Sustainability<span style="color:#000000"> </span>

Occasionally Pioneering 

Martin H. Burckhardt had recognized early on the importance of all three dimensions of sustainability – social, ecological and economic – and emphasized them time and again. Burckhardt’s contribution to sustainability to date can be described as occasionally pioneering. Important projects in this regard include the multi-award-winning MFO-Park in Zurich (2002), which Burckhardt worked on in collaboration with Raderschall landscape architects; the Schorenstadt project (2013) with its charter for the coexistence of socially mixed residents and also the first 2000-Watt site in the region; the Grosspeter Tower (2017) as the first high-rise building in Switzerland with a solar cell façade; Reinach Music School (BL) (2025), for which an existing office building from the 1980s is being converted in line with the principle of minimum demolition with maximum use of regenerative, recycled and existing materials, and which will revitalize the entire neighborhood with its use by the public.

Firmly Anchored 

An important step was taken in 2024: The firm placed its focus on sustainability as part of a holistic building culture such as is formulated in the 2018 Davos Declaration, and anchored it in the foundation of its corporate strategy. Burckhardt is guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is committed to the Swiss Federal Council’s 2030 Agenda. In order to anchor these goals in practice, additional personnel were recruited at the beginning of 2025, to strengthen the firm’s in-company expertise. The measures that have already been implemented and planned address both architectural projects and in-house developments, as well as the company’s carbon footprint.

Knowledge Opens Up Scope for Action 

Whether it involves integrative planning approaches to minimize carbon emissions, extending the life cycle through flexibility of use, or preferring alternative materials and designs: Knowledge opens up scope for action that must be taken in order to fulfil the responsibility that we bear as a player in the construction sector. Burckhardt works on this in many different formats. Currently under development is a systematic catalogue that presents a comparison of facts about sustainability based on individual topics, building materials, and innovations. When completed, it will serve as a sound basis for decisions and arguments in project work. Burckhardt also collaborates with the ETH Zurich and FHNW universities with a view to further developing sustainable solutions such as modular timber construction, Green BIM, and Simple Construction, and translating them into practice. 

High Aspirations for In-House Developments 

Both the responsibility and the scope of action are particularly pronounced in Burckhardt’s in-house developments. With respect to the 2030 Agenda, the aim here is to create climate-neutral buildings with the lowest possible carbon footprint or the ability to generate a surplus of energy. 

Analysis, Implementation and Certification

As digitalization progresses, the measurability of sustainability aspects is improving significantly. Building Information Modeling (BIM) in particular, which is used in almost all projects at Burckhardt, makes it possible to draw up sound life cycle assessments in the early planning phases. In 2024, it was decided that future projects would be put through a sustainability pre-check in the early planning phases, to enable the development and implementation of individualized target definitions in consultation with the clients, based on the analysis. 

The Western Switzerland offices in Geneva and Lausanne were awarded the EcoEntreprise «Excellence» Certificate in 2025, which recognizes the current status of the measures and includes a roadmap for implementing further measures. 

Corporate Carbon Footprint 

Since 2021, Burckhardt has had its own carbon footprint calculated in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol's guidelines, cutting it by 37% from 2021 to 2023. The most important factors for this success involved financing annual passes for public transport, making working from home more flexible, and electrifying the vehicle fleet.