"KEEP IT CO2OL": Basler & Hofmann supports exhibition on CO2 at ETH Zurich

On August 27, 2025, the time had finally come for the Focus Terra curation team: after several years of preparation, the special exhibition "KEEP IT CO₂OL" opened its doors. For the exhibition, the team led by Dr. Ulrike Kastrup, Head of Focus Terra, collaborated with over 70 researchers from ETH Zurich as well as other institutions, companies, artists and other private and public partners. The common goal: to provide the public with scientifically sound information about_CO2 and to raise awareness of climate change and climate protection - a cause that Basler & Hofmann supports. An interview with CEO Dominik Courtin.

Was there a key event that made you personally aware of the relevance of climate change?

Dominik Courtin: Not so much an isolated event as a development that we have been observing in Europe for several years: the melting of the glaciers. Two years ago, I visited the Becherhaus - the highest mountain hut in South Tyrol at 3,195 meters, which we renovated - with the managing director of our South Tyrolean subsidiary. As we descended from the Becherhaus over the glacier to the next hut, a lot of water was flowing where there had been thick ice until a few years ago. On the way, we met a hut warden who was in the process of laying a new water connection for his hut. He told us that the hut's water source had been four meters higher last year. Experiences like this make it clear that we as a society are on the brink of change.

With "KEEP IT CO₂OL", Basler & Hofmann is supporting an exhibition that focuses on climate change and how we deal with it. Why is this?

Dominik Courtin: Basler & Hofmann has always seen itself as a company that wants to make a contribution to tackling the key challenges facing society. Climate change has various facets: what can we do as an engineering, planning and consulting company to limit CO₂ emissions in our clients' projects? And what contribution can we as a company make with our expertise to deal with the consequences of change? Unfortunately, we cannot turn back the clock completely. The "KEEP IT CO₂OL" exhibition sheds light on the topic of climate change and_CO2 in a fact-based, holistic and solution-oriented way, which is in line with our aspirations as a company. The exhibition does not accuse anyone, but sheds light on the topic of CO₂ in a factual manner, conveys basic knowledge in a clear way and shows solutions for both CO₂ reduction and climate change mitigation.

What role do you see for Basler & Hofmann in reducing man-made CO₂ emissions?

Dominik Courtin: We have the greatest leverage for reducing CO₂ emissions in our client projects. As a company, we can work to minimize the use of resources in projects and increase their efficiency. Nature shows us how: Elegant constructions require less material. With an engineering approach, we can ensure that materials are only used where they are actually needed and that what we build has a long service life. This way of thinking is not new to us engineers - until a few years ago, it was just viewed through a different lens in projects - primarily that of cost and construction time optimization. In principle, however, we have always made a contribution to durability and sustainability. I am firmly convinced of this: If you save resources overall, a solution is always cheaper.

The common opinion is often that measures in favor of sustainability cause additional costs. Do you have a specific example from our current projects that shows how cost-effectiveness and sustainability can go hand in hand?

Dominik Courtin: A good example is the extension of the Root school in Root in the canton of Lucerne. Our structural engineers compared three ceiling systems for the new gymnasium with a steel framework using an ecological balance sheet: a reinforced concrete flat ceiling, a Holorib ceiling and a timber box girder ceiling. As expected, the timber ceiling performed best in terms of its carbon footprint, but what was surprising was that it was also cheaper in terms of construction costs - contrary to the widespread assumption that timber construction is more expensive. The reason: with the concrete variants, the steel framework had to be more heavily dimensioned in order to absorb the higher loads.

What is Basler & Hofmann doing in its own company in terms of CO₂ reduction?

Dominik Courtin: Basler & Hofmann started implementing measures very early on. One concrete example is our office buildings. One of our buildings in Esslingen was the first Minergie office building in the canton of Zurich. This was followed by the first office building in Esslingen with an underground storage tank, which can be operated almost energy self-sufficiently. Or the office building in Kriens: an existing building that we converted and which now has a photovoltaic façade, among other things. We have also been promoting the use of public transport by our employees for a long time through various measures. The next major point that we need to look at in detail is our electricity consumption. As with practically all companies, the vast majority of our business and project information is now hosted in a cloud. And we know that data centers need huge amounts of electricity. The way in which we manage data has a massive impact on our electricity consumption. Because digital data is intangible, this aspect is not yet on the radar of many companies. It is fundamentally important to us as a company to create a culture in which all employees can make the contribution they feel is right.

The "KEEP IT CO₂OL" exhibition can be seen at Focus Terra until the end of February 2027. What do you hope to gain from the exhibition?

Dominik Courtin: I hope that the exhibition manages to make us all even more aware of climate protection. And that it encourages and motivates us to develop solutions in our individual spheres of influence.

More about the "KEEP IT CO₂OL" exhibition

The special exhibition "KEEP IT CO₂OL" can be seen until February 28, 2027 at Focus Terra, the Earth & Science Discovery Center of ETH Zurich, 10 minutes from Zurich main station. The curation team received the Optimus Agora Prize from the Swiss National Science Foundation for the exhibition. The prize is awarded to outstanding projects that promote dialog between science and society.

The exhibition is accompanied by a rich supporting program with workshops, guided tours, lectures and much more for adults and families with children.

To the website of the special exhibition