Heijmans is striving for complete control of material flows, including the associated revenue models. The target is not only to reduce dependence on scarce raw materials and guarantee security of supply, but also to reduce the negative impact of materials on greenhouse gas emissions, water and biodiversity in the interests of a healthy living environment. The use of materials is, after all, a major cause of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution.
The increasing scarcity of raw materials, the growing environmental impact of the use of materials in construction and the changing market demand for sustainable solutions have prompted Heijmans to develop a policy on the use of materials and circularity. We are taking a proactive role in the transition to a circular construction economy. This role is set out in the raw materials and circularity policy, based on our vision and approach to reducing our negative impact and increasing our contribution to a circular economy. The policy applies to Heijmans' own operations, all Heijmans' business areas, and as much of the value chain in which Heijmans operates as possible. This means that not only our own employees, but also subcontractors, suppliers and clients are essential for the implementation and safeguarding of the policy.
Impacts, risks and opportunities
On the basis of the double materiality analysis, Heijmans defined an impact on Material outflows with regard to products and services:
Role in circular ecosystem
Heijmans' policy on resource use and the circular economy is aimed at controlling material flows in order to reduce the proportion of primary, non-renewable raw materials and eliminate the concept of waste. This indirectly leads to a better environmental performance of resource use and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The circular economy is an important part of Heijmans' value creation. By 2030, we want all our work to have a positive impact on the earth. And we do this in a circular way, in which our use of materials not only reduces our use of primary materials, but also contributes to bold statements on greenhouse gases, water and biodiversity.
The circular economy focuses on reducing the use of primary, non-renewable raw materials, extending the lifespan of materials and eliminating waste in both the biosphere and the technosphere, based on four strategies:
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Narrowing the loop: limiting the use of materials through more efficient production and minimising waste in the production and use phase
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Substituting the loop: replacing primary/finite raw materials with sustainably produced renewable raw materials or alternative primary raw materials with less environmental impact
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Slowing the loop: extending the lifespan of products and materials through maintenance, reuse and repair
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Closing the loop: maximising the reuse of materials and using recycled materials to close the loop
Heijmans devotes particular attention to extending the lifespan (slowing the loop) of biobased materials. This not only helps to reduce the use of primary, non-renewable raw materials, but also contributes to the long-term storage of greenhouse gases, which increases the positive impact on the climate.
Policy
Heijmans' policy focuses specifically on the use of raw materials in the company's own operations and outgoing material flows, and thus also affects the downstream value chain, including clients, waste processors and demolition companies. This corresponds with the double materiality analysis we carried out, which specifically looks at the role of CO₂-negative materials that are applied in a circular manner. We also plan to introduce a policy on incoming materials in the coming years, focusing on products, suppliers and subcontractors in the value chain.
Highlights
Our goal is to gain insight on an organisation-wide level into all incoming and outgoing material flows based on the procurement list (spend) and specific data on products, suppliers and demolition firms. In this list, we pay extra attention to the share of CO₂-negative materials and their circular applications (substituting the loop).
In all projects with a revenue of more than ten million euros, we calculate the environmental performance (for example, MPG/MKI) at the level of the object or material, to determine the environmental impact and in turn weigh the risks of raw materials.
All of Heijmans' waste flows are monitored and displayed in the waste management dashboard, which presents the amount of residual material, separation of residual material at a building site and the reuse of residual material (narrowing the loop).
This policy is in line with the principles of the Raw Materials Agreement, which Heijmans also signed in 2018. Heijmans has also signed The New Normal, a standard developed by clients and contractors with achievable and ambitious circular performance targets for circular construction.
Actions and targets
We have not yet formulated any actions or targets for materials use and the circular economy. While the energy transition is in full swing, Heijmans recognises that the materials transition is still in its infancy. The relationship between the use of materials and greenhouse gas emissions has now been established and clear actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the use of materials (substituting the loop) are being drawn up in the climate plan. However, actually closing cycles in both the biosphere and the technosphere requires a major change in existing chains, which will require support from all parties. On a project basis (such as De Nieuwe Post) or for specific material flows (such as concrete), Heijmans is able to organise chains differently and keep technical and biobased materials in the cycle (closing the loop). However, circular construction is not organised across the sector, which also makes it difficult for Heijmans to scale up. In addition, it is not yet possible to apply circular revenue models successfully, mainly because materials are not measured sufficiently (expressed in residual value or CO₂ tax). For this reason, we have not (yet) set any specific targets for resource use and the circular economy beyond the dependence on reducing CO₂e. Heijmans intends to set targets for waste (tonnes), origin (% of primary raw materials), disassembly of outgoing material flows and the environmental impact (MPG/MKI, or the environmental performance of buildings and structures) of resource use.
In the period 2025-2027, Heijmans will implement measures that, in addition to CO₂e reduction, will also improve resource use and the circular economy within the organisation. The following measures will be central to this effort:
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Use of material flow analyses for incoming material flows in all Heijmans projects
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Mandatory disassembly plan when using biobased materials
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Introducing data-driven sustainability for materials use to link LCA databases, product catalogues and marketplaces to Heijmans' primary processes (substituting the loop)
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Exploring circular revenue models based on pilots with short-cyclical materials (closing the loop)
Metrics
Looking at our business model, we provide a number of services:
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The sale of new homes
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The construction (possibly including the design) of new homes, buildings and infrastructure
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The maintenance and management of buildings and infrastructure
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The renovation of homes, buildings and infrastructure
A number of basic processes are also linked to this: design, realisation, maintenance and management, renovation and sale. Based on these business activities, we ultimately deliver homes, buildings (including technical installations) and infrastructure as end products. In general, Heijmans' end products are not designed according to circular principles as standard; this only occurs on a project basis.
Useful life
The actual useful life, or possible use, of a home and building can vary greatly. This depends on how the user and/or owner maintains the building. The main rule in the Buildings and Living Environment Decree (article 4.12) is that a building, including a home, should last for at least fifty years. Buildings and homes built using timber or other CO₂-negative materials have the same lifespan of fifty years.
When we talk about infrastructure, we mean roads or engineering structures. Engineering structures are constructions related to infrastructure, such as aqueducts or tunnels. No statutory lifespan has been determined for roads. The design lifespan of roads is often based on guidelines such as those of CROW or the Ministry of Public Works and Water Management’s Standard RAW (Rationalisation and Automation of Ground, Water and Road Construction) Provisions. According to the guideline for the assessment of civil engineering structures, a lifespan of one hundred years has been determined for civil engineering structures. Here too, a lifespan of one hundred years applies to infrastructural structures made of timber or other CO₂-negative materials.
Repairability
Making our products repairable is no simple matter, and it involves more than just repairability. In the construction sector, we talk about management and maintenance, and the renovation of structures. Heijmans does this for all three of our product groups. On a project basis, management and maintenance are laid down in the Long-Term Maintenance Plan (LTMP) for a specific period in accordance with NEN 2767. The long-term maintenance plan establishes the planned maintenance for a specific period (10-25 years), so work can be planned in a focused and efficient manner and maintenance budgets can be managed. For structures built of timber or other CO₂-negative materials, we do not yet have a separate approach for management & maintenance or repair.
We have no data to compare the useful life or repairability with the sector average.
Recycling
Heijmans has drawn up a clear circular policy for packaging materials that focuses on recyclability and ensures that all packaging materials are delivered by suppliers and subcontractors in such a way that they can be reused or recycled (narrowing the loop).
It is difficult to determine the recyclable content of complex products such as buildings. At a client's request, we do use a commercial materials passport, but this is not standard practice in all projects. When we prepare this material passport, we map out the end-of-life scenarios in combination with a material flow analysis, and the percentage of recyclable content is determined based on the material weight. Heijmans passports are in line with the guidelines drawn up by the CB'23 platform in Passports for the construction industry.
It is assumed in national databases that any materials used that store greenhouse gases are incinerated after use. At Heijmans, the vast majority of all outgoing materials are recycled or used to generate green electricity. However, we do not know what proportion of this is recycled. Making structures with CO₂-negative materials that can be disassembled is a policy point within Heijmans for the coming years, as we want to reduce the share of incineration and increase the share of recycling and reuse.