Assurance report of the independent auditor with a limited level of assurance on the sustainability information

To: the shareholders and Supervisory Board of Royal Heijmans N.V.

Our conclusion

We performed an assurance engagement with a limited level of assurance on the 2023 sustainability information of Royal Heijmans N.V. (hereafter: Heijmans) in Rosmalen, included in the annual report.

Based on the procedures we performed and the assurance information we obtained, we have no reason to believe that the sustainability information does not present, in all material respects, a faithful view of:

  • the policy and business operations with regard to corporate social responsibility;

  • the events and performance on that front for the year 2023;

in accordance with the Sustainability Reporting Standards as disclosed in the Criteria section.

The sustainability information consists of the following chapters of the annual report:

  • 3.2. Non-financial key information

  • 4. Our organisation

  • 5. Our environment

  • 6. In dialogue with our stakeholders

  • 7. Mission, vision and strategy

  • 8. Better

  • 9. Smarter

  • 10. More sustainable

  • 11. Van Wanrooij

  • 12.2 Non-financial results

  • 13. Completion of 2023 strategy

  • 15.6 Management and supervision

  • 15.8 Conduct and integrity

  • 20.6 Material themes

Basis for our conclusion

We performed our assurance engagement with a limited level of assurance with regard to the sustainability information in accordance with Dutch law, including Dutch Standard 3810N, Assurance engagements related to sustainability reports (Assurance-opdrachten inzake duurzaamheidsverslaggeving). We have described our responsibilities on the basis of this standard in the section ‘Our responsibilities for the assurance engagement related to the sustainability information’.

We are independent of Heijmans, as required by the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (Verordening inzake de onafhankelijkheid van accountants bij assurance-opdrachten - ViO). Among other things, this means that we do not perform any procedures that could conflict with our independent assurance engagement. In addition, we have complied with the Dutch Professional Code of Ethics for Auditors (Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants - VGBA).

We believe that the assurance evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our conclusion.

Criteria

The criteria used for the preparation of the sustainability information are the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI – Core option) and the applied supplemental reporting criteria as disclosed in the sections 20.6.3, ‘Reporting Methodology’, and 20.6.4, ‘KPI Table’, of the annual report.

The sustainability information has been drawn up with reference to the GRI Standards. The GRI Standards used are included in the GRI Content index as disclosed in section 20.6.6 ‘Global Reporting Initiative’ of the annual report.

The comparability of sustainability information across entities and over time may be affected by the lack of uniform practices for the assessment and measurement of this information. This offers the possibility of applying several acceptable measurement techniques. Consequently, sustainability information should be read and understood together with the criteria applied.

Limitations to the scope of our assurance engagement

The sustainability information includes forward-looking information, such as ambitions, strategy, plans, expectations, estimates and risk assessments. Forward-looking information refers to events and actions that have not yet occurred and may never occur. We do not provide any assurance on the assumptions and achievability of the targets or estimates in forward-looking information in the sustainability information.

The references to external sources or websites in the sustainability information are not part of the sustainability information we reviewed. We do not therefore provide assurance on this information.

We did not modify our conclusion as a result of these limitations.

Responsibilities of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board for the sustainability information

The Executive Board is responsible for the preparation and faithful presentation of the sustainability information in accordance with the criteria as explained in the Criteria section, including the identification of stakeholders and the definition of material aspects. The Executive Board is also responsible for the selection and application of these criteria, and for determining that these criteria are sufficient for the justified informational needs of stakeholders, taking into account applicable legal and regulatory requirements for reporting. The choices made by the Executive Board regarding the scope of the sustainability information and the reporting policy are summarised in the sections 20.6.3, ‘Reporting Methodology’, and 20.6.4, ‘KPI Table’ of the annual report.

The Executive Board is also responsible for such internal controls as the Executive Board deems necessary to enable the preparation of sustainability information that is free from material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error.

The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the reporting process on the sustainability information of Heijmans.

Our responsibilities for the assurance engagement related to the sustainability information

Our responsibility is to plan and perform the assurance engagement in a manner that allows us to obtain sufficient and appropriate assurance information for our conclusion.

The goal of our assurance engagement is to obtain limited assurance in order to determine the plausibility of the sustainability information. The procedures vary in nature and timing from those of an assurance engagement aimed at obtaining a reasonable level of assurance, and are also smaller in scope. The level of assurance obtained in an assurance engagement aimed at obtaining a limited assurance is therefore also significantly lower than the assurance obtained in an assurance engagement aimed at obtaining a reasonable level of assurance.

We apply the Regulations for quality management systems (Nadere voorschriften kwaliteitssystemen – NVKS). This gives us a cohesive system of quality controls, including documented guidelines and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and other relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

Our assurance engagement included:

  • performing an analysis of the environment and obtaining an understanding of relevant social themes and issues, and the characteristics of the company;

  • evaluating the appropriateness of the criteria used, the consistent application of same and related disclosures in the sustainability information. This includes the evaluation of the company’s materiality analysis and the reasonableness of the estimates made by the Executive Board;

  • gathering information to gain a broad understanding of the company’s internal control environment, reporting processes, information systems, and risk assessment process relevant for the preparation of the sustainability information, without acquiring assurance information on the existence or testing the effectiveness of the internal control measures;

  • identifying areas of the sustainability information with a higher risk of misleading or unbalanced information or material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error. Designing and performing further assurance procedures aimed at determining the plausibility of the sustainability information responsive to our risk analysis. These additional procedures included but were not limited to:

    • interviewing members of the Executive Board and relevant staff members responsible for the sustainability strategy, policy and performance;

    • interviewing relevant staff members responsible for providing the information for, the performance of internal control procedures on, and consolidating the data in the sustainability information;

    • obtaining assurance information to the effect that the sustainability information reconciles with the underlying administration of the company;

    • reviewing, on a limited test basis, relevant internal and external documentation;

    • performing an analysis of data and trends;

    • evaluating the consistency of the relevant financial information with the financial statements;

    • reading the information in the annual report outside the scope of our assurance engagement to identify any material inconsistencies with the sustainability information;

    • evaluating the overall presentation, and balanced content of the sustainability information;

    • consideration of whether the sustainability information as a whole, including the subjects dealt with and disclosures included in same, are clearly and sufficiently explained in accordance with the criteria used.

Communications

We communicate with the Supervisory Board regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the assurance engagement and regarding any significant findings that we identify during our assurance engagement.

Rotterdam, 8 March 2024
Ernst & Young Accountants LLP

R.T.H. Wortelboer RA