Environmental Responsibility
OUR PATH TO BECOMING CLIMATE NEUTRALThe climate crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Not only does the construction industry contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is also responsible for a large volume of waste and has high energy and material requirements. As a leading construction technology group, we take responsibility and create awareness by making an effective contribution to climate protection and combating climate change. In 2021, STRABAG for the first time adopted a sustainability strategy that sets out the goal of climate neutrality for the entire group by 2040. Our own processes will be designed in such a way that they no longer have a negative impact on the climate in their entirety. Our goal is to become climate neutral by 2040 – just like our home market of Austria. We have divided our path to zero emissions into five subgoals:
But we won’t achieve this goal overnight. It is a process that requires technologies, some of which we must – and will – develop before we can begin. We need completely new ways of working, ways that conserve resources and make us less dependent on fossil energy. And we need to walk this path together from this moment on. For our common mission: Work On Progress.
More information on our mission Work on Progress is available here.
ENERGY AND EMISSIONS
Around 35% of global energy consumption and approximately 38% of the associated greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the construction sector – both during actual construction and in the usage phase. This makes the expansion of renewable energies and the reduction of energy consumption key factors in achieving our ambitious goal of becoming climate neutral by 2040. STRABAG was faced with new challenges in terms of its energy and raw materials supply in the reporting year due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The consequences from the military conflict have led to distortions on the markets and in the supply chains. For STRABAG, however, the energy supply was secured at all times in all markets during the year under review. The noticeable increase in energy costs is due to the significant rise in prices on the energy markets.
In addition to the volatility on the energy markets, political regulations such as carbon pricing have also had a direct impact on business operations. The mechanism of a continuously rising CO2 price as an economic incentive to improve energy efficiency and substitute fossil fuels with renewable energy sources was already implemented by law in Germany in 2021. In Austria, this step was taken in 2022. In order to meet these challenges with specific measures, the development of a corporate-wide energy strategy was launched in the reporting year. This strategy includes a constant increase of energy efficiency at our business locations, production facilities and construction sites as well as the continuous substitution of fossil fuels through the consistent expansion and use of renewable energies.
Projects and initiatives
Energy savings and emission reductions are achieved by increasing energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources. This includes, among other things, measures to optimise the electricity consumption of buildings, construction sites and production plants as well as the evaluation of alternative fuel use in asphalt production.
- As of 1 January 2021, STRABAG AG Germany and all its affiliated companies purchase their electricity exclusively carbon-neutral from hydropower under a framework agreement. This increases the proportion of green electricity purchased in Germany and Austria in STRABAG’s total electricity consumption to 23 %.
- An e-learning tool was developed to reduce fuel consumption through the use of the vehicle fleet. The company has also launched a fuelsaving initiative called “Ready. ECO. Go! The STRABAG Fuel Save Challenge”.
- In 2022, work was carried out on the calculation of the Scope 3 emissions by comprehensively testing the ERP system for Scope 3 calculation requirements. Based on the findings, it was decided to extensively adapt the ERP system to be able to calculate valid Scope 3 emissions along the entire value chain. The reporting of Scope 3 emissions is therefore being established step by step.
Objectives and indicators
It is our explicit goal to reduce the negative impact of our business activity on the environment and so contribute to the transition towards a sustainable economy. To achieve this goal, we give priority to those issues that either promise the greatest potential for improvement or that we can influence most directly through our own actions. We help to reduce fossil fuel consumption through the use of the best available technology. Production processes are planned, implemented and controlled in an energy-efficient manner.
Energy consumption and CO2 intensity in the relevant energy consumption categories
Vehicle fleet:
- All diesel-powered passenger vehicles in Germany and Austria: 5.79 l/100 km (-2.29%) and 155 g CO2/km (-2.29%)
- All diesel-powered commercial vehicles in Germany and Austria: 9.16 l/100 km (-1.22%) and 245 g CO2/km (-1.22%)
Objective: energy efficiency increase of at least 1 % over the previous year
- Asphalt mixing plants in Germany: 92.60 kWh per tonne of asphalt mixture produced (-5.12% year-on-year) and 29.80 kg CO2 per tonne of asphalt mixture produced (-4.49% year-on-year)
Objective: energy efficiency increase of at least 1.3% over the previous year
1Currently, the energy data is derived from the prices taken from our internal accounting. Only the data for pulverised lignite is acquired on a volume basis. Energy costs are converted into quantities using the average prices from the following sources: Eurostat for electricity and natural gas; the European Commission’s Weekly Oil Bulletin for diesel, petrol, heating oil/fuel oil and LPG. Prices are also taken directly from invoices. The energy units are converted to MWh (analogue to calorific value) using conversion factors from the following sources: German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) for fuels and heating oil; supplier data for pulverised lignite.
2This concerns the purchase of green electricity in Austria and Germany within the framework agreements (approx. 80% of the total electricity consumption in the respective countries).
More information on energy and emissions is available here.
MATERIALS
Economic growth, the global population increase and the necessary adaptations to climate change are stimulating the construction and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure. This requires considerable volumes of raw materials, such as sand, gravel and quarry stone. The annual demand for these natural aggregates in the construction industry amounts to approximately 2,105 million tonnes in the EU alone and represents the largest flow of raw materials in the European Union. Although intra-European production of mineral building materials almost completely covers the demand, an expansion of raw material extraction could soon come up against environmental, social and economic limits: Land competition, social conflicts and the potential for sand and gravel shortages in some parts of the world could lead to economic bottlenecks in supply.1 Increasing resource efficiency and exploiting the recycling potential of the building materials used will counteract the predicted increased demand for raw materials in the coming years. STRABAG wants to become climate neutral along the entire value chain by 2040. Responsible handling and the use of innovative carbon-optimised materials play a key role in achieving this goal.
Projects and Initiatives
Our 3DLight OnSite research project aims to advance 3D printing using lightweight concrete and to make the process more flexible. The 3D printing robots used in this project are mobile and can be synchronised with each other to print walls directly on the construction site using concrete variants that are more environmentally friendly than classic alternatives. The special lightweight construction method for 3D concrete printing works with structures similar to honeycombs and ensures significant savings in material use, as the printers inject the concrete only where it is structurally needed. As a result, additive manufacturing offers maximum stability despite the low amount of material used. These benefits can reduce the carbon footprint by up to 50% compared to conventional walls. Digital manufacturing methods, such as those used in 3DLight OnSite, enable the further recycling of building materials in the spirit of urban mining. The building materials are also easier to track, allowing them to be sustainably dismantled into their individual components for use as secondary raw materials in new projects.
The new building at Witten/Herdecke University represents one of the most sustainable university buildings in Germany today. The new building, realised using the timber hybrid construction method, not only features wood as a renewable material, but also has a flexible and changeable room layout. The project fully exploited the structural and engineering potential of the material. Every cubic metre of the 1,382 m3 of wood used in the construction comes from sustainable forestry sources and can bind one tonne of climate-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The building was awarded BNB silver certification for sustainable construction by the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building.
The contribution to resource conservation made by the projects presented here is evaluated and guaranteed by environmental calculations carried out in parallel. We also want our own buildings to serve as an example of responsible material use and as a source of knowledge and expertise for our clients. In this context, the renovation of a corporate building on the STRABAG Campus in Stuttgart is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate sustainable materials management in conjunction with high-quality waste recycling. The office building is to be modernised and returned to use in accordance with the “Sustainable Building Quality Seal” awarded by the German Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building. Concepts for the inventory and reuse of building components are currently being developed during the planning phase. If certain building components cannot be reused, recycled materials from other sources are to be employed wherever possible. The planning engineers are also taking into account the possibility of upcycling and reusing the materials at the end of their service life as a way of closing the material cycles and reducing the amount of material used.
Objectives and Indicators
It is our declared goal to keep the negative impact that our business activity has on the environment as low as possible. To do so, we give priority to those issues that promise the greatest potential for improvement and which we can directly influence through our own actions, such as the continued development of processes and technologies for resource- and energy-efficient structures.
We report the five largest material flows by volume, showing materials that are used to produce our products and provide our services.
¹The volumes were derived from the average prices from the price data.
Percentage of recycled asphalt used in the production of asphalt mixture in Germany, Austria and Poland (combined share of group output: approx. 70 %)
- Germany: 35 % of total asphalt mixture production of 3,036 thousand tonnes (2021: 34 % of 3,067 thousand tonnes)
- Poland: 33 % of total asphalt mixture production of 2,268 thousand tonnes (2021: 36 % of 2,513 thousand tonnes)
- Austria: 20 % of total asphalt mixture production of 1,077 thousand tonnes (2021: 189 % of 1,360 thousand tonnes)
More information on materials is available here.
WASTE AND CIRCULARITY
The construction industry is one of the most resource-intensive sectors in the world: Raw materials are mined, used in construction and, after their usage phase, largely disposed of in landfills. The volume of waste that is generated as well as the pollutants that are contained within that waste impact the environment in a variety of ways. Intensifying our waste avoidance measures is therefore a crucial element of STRABAG’s waste management. Where possible, we give preference to quality treatment solutions such as preparation for reuse and recycling over other methods of recovery such as downcycling. We also ensure that any third parties we work with in our waste management are certified in accordance with the respective national standards. As raw materials are a finite resource, it is particularly important in the construction sector to focus increasingly on using secondary raw materials to the extent that they are available. In this context, STRABAG is pursuing various approaches, based on the EU waste hierarchy, to use our resources as efficiently as possible.
Projects and Initiatives
In order to promote the further exchange within the group, a GIS application was developed on the basis of STRAmaps to improve the coordination between the construction sites and the various recycling and disposal points. The aim is to find a way for the quality reuse or recycling of construction waste with the best possible disposal routes. To help us avoid waste and to recycle used materials, we launched an initiative in 2021 to improve and continuously expand the database and to integrate additional countries in which we operate into the evaluation. This initiative was transferred into a project proposal in 2022 to create the necessary framework for the collection and management of waste streams. Networking our construction sites and material flows, including locations for quality recycling, should help minimise resource consumption while increasing the use of secondary raw materials.
Objectives and Indicators
The largest waste flows in the group result from mineral construction and demolition waste. Other production- and site-related waste as well as non-mineral waste passed on to certified waste management companies play a subordinate role. This is due to the individual production that is typical in the construction sector, which distinguishes the sector from other branches of industry. The total amount of waste depends on the size and type of the construction project (e.g. buildings, transportation infrastructure, dismantling work, excavations, recycling activities) and on quality specifications. Since these specifications are determined by third parties, STRABAG has only limited influence on them. In this management approach, the total quantity is therefore not
defined as a controllable variable. STRABAG’s goal is to reduce the impact on the environment associated with resource consumption and waste flows and to promote resource-efficient recycling management. In the future, we would like to measure these aspects with the indicators listed in the table below.
¹Locations include all organisational units within STRABAG's area of responsibility, such as construction sites, handling centres and production sites.
More information on waste and circularity is available here.
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING
Rising energy prices, the increasingly noticeable impact of climate change, and rapid urban growth present the construction industry with new challenges: buildings are no longer optimised only according to investment criteria – life cycle costs, quality and resource efficiency are also becoming more important. Taking a building’s entire life cycle into account, the proportion of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions is highest over the entire operating phase. Against the backdrop of increasing energy standards leading to decreased emissions in the operating phase, however, the grey emissions generated during the production of building materials for the building’s construction are also becoming increasingly important. Accordingly, STRABAG is working to develop methods for calculating an end-to-end carbon footprint that covers all project phases. Meanwhile, the business field Reconstruction, Conversion and Refurbishment is also becoming increasingly important, as a large part of the construction-related greenhouse gas emissions can already be avoided in this way.
More information on sustainable building is available here.