Lake Zurich is not just a body of water, but an extremely important identification element for Zurich and its surroundings. In awareness of this eminent importance, the Building Department, together with the Directorate of Economic Affairs and with the participation of the communities and planning regions around Lake Zurich, developed the "Leitbild Zürichsee 2050". This contains guiding principles, goals and initial measures for the future development of the Lake Zurich Perimeter in the Canton of Zurich. The mission statement defines the following topics:

• Living and working on Lake Zurich - diverse
• Ecology at Lake Zurich - close to nature
• Recreation on Lake Zurich - public
• Connecting at Lake Zurich - accessible
• Supply and disposal at Lake Zurich - highest quality

In order to be able to follow the development of Lake Zurich and its shores, the Office for Waste, Water, Energy and Air of the Canton of Zurich commissioned the Zurich University of Applied Sciences to develop this monitoring concept. The cantonal agencies, planning regions on Lake Zurich and other organisations were involved in selecting the objectives and defining the indicators.