Sustainable
License to operate
Heijmans acts as an initiator and integrator when it comes to making the living environment more sustainable. We can make a difference by designing sustainably, with an eye for alternative and decentralised energy generation, efficient (re)use of resources and optimal comfort and experience. Our aim is not to extract, but to add to the living environment and by doing so create value. In this way, we make ourselves sustainable and help our clients to become sustainable. To this end, we work closely with a wide range of partners from the construction, engineering, education and science sectors. Our management of sustainability is an integral part of our organisation and the group board.
At Heijmans, sustainability is high on our strategic agenda. On the sustainability front, we look at three themes: energy transition, materials transition and space. All three themes are aimed at creating a healthy living environment. Circularity plays an increasingly important role in how we build, manage and maintain. All Heijmans business units are expected to work on sustainability. It has become an integral part of our work.
Homes sustainable from top to bottom
How do you prepare a building for the challenges of the future? CO₂ neutral, circular or energy efficient; everyone puts a different emphasis on what you need to do. Heijmans firmly believes in homes that are sustainable from top to bottom. This is why we help building owners and managers translate their sustainable objectives into concrete action. We call this Future Value. Because whatever we build, manage or renovate, we always add value. Reducing waste, eco-friendly maintenance, saving energy or reducing emissions in logistics? It all starts with our targeted solutions and integrated approach: Circular Management and Maintenance, Energy Management, Sustainable Housing Roadmap and Sustainable Service Logistics. All of these add maximum user and property value to the homes we work on. We use our services to make buildings smart, healthy and sustainable. For users, the environment and for the long term.
This transition will not be easy, and we are facing a number of major challenges. For instance, given the large-scale electrification of homes, businesses and machinery, we urgently need to expand the energy grids in several regions of the country in the coming years, to avoid slowing down the acceleration in electrification. The related development of electric energy storage in various forms is also no easy task. At the same time, we are also seeing that we are pushing the limits of nature’s ability to absorb the ecosystem consequences of our production and consumption. In places where emissions of nitrogen, noise, CO2 and waste are too great, we are being forced to look for alternatives. The transition offers opportunities for innovative companies like Heijmans that dare to invest in new production methods and play an active role in climate adaptation (raising dykes, building water collection systems) or climate mitigation (such as reducing their own footprint and building climate-neutral residential areas).
Waterworks
In a water-rich country like the Netherlands, it is vital that waterways, flood defences, bridges and locks are all in good condition. First and foremost so we can keep our feet dry, but the sheer economic importance means everything has to be fully operational 24/7. Heijmans carries out management and maintenance work on wet infrastructure at various locations across the country. Heijmans Asset Management is also responsible for the emergency service on various assignments. This is varied and important work. Work in which one team carries out daily repairs and maintenance on the likes of lock gates, while another team performs sonar measurements to ensure that the shipping channel of the Waal River is at the right depth. By using energy-efficient vessels or by scheduling work more efficiently on the basis of measurements and data, we are also working more and more sustainably on and along the water.