Sustainable

As a leading player in the construction industry, we want to play a pioneering role in the creation of a more sustainable living environment. We can make a difference by designing sustainably, focusing on alternative and decentralised energy production, the efficient use and reuse of resources and optimising comfort and experience. Our guiding principle is our ‘Creators of a healthy living environment’ strategy, focused on energy, materials and space. The final goal is to no longer subtract, but to add to the living environment and to add even more value through these efforts.

13.  From 2023, Heijmans is CO₂ neutral. Any residual value is offset.

If Heijmans achieves its goal of CO₂-neutral production after 2023, Heijmans should meet the projected science-based target of COP21, requiring a linear reduction of CO₂ emissions of over 4.2% per year. In 2022, we achieved a reduction of 6.9% (scope 1 and 2) compared with 2021. We achieved a reduction of 13.2% over 2021 and 2022 combined.

Heijmans follows the Green House Gas (GHG) protocol for mapping our footprint, and reports on this annually in the GHG report. This protocol addresses scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Heijmans’ strategy for reducing CO₂ emissions is to increase our own production of sustainable energy, improve the energy efficiency of production, and offset the remaining scope 1 and 2 emissions. With regard to scope 3 emissions, our most important ambitions are those related to the products we develop ourselves (Property Development), as well as to making the right design choices and using sustainable materials.

See the following table for the development of the scope 1 and 2 emissions in recent years:

Scope 1 emissions

One important component of our scope 1 CO₂ emissions is our vehicle fleet. Thanks to our policy on this front, Heijmans has been reducing its CO₂ emissions for several years now, and we have given this another boost with our decision to only permit new leases for electric lease cars with a yellow licence plate from 1 January 2023, and to reduce the term of our long-term lease contracts for non-electric cars. This move has been delayed due to the longer delivery time for electric cars, and we did see an increase in the number of kilometres driven after the pandemic. In cases where electrification is not an option (some of our grey licence plates) we will focus on HVO (biodiesel), which will result in a 90% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared with regular diesel. However, there are still not enough petrol stations that supply HVO.

CO₂ emissions Heijmans NV car fleet (in kg)

With regard to CO₂ emissions on construction sites, most of this still generated by diesel-powered equipment. This is why we have set up an intensive investment programme to ensure that we use emission-free machines and equipment. We may sometimes experience delays in these efforts due to delivery problems and ongoing innovation projects to electrify large equipment while maintaining specifications.

Scope 2 emissions

The purchase of gas and electricity is generally the largest contributor to scope 2 CO₂ emissions. In recent years, Heijmans has transitioned fully to sustainable electricity, as a result of which our emissions on this front are now negligible. We also generate our own energy. We have increased the amount of energy generated in our offices in recent years: in total, Heijmans offices have generated about 300 MWh over the last few years. This will increase in the coming years, for example as we increase the use of parking spaces to generate electricity. This will be in line with the expected increase in electricity use due to the electrification of the vehicle fleet and equipment.

Generation per location 2022 (kWh per year)

Finally, Heijmans purchased so-called green gas for the first time last year, which resulted in a further reduction in scope 2 emissions.

Scope 3 emissions

The scope 3 emissions can be divided into upstream and downstream emissions. The most effective way to have a positive impact on upstream emissions is to make the right material choices and through sustainable procurement. This impact is often less direct than with scope 1 and 2 emissions in terms of ambition, competition and affordability.

The downstream emissions are primarily due to the emissions from products after sale or delivery to clients. In Heijmans’ case, this pertains mostly to homes and non-residential properties delivered. While we can have a direct impact on the specifications of residential products sold via Property Development, in the case of non-residential properties we are often bound by our clients’ ambitions.

We measure the average CO₂ emissions of the homes delivered as an indicator for the scope 3 downstream emissions. This is one of the KPIs linked to our bank covenants. For 2022, we arrived at 932 kg CO₂ per year per home delivered. This means we realised a reduction of 34% compared with the basis laid down in the 2020 bank covenant (1409 kg CO₂ per year per home delivered), while the goal for the 2024 covenant has been set at 30%. Compared with 2021, this came in at a reduction of 9% (1021 kg CO₂ per year per home delivered).

We expect this indicator to continue to decline in the coming years due to our raised ambition for the development of homes.

In order to map the scope 3 upstream emissions, Heijmans has translated the procurement spend and the various separate categories into an estimate of the CO₂ emissions for the various categories. This provides us with an initial indication of the size of a number of important elements for the scope 3 upstream emissions. However, this is an initial estimate that we will need to refine and complete this in the coming years, partly by performing chain analyses and by improving the measuring system for materials and services in the Netherlands. We can then translate this into the specific categories based on the GHG protocol.

The most significant components are the procurement of concrete, rented equipment, purchased metals (sheet piling, rebar) and purchased asphalt and the emissions connected with this (transport, processing).

Heijmans has roadmaps/improvement programmes for the further reduction of CO₂ emissions from various product groups such as asphalt, concrete and waste in the coming years.

14.  In 2023, we can produce emissions free, and in 2030 we do so for all our projects.

We have made considerable progress in CO₂ reduction, and we will continue with these efforts. We have noted different levels of ambitions in this area for different categories of client.

Emission-free production is primarily about replacing used combustion engines from our equipment with electric motors. These can then be powered by batteries or, for example, by hydrogen. This will prevent any nitrogen or particulates emissions as a result of combustion. The most important measures on this front are the electrification of the vehicle fleet and the investment programme for the electrification of our equipment. From 2023 onwards, all new leases will be confined to electric cars, and we will shorten existing lease contracts. The investment programme for equipment has resulted in the purchase of a range of electric equipment, from small equipment (vibration plates, forklift trucks) to large-scale equipment (crawler crane). We have already deployed this equipment, for example in the Apeldoorn – Twello A1 motorway project for the Ministry of Public Works and Waterways (Rijkswaterstaat).

15.  In 2023, we can deliver 100% energy-neutral solutions for our clients.

We have seen an increase in the number of clients requesting energy-neutral solutions. We offer active solutions to fulfil this need, both on request and unsolicited.

At Heijmans Energy, we have 30 projects, involving around 3,000 homes, in various stages of design, preparation, realisation and execution. In 2022, we laid a solid foundation by providing 20 residential building projects with a sustainable energy supply, and supplying the residents with heating and cooling for the next 30 years. By fitting homes with solar panels, we will be able to offer our clients energy-neutral homes in 2023. We have also made a start on the installation of a smart grid at building level as part of a test in our own Hive office in Rosmalen. In 2023, we will continue to develop this smart grid, so we can offer our clients energy-neutral solutions at a building or district level.

Examples of energy-neutral residential building projects that we delivered in 2022 include: Maanwijk in Leusden, Park van Buijsen, Keijzershof Phase 4 in Pijnacker, Culemborg Parijsch, Forteneiland West and Ruijtershof Phase 2 in Eemnes. On the Non-residential front, the Leiden Science Campus is a great example of an energy-neutral project.

• *We have not set any quantitative KPIs for bold statement 14.

16.  All our quotes include a calculation of the environmental performance. In 2023, we will include that as standard in all our quotes to clients

We make an environmental performance calculation on the basis of the MPG value (Environmental performance indicator) for all our homes (both houses and apartment buildings) that are completed commercially (end of design phase/start of sale).
At Heijmans Property Development, we decided to make all projects going up for sale as per 1 July 2022 CO₂ neutral at minimum.
In 2022, Heijmans Infra calculated the environmental performance for 37 tender bids. Most of these bids were submitted to the Ministry of Public Works and Waterways (Rijkswaterstaat) Major Projects and Maintenance.

17.  In 2021, all packaging in our construction projects is 100% reusable or recyclable.

While we have previously focused primarily on recycling waste materials such as foils, for which we fully achieved our goal in 2021, we are now considering follow-up steps in the area of recycling with reusable materials such as pallets and crates.

18.  In 2023, all the houses we deliver to our customers will be 100% circular. In 2030, this will also apply to apartment buildings.

In 2022, we determined the CPG score (Circularity Performance Buildings) for all houses over the last year, and achieved an average score of 7.5. We also determined the MPG value and the connected material-related CO₂ emissions for all houses. We also gained insight into the percentage of raw materials on the basis of material flow analyses. From 2023, we will transition to new KPIs, because these will enable us to shape our strategy for 100% circular construction. For example, in 2023 we will reduce the material impact of houses, by reducing the MPG value, the material-related CO₂ emissions and the share of raw materials. 

This bold statement of 100% circular houses is very ambitious, and turned out not be achievable, even if we compare this to societal performance standards. It is currently not realistic, from the point of view of sound management, for us to eliminate the use of primary raw materials in the thousands of homes we build each year, nor for all materials used to be completely reusable. This remains our ambition, and we will continue to search for solutions to achieve this, but it will not be achievable in the coming years.

In the Raw Materials Agreement, the Dutch government set the goal to be fully circular by 2050, eliminating the need for primary raw materials (meaning reusing and recycling, and using renewable materials such as timber). In 2030, we want to be at 50%. For the related Construction Transition Agenda, the aims are to reduce the use of raw materials, but also to improve the environmental performance (MPG/material-related CO₂ emissions).

For houses, we have therefore opted for achievable MPG-related KPIs and for reducing the share of raw materials, in line with the above-mentioned national developments. This year, we will also start to investigate high-rise buildings, although we are not yet adding a KPI for this.

19.  In 2023, we will use circular asphalt and concrete; in 2030, we will build 100% of our projects using these materials

At Building & Technology, we used 48% concrete granulate as a gravel replacement for the concrete shells of the Heijmans Woonconcept homes. This included secondary sand and gravel, which meant that 80% of all the raw materials were secondary materials.

In the market, concrete generally consists of 100% primary raw materials. We have submitted circular concrete proposals in several tenders and projects. A number of these initiatives be used in projects in 2023. When it comes to circular asphalt, a further increase in the percentage of circular asphalt is being impeded by the benzene issue, as high recycling percentages tend to generate high levels of benzene. This applies for almost all large asphalt plants in the Netherlands, and is a sector-wide challenge. AsfaltNu (a Heijmans and BAM joint venture) can reduce the benzene through the use of carbon filters, enabling the recycling of greater quantities of asphalt.

20.  From 2021, all our new area developments are awarded an NL Greenlabel A rating

Since 2018, Heijmans has been collaborating closely with NL Greenlabel, which represents a demonstrably sustainable living and working environment. The NL Gebiedslabel (area label) and NL Terreinlabel (site label) methods provide insight into the cohesive sustainability in public spaces and sites. Heijmans works with the NL Gebiedslabel method in all area developments involving the development of its own land holdings as long as the area is large enough. If the area is smaller, Heijmans uses the NL Terreinlabel (site label) method.

This allows us to include all stakeholders in our ambitions, so the focus remains on sustainability themes throughout the process. This makes cohesive sustainability an explicit part of the development process through independent monitoring/assessment. The use of the methodology creates a greater degree of obligation, allowing us to actively aim for cohesive sustainability.

The methods help us to make consciously sustainable choices and to substantiate those choices. We have fully embraced the NL Greenlabel methodology, and we are using the methods in a wide range of projects.

This table below offers an overview of the current status per project:

We are increasingly using the NL Greenlabel methodology in the project acquisition phase, with NL Greenlabel’s tender advice used as early as the first consultations, as we did in the tender for Baarnsche Zoom in Baarn. As a result, the seven themes are taken into account at an early stage of the process, helping us to embed the themes more firmly in the entire development process. These themes are: Design Realisation & Management, Products & Materialisation, Energy & Climate, Soil & Water, Biodiversity, Humans & Environment and Assurance. Each theme is scored on the basis of three criteria, which Heijmans has to demonstrate. All these points added up lead to a score between G and A. Heijmans aims to achieve a score of A or B in the design/realisation phase for those developments that are part of our land developments.

Ecology, soil and water can be mapped out at the start of the project using the EBW (Ecology, Soil and Water) scan. This initiative is a collaboration between Property Development and Infra, and enables us to steer a project based on local landscape properties at an early stage, to preserve the existing nature at a minimum, and strengthen it where possible.

Finally, in 2022 Heijmans worked with NL Greenlabel to develop a Heijmans dashboard in Tygron. The Tygron Geodesign Platform combines data, geodata, models and applications, and provides more insight into our projects (‘parametric and generated design’). This dashboard supports the area labelling process, provides the developer with a significant amount of information on the area, and offers insights into how the area will respond to new designs. We expect to roll out the Heijmans Tygron-based dashboard across the organisation from the second quarter of 2023, which means that we will be able to run pilots with the dashboard.

21.  In 2023, all our interventions in the built environment result in an improvement in local biodiversity, climate adaptation and safety.

In 2022, we applied initiatives for climate adaptation and biodiversity in some 20 new projects. And this was not confined to our showcases: infra projects in Nijmegen and Arnhem and the recently won Kazernekwartier Venlo contract show that the demand for nature-inclusive solutions is on the rise.

We want to make the results of these efforts measurable, and we are working with various parties to achieve this. For example, we are working with the Naturalis Biodiversity Center on the soil quality at Vijfsluizen in Vlaardingen, and we are collaborating with Earth Watch on biodiversity in Maanwijk in Leusden.

We are increasingly taking an integrated area development approach to the need to arrive at propositions, both existing and new, that can combine the know-how and expertise from multiple Heijmans business areas. One great example is the National Military Museum in Soesterberg. In addition to maintenance and management, this multi-year contract includes the development and monitoring of the surrounding landscape park as essential parts of the contract. Some tangible examples for 2022 are the aforementioned green-blue business parks, the realisation of nature and climate-inclusive water storage in multiple projects and SOCIAAL GROEN (social green). In SOCIAAL GROEN, we have joined forces with the ZOwonen housing corporation, nature organisation IVN and the LOS stadomland design agency, with the goal of improving the health of residents, biodiversity and climate adaptation in the Sittard-Geleen municipality. The outside world is also recognising our efforts. In 2022, the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development proclaimed us a frontrunner in the field of biodiversity.

22.  We apply our latest solutions in three projects each year, and these will then become new showcases for the healthy living environment.

We have now delivered the previously mentioned Maanwijk showcase in Leusden, but we are not finished yet. We want to remain involved for a more prolonged period in the use phase, to learn from the solutions we devised and created, and their impact on a healthy living environment. In Maanwijk, we are doing this in collaboration with a number of organisations, including the University of Utrecht, which is involved in the project through the Healthy Urban Living Knowledge Hub. The university will measure various aspects of social cohesion, as well as how our interventions do or do not contribute to this, for two years after delivery.

In 2022, we realised another four showcases:

• Willemspoort Zuid in Den Bosch: an interplay between city, nature and design.

• De Haese in Sittard Geleen: sustainable food production through the foundation of a small-scale agricultural business in the planning area. Founded in the form of a cooperative, now with 141 participating households.

• Heeren van Essen in Middelburg: the first project with Terreinlabel A is now up for sale. The focus is on collective outside space, design from a climate adaptation perspective and local biodiversity, including a circular neighbourhood hub.

• A1 Apeldoorn - Twello: a large, emission-free infra assignment. Lower nitrogen emissions results in an improvement of the biodiversity and a healthy living environment. Heijmans is also investing in ecological solutions to improve biodiversity and create a water storage system along the side of the motorway.

• Amsterdam-De Verbinding (Spaarndammerhart): a project marked by high quality, sustainability and diversity in homes and residents’ architecture, where art and nature come together in perfect harmony. The project won the Amsterdamse Nieuwbouwprijs 2022, the public prize for new-build projects in the city.

• *In 2021, this was a qualitative KPI.