Impact on climate and environment

Respect for the environment

Implenia pursues ambitious environmental goals and continuously works to minimise the environmental impact of its construction sites. In order to reduce the entire group’s greenhouse gas emissions, its primary focus is on resource and energy consumption.

Environmental management

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Implenia operates an ISO 14001-certified environmental management system. At the end of 2023, 87 percent of business units (excluding Wincasa) were certified under this standard. Each Implenia division has several sustainability and environmental specialists. These experts are responsible for implementing environmental measures on construction sites, reporting environmental incidents, increasing energy efficiency and optimising the use of resources – for example, by promoting recycling. Implenia aims to further professionalise the environmental management by 2025 and to avoid accidents that damage the environment.

Implenia systematically collects environmental data relating to its production facilities, yards, office properties and construction sites, as well as to its self-developed projects and to mobility. The company logs where energy is being consumed and now also takes a closer look at material flows, from the extraction of raw materials to the finished building.

A specialised software package allows the company to capture energy and emissions data continuously from various sources, as well as to produce specific analyses to help monitor outcomes. Since the introduction of this software, the quality and regional detail of the data has improved significantly. The company is constantly working to further optimise its collection and processing of environmental data.

Energy and climate

CO2 emissions

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In line with the Paris Climate Agreement, Implenia wants to help limit the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere to 1.5 degrees. The company’s goal is therefore not to generate any net emissions under any Scope by 2050 at the latest. Implenia also complies with the legal climate protection requirements with earlier climate neutrality targets in its markets. With this in mind, Implenia has already made preparations for a decarbonisation strategy from 2025. As a first measure, emissions from Scope 3 categories 1 (purchased goods and services) and 11 (use of sold products) are being included in the calculation of its CO₂ footprint. These two categories are considered the biggest levers for construction and real estate service companies because of the concrete and steel they buy, and the subsequent use of the structures they build.

The CO₂ footprint forms the basis for a targeted expansion of measures in the coming years: on the one hand, more renewable energies will come into play, for example through the use of electric engines and bio-fuels; on the other hand, Implenia would like to promote and increase the use of alternative building materials such as wood and more environmentally friendly concrete.

Implenia’s CO₂ emissions vary from year to year, because they do not depend solely on the amount of work done or on the technologies used, but also on the nature of the services customers require. It makes a difference, for example, whether our tunnellers have to use the drill and blast method or a tunnel boring machine.

Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG)

Category	Definition
Scope 1	Emissions caused directly by a company’s use of fuel in operations and transport, as well as fugitive emissions.
Scope 2	Indirectly generated emissions resulting from the use of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling.
Scope 3	All other indirect emissions in a company’s value chain caused by its activities.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions

Implenia has been publishing its CO₂ footprint for scopes 1 and 2 since 2012. This includes direct emissions from the operation of our own construction machinery, trucks, production facilities and depots (Scope 1), as well as indirect greenhouse gas emissions from grid energy like electricity and district heat (Scope 2).

Most of Implenia’s Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions are caused by its construction sites and production facilities. Around 65 percent of emissions are generated by diesel combustion. In comparison between the countries, the absolute CO₂ emissions in Switzerland are almost twice as high, at 58 percent of the Group total, as in Germany, which accounts for 30 percent. The remaining 12 percent is generated in Norway, Sweden, Austria and France.

Implenia defined 2020 as the base year for its 2025 sustainability goals. In Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Austria and France, the Group emitted 16.7 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents per million Swiss francs of revenue in 2020. This figure now serves as the benchmark for the reduction trajectory up to 2025. For example, the company now wants to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 revenue-adjusted emissions by 3 percent per year across the Group. This represents a 15 percent decrease over the entire period compared to 2020.

After the absolute CO₂ footprint was successfully reduced for two years in a row, there was a slight increase from 50,672 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2022 to 54,140 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2023. The 3 percent reduction target for revenue-adjusted emissions was also not achieved. On one hand, this was influenced by an increase in production output at some production facilities in Switzerland. On the other hand, some major construction sites, such as the TELT project in France, were in energy-intensive phases and contributed to the increase. Various measures have been evaluated as part of the group-wide decarbonization strategy, so that Implenia is well on track to achieve its target by the end of 2025 despite the temporary stagnation.

Scope 3 emissions

With regard to its target of achieving net zero by 2050, Implenia is continuously expanding its reporting on the indirect emissions generated in up- and downstream process chains (Scope 3). In particular, the sourcing, production and transportation of construction materials and the subsequent use of buildings and structures cause significant emissions, which obviously affect a construction project’s overall impact. These emissions can be many times higher than those recorded under Scope 1 and 2. Although Implenia’s influence over these processes is generally low and although it is difficult to gather the relevant information, the company is seeking to expand its database and reporting in this area in the following years, thus laying the foundations for further CO₂ reductions.

Implenia has already identified the key factors that affect the company’s CO₂ footprint along the value chain. It has also assessed how relevant the fifteen Scope 3 categories are to the company’s activities based on the GHG protocol, internal and external databases and the construction industry benchmark. The following categories have been found to be relevant to Implenia:

Category 1: Purchased goods and services
Category 2: Capital goods
Category 3: Fuel & energy related activities
Category 4: Upstream transportation and distribution
Category 5: Waste generated in operations
Category 6: Business travel
Category 7: Employee commuting
Category 11: Use of sold products
Category 12: End-of-life treatment of sold products

Implenia has collected data on the following categories at Group level since 2022: “Fuel and energy-related activities”, “Business travel” and “Employee commuting". However, the most relevant categories for the construction industry in general are “Purchased goods and services” and “Use of sold products”; these make up the majority of Scope 3 emissions. The Global Sustainability Team has therefore begun to collect data about “Purchased goods and services”. The largest emissions are in the area of concrete and steel used.

Implenia has made a rough estimate of its relevant Scope 3 emissions based on the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), benchmarking within the construction industry, and internal reference projects. This leads Implenia to believe that its Scope 3 emissions are around twelve times higher than calculated Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Energy consumption

In 2023, the Implenia Group consumed around 277 gigawatt hours of energy. The company’s biggest energy source by far (final energy) is the diesel it uses as fuel for machinery, commercial vehicles and cars. Next come electricity and fuels that are used mainly for generating process heat in its surfacing works, such as natural gas and heating oil.

Electricity consumption

Implenia optimises its energy consumption wherever it can and prioritises clean energy sources. An analysis in 2023 found that 85 percent of the electricity that Implenia buys in Switzerland came from renewable sources. The other 15 percent will be covered hydropower offsets (certificates of origin). Therefore, 100% of the consumed electricity in Switzerland is renewable.

Implenia Germany uses hydropower certificates of origin to offset electricity consumption at most of its construction sites and offices. Implenia Sweden does this for all its construction projects. In Norway, certificates of origin are being purchased for some initial projects that account for around 45 percent of consumption.

In total, around 80 percent of the electricity consumed by Implenia comes from renewable sources or is offset by certificates of origin.

Since 2022, in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, Implenia has reported Scope 2 emissions using the "market-based"¹ method in addition to the "location-based"² method

¹ Market-based figures including certificates of origin and emission factors of the electricity suppliers where available
²Location-based figures calculated using country-specific emission factors given by the International Energy Agency (IEA)

A well as predominantly using clean electricity, Implenia also harnesses its buildings to generate its own electric power. Solar systems on the roofs of its Swiss yards near Satigny (GE), Vétroz (VS) and Schattdorf (UR), as well as at the Ecublens asphalt plant (VD) have been supplying solar power for years. The 2,500 square metres of photovoltaic modules on the roof of the Ecublens plant, for example, produce almost half a gigawatt hour of electricity per year.

In Germany, a photovoltaic system on the roofs of Implenia’s subsidiary BBV Systems GmbH in Bobenheim-Roxheim (RP) produces more than 400 megawatt hours of electricity per year. Almost half the energy generated is consumed on site. In total, the company’s own solar systems generate more than 1.25 gigawatt hours of green electricity per year. The target for 2025 is to generate three gigawatt hours of solar power a year.

Respect for the environment

Status: end 2023

PV electricity generated, Implenia Global

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_{The photovoltaic plant installed in Bobenheim in 2022 made up for the sale of the plants in Savigny and Echandens and slightly increased the total production volume}

Energy efficiency in yards

Implenia runs 24 or so large yards across Europe. They function primarily as repair and maintenance centres and material storage depots. But many of these sites also have office premises. Running these complexes, some of which are very large, requires a lot of heat and electricity.

To find out more about energy-saving potential at its yards, Implenia has put eight of them under the microscope in past years. A specialist company subjected the consumption data to a detailed examination.

Its analysis showed that the greatest optimisation potential is during downtimes – at night and over the weekend when no work is being done. A number of other efficiency measures were also identified, including the use of modern lighting and heating technology.

In response to this analysis, Implenia has taken various measures to improve energy efficiency. In 2023, for example, new programmable radiators were installed in the Satigny and Echandens workshops, and electric heating systems were replaced by heat pumps.

Circular economy

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To become more sustainable, the economy as a whole has to move away from linear production chains and start thinking in cycles. In concrete terms, products should not be destroyed or deposited in landfills after use. Instead, the materials contained in these products should wherever possible be recovered, reprocessed and returned to the production cycle as secondary raw materials. The concept of “urban mining” goes one step further: when buildings are demolished, entire components are removed and reused in new construction projects.

By 2025 Implenia plans to develop further circular business models and use innovative methods to close its material cycles. Each business unit is working to implement specific circular principles. Implenia aims to develop and evaluate the widest possible range of practices, always with the aim of minimising material turnover and resource consumption, extending the life of built structures, and reusing or recycling building materials. For its new construction projects, the company wants to use ever larger amounts of secondary raw materials sourced from demolition work elsewhere. Wherever possible, Implenia already tries to ensure that at least half the concrete it uses for its own projects is recycled concrete made in a concrete works situated close to the construction site, for example.

Gravel that Implenia excavates from building pits is – if conditions permit – immediately processed on site and used to make concrete or to backfill within the same project. This avoids waste and saves on transport. It is a particularly effective approach in tunnelling, where Implenia can use the rock it excavates to make concrete locally (Closing material cycles on site).

Implenia Austria is currently participating in a research project run by the Austrian Building Technology Association. Researchers from the Technical Universities of Vienna and Graz and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna are working on reducing CO₂ emissions generated in the production of tunnel linings by using recycled building materials and optimised cements. Other project partners include the railway company ÖBB, the motorway company ASFINAG and Wiener Linien.

In order to close cycles, it is important in the long term not just to optimise the recycling process, but also to optimise product design. New products have to be manufactured in such a way that the component materials can later be separated out and sorted without excessive use of mechanical processes, energy or chemicals. In the construction industry, the use of mechanical joints, for example, makes it easier to separate and reuse individual elements subsequently. Once a component has reached the end of its life, the individual material layers can be separated from each other and returned to the cycle as secondary raw materials.

Division Real Estate is increasingly following this approach through the work done by its new Real Estate Products unit. Instead of developing each project anew, we look for flexible, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions and create standardised real estate products. These products are optimised for the entire building lifecycle. They are based on prefabricated elements designed to prioritise criteria such as ease of disassembly, durability, flexibility and re-usability.

The aim is to improve both the quality and sustainability of the buildings compared to traditional construction methods, to shorten delivery times and to reduce cost uncertainties. Using a configurator, planners combine prefabricated elements with the help of parametric design methods to give customers an optimised building design very quickly.

The Real Estate Products (REP) business unit has defined its own circular strategy along with a set of circular principles. These are being systematically integrated into the development and production of three products: Green Hospitality, Subsidised Housing and “Best Age”. Since 2021, REP has subjected itself to external assessment by Circular Globe to measure its own progress on the road towards a circular economy. Implenia became the first company in the property sector to achieve the “Advanced” maturity level.

Water consumption

Building sites don’t just use solid materials like concrete, wood and composites. Water is an equally important basic material for building. It is used in great quantities for drilling, for mixing concrete, mortar and plaster, for cleaning and humidification of building elements and processes, as well as for sanitary facilities.

Careful handling of water is becoming increasingly important in the construction industry. Implenia does various things to reduce its water consumption. One of these is to use meticulous water treatment processes and another is to reuse wastewater directly on site.

In Sweden and France, Implenia has been measuring water consumption on all construction sites for several years. In 2023, for example, around 20,000 m³ of water was consumed in France and around 290,000 m³ in Sweden. As well as showing consumption values, the measuring system also indicates where and how water could be saved. Comprehensive data is not yet available from other countries, but Implenia is currently extending reporting of water consumption to its other markets.

Waste and hazardous substances

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The construction industry accounts for around half of all the waste generated in Europe. Much of Implenia’s environmental impact is also due to waste. Most of this is created when buildings and structures are demolished, though considerable amounts of waste are also generated when building new structures.

Through improved processes and good planning, Implenia optimises the quantity of waste it produces; it is working on components and processes that allow materials to be separated easily and recycled at the end of their life cycle (see Circular Economy).

Implenia practises systematic waste management on its sites; it makes considerable efforts to dispose of construction waste by type and to promote recycling. For example, in Switzerland it uses separate containers for different waste materials, such as concrete, metal, wood and plaster.

This means that subcontractors can separate waste directly on site and achieve recycling rates of up to 90 percent. Implenia is well on track to achieve its target for 2025, which is to increase the recycling rate to 100 percent for materials that can be sensibly recycled.

The company takes special care with hazardous materials on its sites, such as diesel, petrol, bitumen, gas cylinders, lithium batteries and spray cans. To protect people and the environment, Implenia regularly trains its construction site personnel on how to store and transport hazardous materials.

Biodiversity

Biodiversity – the variety of life on earth – plays a crucial role in maintaining the health and resilience of natural cycles. In addition to its ecological importance, biodiversity also has economic value. The construction sector, for one, depends on nature and what it produces. At the same time, construction activity often significantly affects natural habitats and takes valuable areas away from the natural world.

So when its major projects have an impact on the natural world, Implenia places great emphasis on preserving biodiversity; and it follows European and national biodiversity strategies in all its markets. The company carefully assesses the ecosystems at its project sites and surrounding areas. If necessary, it takes measures to minimise impacts and protect natural habitats. Special attention is paid to species listed on the IUCN Red List as threatened, endangered or highly endangered.

Implenia is conscious of the great importance of biodiversity and actively sensitises its employees to this topic. From 2024, the Sustainability Academy, Implenia’s internal continuing education platform, is offering a special module on biodiversity.

At the E39 Lyngdal project in Norway, for example, local flower seeds were collected before the soil was removed; these will be re-sown after the project is completed and the topsoil replaced. In another project, ancient oak trees were fenced off to avoid damaging them during the work, with additional measures taken to preserve their root systems.

Implenia Sweden is building a road bridge in Stockholm close to the Igelbäcken nature reserve. Igelbäcken is home to several protected species including the greenling, a rare type of fish. Implenia has taken various steps to protect the area and is adapting its operations so that no work is carried out in or next to the protected water.

In another project in Sweden, there was an invasive plant species growing on the construction site. Special measures were taken to combat this undesirable, non-native species, prevent its further spread and protect biodiversity. Employees were also given specific training on how to handle the plant correctly.

On-site environmental management

Environmental standard and environmental concept

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An internal environmental standard has been applied across all areas of Implenia’s business since 2017. This includes Group-wide minimum requirements for waste disposal, soil protection, water treatment, noise reduction, clean air and energy consumption. These requirements – summarised on an information sheet for ease of use – must be followed by project teams on all construction sites.

In addition to its general environmental standards, Implenia applies project-specific environmental concepts to its building construction and infrastructure projects. These concepts govern the way construction sites are organised and include comprehensive sustainability criteria. Project managers are given a module-based handbook to work with, which gives them background information to help assess environmental risks correctly and take precautionary action early.

Checklists help project teams reduce energy consumption and noise pollution, optimise waste management and reduce impacts on air, soil and water. This makes it easier to comply with legal requirements, but also to meet additional criteria set by clients or necessitated by the desire to achieve a particular sustainability certification.

Smart construction logistics

Only about 30 percent of working time on construction sites leads directly to value creation. The remaining 70 percent is indirectly productive and spent on things like distribution and preparation: e.g. locating materials, maintenance, transportation, disposal and troubleshooting.

Well-organised construction logistics can significantly improve value creation and sustainability on a construction site. Implenia’s subsidiary Building Construction Logistics GmbH (BCL) specialises in precisely this field. It optimises logistics processes in order to minimise wasted time and resources, as well as to reduce costs and the risk of missing deadlines.

Good construction logistics can decrease waste and dust, noise and air pollution by doing things like cutting out unnecessary transport and increasing the recycling rate. Using a tailor-made logistics concept, BCL ensures, for example, that 70 percent less mixed construction waste is generated at the Telli construction site in Aarau (CH) compared to similar projects.

Sensitising employees

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Implenia regularly informs and educates employees about environmental issues, knowing that this has a positive influence on energy and resource consumption. Three awareness-raising campaigns are carried out each year on construction sites in Switzerland, addressing key environmental issues such as soil protection, water purification, air pollution, noise reduction, waste disposal and CO₂ emissions. Two e-learning courses were also offered on these topics in 2023 (see Sustainability Academy)

Awareness campaigns use different communication channels at different levels: site personnel receive a quarter-hour training session, and a multilingual information poster is hung up in highly visible places on the construction site for several weeks. Project managers receive additional training and detailed documentation.

Reporting of environmental incidents

Implenia has been recording incidents on construction sites for many years, with a particular focus on accidents involving people. In 2020, the Group introduced a standardised system for all countries and divisions to investigate every type of incident in a structured manner. Environmental incidents are recorded separately in this system and classified into categories. In line with the Group's sustainability goals, the consistent reporting of incidents will be anchored in all countries and business units by 2025. In 2023, 247 environmental incidents were reported across the Group; no serious incidents with significant or long-term effects were identified.

A lot can happen on a construction site. Diesel or hydraulic oil can accidentally enter the ground or water, nearby roads can be polluted, or a protected tree might be damaged. To identify the cause of such incidents and learn from mistakes, the responsible managers (usually assisted by safety officers) carry out a “root-cause analysis”. Any measures that are needed can then be taken and their effectiveness monitored.

Mobility

Implenia uses hundreds of vehicles every day. Across the Group, its cars, trucks and vans, but also excavators, rollers and other specialised vehicles and machinery consume a total of approximately 16 million litres of fuel a year.

When procuring vehicles and machinery, Implenia prioritises low-emission options. In Switzerland, Germany and Sweden, internal vehicle and leasing regulations encourage the use of electric cars. In France, Austria and Norway, Implenia has small fleets of electric delivery and passenger vehicles. Many offices provide their employees with e-bikes.

Technology has progressed to the point where alternatives to the traditional internal combustion engine are available not just for cars but also for heavy construction machinery. For example, Implenia operates several hybrid excavators in Switzerland. In Norway the company has gone a step further and has completed its first projects using purely electric-powered construction site vehicles. Implenia Sweden, together with Finnish manufacturer Sandvik, has developed a dumper fuelled by fully biodegradable hydraulic oil for use on an underground railway construction site in Stockholm. The use of bio-fuels to drive construction machinery is steadily increasing. Implenia Sweden already mainly uses biofuels for its own machines.

Implenia uses incentives and awareness campaigns to encourage employees to use public transport for business travel. Employees who regularly travel by train to appointments or who do not use a company car can apply for discount cards and rail passes. Employees at head office receive a monthly mobility bonus in addition to their salary, which they can use to travel by public transport.

Green offices

The biggest levers with which Implenia can control its environmental impact are to be found on our construction sites. However, environmentally friendly approaches in our office buildings can also make a difference. In 2020, therefore, Implenia launched its “Sustainable Office” initiative, which applies a series of measures relating to mobility, waste and materials in our countries and divisions.

The initiative includes employee awareness campaigns, analysis and proposals for improvements at specific locations, and various pilot projects. Implenia’s basic principle here is that even small measures can have a positive effect. And that sustainable habits can lead to sustainable thinking.