Commitment to sustainability
Since its initial project phase, Olympic House has striven to meet the highest sustainability standards, in line with the IOC’s strategic roadmap Olympic Agenda 2020 and Olympic Agenda 2020+5. This has meant prioritising resource efficiency, circular economy, respectful integration into the local landscape and user comfort. As a result, the building became one of the world’s most sustainable buildings when it was inaugurated in June 2019. Five years later, Olympic House achieved LEED Platinum v4.1 certification for its operations and maintenance, recognising its sustainability performance.
Sustainability certifications
Olympic House was the first building in Switzerland to obtain the LEED Platinum v.4 certification for Design and Construction, receiving 94 points – the highest score worldwide at the time of its inauguration.
In addition, it was the first international headquarters – and the second building overall – to obtain the highest (Platinum) level of the Swiss Sustainable Construction Standard (SNBS).
It was also awarded the Swiss standard for energy-efficient buildings, Minergie P.
In May 2024, in addition to its initial LEED certification for its design and construction, Olympic House was awarded the LEED Platinum Operation & Maintenance (O+M) certification, which recognises the high sustainability performance of the building's operations.
With 82 points out of 100, Olympic House achieved the highest LEED operations score in Switzerland, which places it amongst top 10 per cent of certified buildings in Europe (according to LEED O+M v4.1).
Description of sustainability standards obtained by the Olympic House at international and local levels
- LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environment Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. LEED provides a framework to create healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognised symbol of sustainability achievement.
- Olympic House is certified according to both LEED Building Design & Construction (BD+C) standard and LEED Operations & Maintenance (O+M) standard. The LEED BD+C certification recognises the incorporation of sustainability features in the design and construction of the building, while the LEED O+M certification demonstrates that the building achieves a high sustainability performance on a daily basis, based on key metrics that are regularly monitored: energy use ratio, water use ratio, carbon intensity of energy supply, waste production and recycling, indoor air quality, staff transportation modes and user satisfaction.
- The Swiss National Sustainable Construction standard (SNBS) covers the three dimensions of sustainability, i.e. environmental sustainability, social sustainability and economic sustainability. The Olympic House was one of the five pilot projects in Switzerland (the only one in French-speaking Switzerland) chosen to finalise the certification before its official launch in summer 2016.
- The Swiss energy efficiency standard (Minergie P) guarantees that the building consumes less energy per square metre than average Swiss buildings.
KEY FACTS & FIGURES
Energy & water efficiency
- Energy use per square metre reduced by half compared to previous HQ building
- 100% renewable energy supply, part of which is produced on site thanks to photovoltaic solar panels and heat pumps using lake water
- Lake water used for cooling and heating the building
- Potable water use per employee cut by 50% to 75% compared to previous HQ building
- Collection and reuse of rainwater for toilet flushing and plant watering (300m3 collection tank)
Sustainable sourcing and circularity
- 95% of former building’s materials reused or recycled. For example, concrete was crushed on site and reused in the foundations of the new building, a first in Switzerland.
- 95% of construction waste recycled
- 80% of construction costs spent with local contractors
- Selection of construction materials and furniture with lower environmental footprints over their life-cycles (e.g. all wood is FSC certified)
- Sustainable sourcing policy covering IOC daily procurement activities
Biodiversity protection
- Half of the site vegetated
- 50 additional trees on site and over 100 trees added in surrounding areas
- 2,500 m2 of vegetated roof
- Indigenous plant species, including pollinating plants and meadow areas
- Beehives and wild bee shelters
- Optimised outdoor lighting to minimise light pollution
- Ecological gardening practices; no chemical pesticides.
User comfort & sustainable mobility
- 90% of regularly occupied spaces with quality views
- High indoor air quality thanks to selection of construction materials and furniture with low levels of hazardous substances
- Maximal use of daylight
- Ergonomic furniture
- Promotion of active and ecological mobility (135 bicycle spaces, employee subsidies for sustainable mobility, chargers for e-cars)
Carbon emissions
Olympic House’s carbon emissions from construction, including emissions embodied in materials, were measured and compensated.
Carbon emissions from daily operations are included in the IOC’s carbon footprint calculations. The high environmental performance of Olympic House has resulted in significant reductions of operational carbon emissions, contributing to the IOC’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 30% by 2024 and 50% by 2030.
Olympic House LEED scorecard on USGBC website: Olympic House | U.S. Green Building Council (usgbc.org)