Sustainable products and services

Many different sustainability standards are applied to building construction. Labels such as LEED, DGNB, SNBS and Minergie set different requirements and focus on different aspects. Implenia Buildings had around 50 building construction projects with sustainability certificates under way in Switzerland and Germany in 2022. This is over two times more than ten years ago. Since 2020, around 15 projects were certified per year. In 2022, Implenia’s Division Buildings generated around 45% of its revenue from certified building construction projects. This percentage has been growing continuously over the past years.

As well as its great experience in implementing sustainability standards, Implenia has also helped develop and harmonise several of them. It worked, for example, as a founding member on the development of the “Swiss Sustainable Construction Standard” (SNBS, see below). One of the goals that Implenia has set itself for 2025 is to develop and build according to the highest sustainability standards, as well as to participate in the further development of these standards.

In 2020 Implenia signed the Swiss Building Label Charter, signalling its support for Switzerland’s efforts to achieve its energy and climate goals. Charter signatories aim to carry out every construction project in accordance with a high energy or sustainability standard while also delivering high quality. These organisations also undertake to install building technology that meets the highest possible energy efficiency standards.

Sustainability standards are still less common in civil engineering than in building construction. In Switzerland, Implenia applies SNBS sustainability criteria when tendering for infrastructure projects. In Norway and Sweden, the company is gaining initial experience with the BREEAM Infrastructure Label (formerly CEEQUAL). The “Hagalund” and “Londonviadukten” projects have achieved very good BREEAM ratings. 

Towns, communities and private organisations are increasingly designing whole neighbourhoods based on sustainability criteria. Implenia is often involved in the implementation of such projects, and in 2016 it got together with WWF Switzerland to create the “Swiss Association for Sustainable Neighbourhoods”. The association now includes other organisations, including construction companies, public bodies and housing cooperatives. It is responsible for awarding the “SEED next generation living” certificate for pleasant living environments with a high quality of life.

The SEED approach requires the local community and local stakeholders to develop an action plan together based on six sustainability principles. This broad support facilitates the definition of tailor-made, effective measures. The principles concern energy efficiency, CO₂ emissions, environmentally friendly and local building materials, circular economy, biodiversity as a feature of landscape design, resident and stakeholder participation, and environmentally friendly mobility.

Alongside the environmental aspects, SEED promotes local business and social mixing. Investors can expect market returns, while tenants benefit from fair rents. This can be achieved by balancing areas that meet different standards within a neighbourhood.

The first SEED neighbourhoods are located in western Switzerland. Implenia is planning a “Green Village” in Geneva's Grand-Saconnex district, for example, on a site belonging to the World Council of Churches, with a hotel, a block of flats and several buildings for international organisations.

The Netzwerk Nachhaltiges Bauen Schweiz (Swiss Sustainable Construction Network, NNBS) promotes the exchange of knowledge and experiences as well as cooperation between construction specialists in the commercial and public sectors, education, politics and science. Implenia is a founding and funding member of the network, and has had a place on its board since 2012.

NNBS developed the Swiss Sustainable Building Construction Standard (SNBS), which can be applied to almost any type of project. The industry standard takes into account approaches such as the 2000-Watt society and Minergie-ECO. NNBS has also created a practical tool that can be used to evaluate and compare the sustainability of infrastructure projects. 

Implenia contributed its expertise to the development of this standard, and uses it regularly on its own construction projects. The energy refurbishment project on the Rue de Lausanne in Geneva received the SNBS Gold certificate in 2022, for example.

Alongside its conceptual tools, over recent years Implenia has developed extensive expertise in the use of sustainable techniques and materials – especially wooden construction. Thanks to new building methods and its low grey energy content, wood is enjoying a renaissance as a natural construction material.

Government authorities have also recognised the trend. In Switzerland, for example, revised fire protection regulations allow the construction of wooden buildings up to 100 metres high. If the raw material is purchased locally, buildings made of wood cause significantly less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional buildings made of concrete or brick.

As well as being climate-friendly, wood is also an ideal material for prefabricating construction elements. One of the advantages of modular construction is that these elements can be used flexibly and are easy to replace and recycle. All of these benefits make wood an ideal building material within a closed cycle.

In the projects it develops itself, Implenia only uses wood and wooden materials that carry an FSC, PEFC or equivalent label. The company has also helped FSC Switzerland in the past with the implementation of important projects. The FSC standard is still not as widespread in construction as it is in the paper and printing industries. 

In order to cope with growing demand in Switzerland, Implenia runs a wooden construction facility in Rümlang, Canton Zurich. Its large production hall can accommodate challenging and complex projects. Each year, around 40,000 square metres of wooden elements and 8,000 cubic metres of construction timber are processed. Implenia uses the offcuts to fuel a central heating system, which also supplies heat to the adjacent yard.

Its execution of pioneering projects has made Implenia one of the leading players in the wooden construction segment in Switzerland.

GRI 308-2

The construction and real estate industry is changing rapidly and profoundly as a result of ground-breaking insights, new materials, digitalization and technical advances. Implenia is harnessing these changes to the benefit of its customers, employees and shareholders. “Innovation” is therefore one of the company’s four strategic priorities.

Implenia focuses specifically on the following three aspects of innovation:

• Intrapreneurship: Implenia enables its employees and teams to design, test and implement new ideas as part of their work at the company. This is done through a structured process and training. 
• Open Innovation: Implenia scouts and tests relevant new technologies and potential solutions that emerge from the innovative environment of start-ups, universities, technology and IT companies. Viable concepts are adopted and applied to Implenia’s projects and business teams. 
• Innovation M&A: Implenia invests in, or acquires, innovative SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups that create new business models and sustainable strategic added value. 

The company is at the forefront of developing and deploying future technologies in all its core markets, as demonstrated by its wide range of projects – some recently started, some fully complete – and market-ready products. As a rule, these innovations not only offer economic advantages over conventional approaches, but also tend to improve the ecological footprint of construction activities. The slideshow below gives a number of examples.