Zurich’s aim to remain accessible and connected with the community.

“Quai Zurich Campus will make an important contribution to our goals to lower emissions and adapt to new ways of working, through a powerful combination of new technology and new behaviors,” said Mario Greco, Group Chief Executive Officer. “The redeveloped property reflects our mission to transform insurance while preserving our heritage and values, and provides an inspiring environment that fosters creativity.”

Highest environmental certifications

Quai Zurich Campus was planned, built and renovated with sustainability in mind. It is expected to receive LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum certifications – the highest levels in the LEED and WELL rating systems.

The property is powered using renewable sources – including rooftop solar panels – and heated and cooled by lake water. Only electric vehicles may use Zurich’s garage, reflecting the Group’s goal to promote sustainable transportation. Rainwater is used for sanitary systems and ‘green walls’ of plants contribute to a healthy indoor atmosphere.

The Campus is also designed for a new way of working that is agile and collaborative, and where on-site and remote employees are connected by technology. Less than half the workspaces are traditional desks, in order to prioritize meeting and collaboration areas adapted to different modes of working.

Quai Zurich Campus is expected to receive the highest certifications for environment and wellbeing, including:

• LEED Platinum certification for the whole campus.
• 2000-Watt-Society certification for the whole campus.
• MINERGIE-P ECO certification for the new buildings and MINERGIE ECO certification for the historically listed buildings. MINERGIE is a registered quality label in Switzerland for new and refurbished low-energy consumption buildings.
• WELL Platinum certification. The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind.

Zurich aims to provide facilities that foster a culture of innovation and service, giving a warm welcome to visitors and allowing employees to work flexibly, collaboratively and creatively. Several of the Group’s offices have achieved certifications that demonstrate the degree to which sustainability has been integrated into their design, construction and operations.

Over the past decade, the headquarters of Zurich’s business units in Switzerland, Spain and the U.S. have all obtained LEED Platinum certification, while the German head office has an equivalent DGNB Gold and the Australian headquarters is certified to the local Green Star certification (5 Star rating). The Spanish office in Madrid is also certified WELL Gold.

Embedded in the community

Refurbishment of the Quai Zurich Campus site began in 2017. In 2018, archaeological digs revealed 5,000-year-old artefacts from lake dwellers including food, tools, jewelry and building remnants. The ‘topping out’ of the building occurred in 2019. In 2020, a 12-meter-long sandstone fountain carved from a single block of stone was delivered from the local quarry where it was made. In July 2021, the Quai Café – a public café and restaurant – opened on the premises.

Other public areas on the site are the courtyards, café and Heritage Center, a public museum with a creative exhibition on the company’s past. In addition, events for the public can be held in the auditorium, which has a capacity of 400 people.

People-focused book

Marking the opening, Zurich has published ‘Quai Zurich Campus, In good company,’ a digital book covering six themes: ‘For Good’ (on sustainability), ‘Together’ (on community), ‘Journey’ (on transformation), ‘At Work’ (on collaboration), ‘Next’ (on innovation), ‘Generations’ (on history). It includes portraits of 36 individuals who set examples and share the Group’s values, as well as 30 stories about the Campus and related topics seen through the eyes of customers, the community and employees.

“The book is a testament to the people who make Zurich what it is – a global company with local roots, evolving to meet the challenges facing society and our industry in new and innovative ways,” said Mario Greco. “Building on their stories, it shows the central role that people’s needs have played in the design of Quai Zurich Campus.”

The book was co-created with a young Swiss, Zurich-based agency, Panda & Pinguin. It is available online in English and German, and in a small number of climate-neutral printed copies.

Additional information

Quai Zurich Campus

Media library