The philosophy we live by: wellbeing and climate protection from day one 

The green rooftop is part of a concept that stands for environmentally conscious construction: a photovoltaic system generates part of the building’s electricity demand, water-saving sinks and toilets reduce water consumption, and smart building technology regulates energy usage. As a company with sustainability firmly anchored in our corporate strategy, moving to a modern and environmentally friendly building, certified by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) with the DGNB platinum certificate, is a logical step for us to take. At the same time, the new Frankfurt location in Lyoner Straße 13 stands for flexible thinking and working. 

The office concept is worlds apart from old-fashioned open-plan offices with lacklustre rows of desks. Instead, we wanted to design an open landscape with different zones that create an inspiring working environment with comfortable areas for informal exchange as well as meeting rooms for agile work or quiet focus areas for tasks that demand concentration. Two Wi-Fi networks allow you to work and take calls wherever you are in the building – Just open your laptop and start. 

You can choose to spend your breaks in our generous green areas, the cafeteria on the ground floor with access to the green atrium, a fitness area, and much more. The marketplaces on each office floor are the building’s central meeting places. Each has an integrated kitchen and provides enough space to have tea and coffee meetings with two or more of your colleagues. And because we take flexibility and new work seriously, we also offer a mother-child room and a prayer room. 

We also made sure that the interior furnishing lives up to our sustainability standards. We used durable recyclable materials and products that are low in both pollutants and in emissions. The furniture carries the “Blue Angel” certification and even the coat hangers made of grass fibres with recycled or biodegradable plastics are ecologically sound. 

And while you are inside the office building, your car or even your bike can recharge its batteries. In the parking garage, you will find 21 charging stations for electric cars and 120 charging points for e-bikes. All of the electricity comes from 100% renewable energy sources – the same goes for the entire building. 

Smart building technology and an intelligent regulation of lighting and indoor climate also contribute to saving energy and therefore reduce CO₂ emissions – for example, by using heating-cooling ceilings, humidification and dehumidification systems, facades that let in plenty of natural light, and windows with combined heat and cold protection. Heat is mainly obtained by cogeneration. Even rather smaller measures such as motion detectors for lights or instantaneous water heaters in toilets and showers play a part in reducing energy consumption. 

Part of the electricity demand is covered by a photovoltaic system on the roof of the office building. The roof also has another function – a huge biotope is being landscaped at a lofty height on an area of about 4 000 square meters. This has a positive effect on the environment in multiple ways: we are growing various plant species, including sedums, perennials and small and large shrubs, as well as multi-stemmed wood plants, that support biodiversity and help reduce fine-dust air pollution. The rainwater collected from the green roof is used to irrigate the plants. Excess rainwater is collected in an underground buffer tank, which is then returned to the natural water cycle to help create groundwater. The biological cycle we are establishing binds almost three kilograms of CO₂ per square metre every year, reduces the noise level by up to 46 decibels and directly contributes to cooling the city’s climate.