Syngenta Seeds’ New HQ ‘Green’

Employees and state and local officials gathered Sept. 21 to celebrate the grand opening of the new Syngenta Seeds headquarters building for North America in Minnetonka, MN. Among those attending the ceremonies were Mike Mack, Switzerland-based Syngenta CEO and Minnesota agriculture leaders.

Activities included the dedication of a red pine on the building grounds by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and other speaker. The red pine is Minnesota’s state tree. Guests each received a red pine seedling and Syngenta will donate 100 seedlings to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

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“We are so proud of this extraordinary building, which embodies the forward-looking, sustainable qualities, and spirit of innovation that have driven Syngenta and its predecessor companies for more than a century,” Mack told employees. The three-story, 116,000-square-foot structure houses 300 employees and was built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification standards. Employees moved into the building in July, most coming from other buildings in the area.

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Examples of the many sustainable elements in the new building include high-efficiency heating and cooling; natural day lighting, which provides 78 percent of employees direct access to outside light from their work area; reduced water usage; and building-wide recycling and composting. Wall accents are made from Kirei board, an environmentally friendly alternative to wood that uses a Syngenta sorghum product. Mack noted that he was especially pleased with the building’s proximity to bus lines and bike paths, enabling many employees to get to work without driving.

Syngenta Seeds President David Morgan called the new building a symbol of the company’s increasing strength in the seeds business. “Our reputation is growing as a leader in agriculture and our new headquarters reflects our accomplishments and underscores our intent as we move confidently into the future. We are signaling our commitment to the Minnesota community in which we work and are living the sustainability principles that, as Syngenta, we embrace,” said Morgan.

Syngenta Seeds, a unit of the global agribusiness Syngenta, has 400 employees in Minnesota who work in a variety of locations around the state.Through its acquisition of Northrup King, Syngenta has deep roots in the Minneapolis area that go back 125 years.

(Source: Syngenta Seeds, Inc.)

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