Reducing our CO₂ footprint
In recent years, we have focused our climate plan firmly on reducing our own direct carbon footprint: scope 1 & 2. We have now broadened this by mapping our indirect emissions: scope 3. To this end, we have drafted a Net-Zero Commitment statement and submitted medium-term and long-term targets to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).
Scope 1 & 2: direct emissions
We are reducing our direct footprint on the basis of four themes: mobility, equipment, building sites and offices.
Mobility
Since 1 January 2023, Heijmans employees can only choose a lease contract for an electric car. We are shortening the current lease contracts for petrol and diesel fuel cars with yellow licence plates to a final expiry date of 31 December 2025. In addition, drivers of buses with grey licence plates that can run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO100) will be obliged to fill up with biodiesel whenever they can. We also supply heavier pieces of equipment that still run on diesel engines with this more sustainable diesel fuel wherever possible and we are investing in the transition of heavy equipment to emission-free, partly at the request of our clients. A total of 1,349 of our fleet of vehicles with yellow license plates, a total of 2,866 vehicles, are now electric.
Equipment
An increasing number of projects have strict requirements regarding nitrogen and fine particulate emissions. In addition to CO₂ reduction, Heijmans therefore also pays attention to these emissions and, where possible, adapts equipment from the use of diesel fuel to emission-free fuel. An interim option is to fit after-treatment systems to the equipment. In the longer term, it will be necessary to deploy more electrically powered equipment, which will require additional investments. It helps if clients encourage the purchase of electric equipment, as the Ministry of Public Works and Water Management is doing in the case of the A1 Apeldoorn - Twello motorway, a major project where electric equipment is explicitly included in the schedule of requirements. Meanwhile, many small pieces of equipment are now available in electric versions. Heijmans also purchased larger electric-powered equipment last year. From chainsaws and vibrating plates to excavators, forklifts and asphalt sets: wherever possible, we are bidding farewell to combustion engines and switching to batteries.
Building sites
The increase in electric equipment and transport means that we now have to provide charging facilities at our building sites. What is very important is that the electricity supply on the building site must be equipped to deal with this. To provide sufficient power, we regularly use battery packs of up to 500 kW. In addition, in the second quarter of 2023 we decided to hybridise all our small generators up to 35 kVA (with a battery and a small diesel engine) and to refuel all generators using HVO100. To reduce pressure on the environment and on scarce space, we work with so-called hubs at several inner-city building sites. We use these locations, outside the city centre, for concentrated (mostly electric) distribution of goods and materials. We also use battery technology in Horizon’s timber-frame housing production plant to boost the plant’s energy supply.
Offices
Although the footprint of the Heijmans offices is limited, we have taken several measures in recent years to reduce it further. We have now installed solar panels at the offices where this was possible. Next, we will investigate whether we need to make any further adjustments at the various office locations, due to the changed working from home policy and the related occupancy rate at our offices.
The challenges of emission-free equipment
The construction sector cannot avoid the issue of harmful emissions, despite contributing 0.6% to total nitrogen deposition (excluding transport)*. Reducing nitrogen emissions in particular has made things difficult for the sector in recent years. In the construction sector, emissions come primarily from excavators and cranes on construction sites (the equipment), as well as from all transport to and from the site, the transport of personnel and the supply of materials. There are gains to be made in these areas. Because clean and emission-free construction not only makes the construction sector more sustainable, this transition to sustainable mobility also ensures cleaner air in our cities and a reduction in nitrogen emissions. And this benefits society as a whole.
That is why we are making sustainability a priority whenever we can. The goal is to have a zero-emission lease car fleet by the end of 2025. We are also taking steps on our construction sites. Today, machines on construction sites often run on diesel, especially machines that have to do heavy work and therefore require a lot of power, such as crawler cranes, shovels or bulldozers. For several years now, we have been using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) when diesel is still required. During the renovation of the Binnenhof (Dutch houses of parliament) on behalf of the Central Government Real Estate Agency, we actively worked to shape the transition to zero emissions. Work on the foundation reinforcement phase of the Senate of the States General and Council of State is being carried out using only electric equipment.
A growing number of tenders are asking for electric equipment. We see this as a positive development, but one that will involve substantial investments. This means that we need appropriate budgets and continuity in the call for tenders. The supply of electric heavy equipment is also lagging behind and this has to be purchased abroad. These developments are bogging down the market.
So how do we deal with this? By investing and converting the equipment ourselves. This way, we continuously take steps towards more sustainable equipment. At the same time, we continuously engage in dialogue with our clients to promote continuity in sustainable procurement. This is essential for the creation of a healthy business case.
*Source: Bouwend Nederland
Voluntary compensation of CO₂ emissions
In the 2018-2023 strategy, we agreed to be carbon-neutral after 2023 and reduce our direct (or scope 1 & 2) emissions to zero by saving and generating energy and offsetting the remaining emissions. We are doing this because we are convinced that we need to make a huge effort by making long-term investments in sustainability and innovation. In the intervening period – in the period to 2030, when we want scope 1 & 2 to be completely energy-neutral - we want to minimise our impact on the climate with our direct emissions and have chosen to offset them by purchasing certificates from projects in which carbon emissions are sequestered over the long term or fossil emissions are replaced by sustainable alternatives.
The offset projects meet the high standards of the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or the Gold Standard. Reliability and effectiveness are crucial for Heijmans when it chooses compensation standards. The period for which the certificates are issued is also important and the fact that projects involved originate from the European Union. For our voluntary greening, we choose renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower and forestry projects. In 2023, offsetting involved 22,510 credits, from European wind projects. We are exploring the possibility of also purchasing certificates from a project organised by the Dutch national forestry commission (Staatsbosbeheer) as part of our cooperation aimed at adding value to Dutch forests.
Scope 3: indirect emissions
One of the spearheads of Heijmans’ strategy for the coming years is to reduce all indirect emissions. We can do this by taking the emissions of the buildings to be built into account in our designs and by designing in a circular way, but especially by purchasing sustainably. One of the main influencing factors on this front is the procurement of materials. Requesting data regarding the environmental performance of the materials purchased and taking them into account in the design will be crucial in the coming years if we are to achieve our stated ambitions. Last year, we focused on making our houses energy neutral (scope 3 downstream). Our Horizon timber homes concept is having a positive impact on our equipment-related CO₂ emissions (scope 3 upstream). Our production plant opened in October and the first timber-frame houses have now been built in Eindhoven.
Solutions for our clients
Heijmans provides energy solutions for various market segments. For instance, for the construction, management and maintenance of energy networks and the development of energy solutions in area developments. To make office buildings more sustainable, our Heijmans Energy Management service gives building owners and managers insight into their energy consumption. We do this by proactively analysing and managing the property’s energy consumption. Clients can then use this information to create energy-efficient offices and comply with all legal obligations.
Internal CO₂ pricing
At Heijmans, we have set up a system for internal carbon pricing. The purpose of this system is to influence investments and encourage sustainable innovations. Depending on their CO₂ emissions, the business units pay an annual CO₂ contribution to a central fund. We then use this fund to invest in innovations to help us to continue to reduce our footprint. Examples include the purchase of battery solutions and a contribution to research into sea salt batteries.
Future-proof value
We add long-term value to whatever building we build, renovate and/or manage. At Heijmans, we call this Future-proof value. It ensures that every building generates more value for the (end) user. Now that the market has become familiar with the idea of Future-proof value, we have also put this concept into practice over the past year. And we now find that an increasing number of organisations with large real estate portfolios are looking for this integrated sustainability strategy for their properties. Although the focus is still on energy and CO₂ reduction (scope 1 & 2), circularity is becoming increasingly important. A good example is Rabobank, for whom we renovated the head office in a circular fashion. Recently, the bank also awarded Heijmans the integrated maintenance of all its offices, in which sustainability is an important spearhead. But we also offer clients like the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) and GGZ Rivierduinen a clear differentiating factor with this concept. Our Future-proof value vision is also reflected in our larger new-build projects. De Nieuwe Post in Arnhem, for example, is a pilot project for the Central Government Real Estate Agency, in which we are looking to achieve high level of circularity and energy neutrality in both the construction and management phases.
Dilemma - CO₂ emissions of completed homes
We measure the average CO₂ emissions from completed homes as an indicator of scope 3 downstream emissions.
It is also a measure of one of our bold statements. Over the past few years, we have seen a steady decline in the CO₂ emissions per completed home. From 1,409 kg in 2020, to 1,021 kg in 2021, to 932 kg of CO₂ in 2022. But although we are on the right track in terms of reducing CO₂ emissions from our completed homes, the 2023 average shows something different. That rose to 1,061 kg of CO₂ per home in 2023.
This is down to two reasons. In 2022, we delivered the Greenville Utrecht project with extremely low emissions, lowering the average for that year. In 2023, we delivered three projects that had been running for a long time, meaning they were from a different era in terms of sustainability. That meant that these homes had relatively high carbon emissions. Two of the three are large projects, giving them an especially large impact on the figures. If we exclude these three projects, the average emissions would have been 723 kg CO₂ per dwelling in 2023.
This shows that we are in a transitional phase. Ongoing projects that may not yet meet the latest sustainability requirements will be completed in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, we are developing our new projects in line with the sustainability ambition ‘houses are carbon-neutral or better’. This means that in the coming years we will continue the downward trend of recent years.