City of Zurich receives first prize for sustainable construction

The city of Zurich was awarded first prize among 28 cities in the category "Sustainable Procurement Initiative" at this year's "Procura+ Award". It received this award for its innovative and sustainable use of recycled concrete (RC concrete) with CO2-reduced cement in building construction and for the use of recycled asphalt in road construction.

Wiebke Rösler Häfliger, Director of the Office of Structural Engineering, accepted the award on behalf of the City Council on September 24, 2019 in Stavanger, Norway.

The award is a great satisfaction for Head of Building Construction André Odermatt with a view to the 2000-watt society. "I am very pleased that our long-standing commitment in the field of sustainable building is also being noticed and honored at the European level," says Odermatt. In the context of the current climate debate, this award comes at the right time for Andreas Hauri, head of the Department of Health and Environment. "For us, the award is confirmation that our climate protection measures are being recognized. In the future, the city of Zurich will be even more committed to climate protection and will explore new, exciting avenues in the process."

Great interest in RC concrete from European cities

"Procura+" is a European city network for sustainable public procurement. Its main purpose is to exchange knowledge and experience in this field.

Important aspects in this context are, for example, climate-prioritized procurement, innovation promotion and the circular economy. The city of Zurich is one of the founding members of this city network, which has been in existence since 2004, and plays a pioneering role in the field of sustainable construction.

The registered interest of other European cities in the local experience is correspondingly high.

Recycled concrete in use since 2002
Long before the current climate debate, and before the goals of the 2000-watt society were enshrined in Zurich's municipal ordinance in 2008, recycled concrete was already being used in city-owned buildings. Experts from the Office of Structural Engineering were already committed to the use of environmentally friendly building materials some 20 years ago with a great deal of pioneering spirit.

An early example is the Im Birch school building (construction started in 2002), a current one is the Kunsthaus extension (construction completed in 2020). Since 2005, all public buildings in Zurich have been built with recycled concrete in accordance with municipal specifications, and since 2015 also with CO2-reduced cement that uses fly ash instead of conventional clinker. Approximately 90 percent of the concrete used is RC concrete.

More information:
- Documentation recycled concrete
- Overview of the City of Zurich's strategy for the 2000-watt society
- Data about the city of Zurich from "Procura+".