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Royal BAM Group, one of the largest construction businesses in Europe has updated its sustainability strategy focusing on six key themes in accordance with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
BAM says it sees this sustainability strategy as a “crucial addition to its ‘Building a sustainable tomorrow’ strategy”, because the company believes there is “only a future if it continues to build sustainably”. It added that the strategy is also “crucial for its clients and society to be able meet sustainability challenges together”. The company is launching ambitious targets, aiming to become an industry leader.
The six sustainability themes are:
1) Decarbonisation
2) Circularity
3) Climate adaptation
4) Biodiversity
5) Health, Safety and Inclusion
6) Social value
The targets set last year for CO2 emissions have been included in the new strategy and targets have been set for the other themes. For instance, the company aims to have 75 per cent less construction and office waste by 2030 compared to 2015. Climate adaptation measures have also been taken on all projects and by 2030 the company wants to see 30 per cent of senior management consisting of women.
BAM’s UK division employs around 7,000 people across civil engineering, construction, facilities management and associated activities.
Responding to the new strategy, John Wilkinson, Chief Operating Office of BAM’s UK and Ireland division, said: “BAM has raised the bar for sustainability in our sector.
“This new strategy not only significantly increases our direct targets – for example on scope three carbon emissions – but it looks holistically at what our sector can do working upstream and downstream with others to provide our clients with options, so that we become instigators of greater sustainability.
“It is not enough to work on your own and focus on your own impact anymore. BAM has recognised that we must export our learning, co-operate with others, learn from them, and collectively enhance measurement and understanding of the whole chain of factors that affect our impact on the planet and people’s lives.
“BAM is not going to shy away from its responsibilities. We are committed to reporting these issues transparently. That’s the only way we can secure true progress and make a genuine difference.”
Among many elements of the strategy, BAM has committed to a target of reducing absolute scope 3 emissions by 50 per cent in 2030 (compared to 2019), accelerating its previous target of a 20 per cent, set four years ago.
BAM’s UK & Ireland businesses last year announced an ambitious carbon target to become net zero in its direct operations by 2026.
Wilkinson added: “In the UK, examples of how we can achieve greater sustainability include using low carbon concrete and asphalt, recycled steel and modular solutions. Our partnerships include working with the Department for Education on its low carbon schools programme. Initiatives like these are making a real difference.”
