Move more sustainably

At the end of June, the time had come: after more than 40 years, Consor moved from its offices in Ottikerstrasse to its new location: Wengistrasse 7 in Kreis 4. Our new office building was recently renovated for energy efficiency and is currently getting a photovoltaic system on the roof, so that the framework conditions for low energy consumption are optimal here.

We took this move as an opportunity to review how we as a company can operate even more sustainably and improve processes in terms of environmental protection. We received valuable input from Dr. Pamela Ravasio, SME Sustainability and an expert in the field of sustainability – many thanks at this point.

Sustainability

Consor is already very far advanced in terms of sustainability in procurement, but it was important to us to keep our CO2 emissions as low as possible during the move as well and to become even better in the area of disposal and recycling.

This started with the furniture: we were able to buy height-adjustable desks from our previous tenants. In addition to the ergonomic benefits for our employees, this meant that we did not have to have new desks produced. This alone has saved us a considerable amount of CO2. But where to put our tables and the furniture we no longer need? In the last few months, we were able to sell almost everything to new owners via online platforms. We didn’t get rich with it and it was a considerable effort, but we think it’s worth it: Because these desks, mobile containers and cabinets will continue to be used, which also saves CO2.

Recycling

All of our discarded electrical equipment, such as old monitors, computers and laptops, were also either sold or given to a specialized agency for upcycling or recycling.

We did the physical move with a small, local company to keep travel distances to a minimum. We rented the moving boxes instead of buying them – they were returned to the moving company and will be in use for hopefully many more moves.

When bidding for cleaning services for our 620m2 office space, we explicitly asked for ISO certifications for the use of ecological cleaning agents and fair working conditions. In the medium term, this “nudging” of service providers helps to encourage companies to operate more sustainably. In the end, we also decided in favor of the cleaning company that was the only one to have all the certifications – even though it was somewhat more expensive than the competitors.

Unfortunately, the city of Zurich does not yet have an end-to-end concept for recycling recyclables at companies, so we looked for a solution here as well. And in doing so, we came across Mr. Green: With their service, the Swiss company offers very convenient collection and pickup of a wide variety of recyclables for companies and private individuals, thus making a decisive contribution to a circular economy. In order to avoid plastic waste, we at Consor have been using Recircle boxes for years, which are now used even more frequently by our employees in the vibrant Kreis 4.

Filtered, with and without fizz

We have also changed our drinking water supply in the new office: At the old location, we still had regular deliveries of sparkling and mineral water. Thanks to a new faucet in the kitchen, our employees now have the option of getting the best Zurich tap water, filtered, with or without carbonation, directly from the faucet. This also saves travel and the energy required for cleaning and recycling glass bottles.

Overall, we are very satisfied with the result: Employees are pleased to have desks that are height-adjustable throughout in a state-of-the-art office, the old furniture is being reused, and we have been able to do better in terms of recycling and cleaning.

We are pleased to be able to make a small contribution to sustainability and hope to inspire other companies and private individuals.