Leader in social responsibility
We want to drive social development forward
As the Nordic Community Builder with extensive local presence we have a self-evident responsibility for our communities. This responsibility begins with our role as employers and business partners and stretches all the way through our production chain and out into the surrounding neighborhood. Naturally this responsibility also includes the environment and climate.
Carbon dioxide intensity for own production
The target refers to lower emissions of greenhouse gases Scope 1+2 (ton CO2e/MSEK).
Target 2030: –60%
Outcome 2022: –43%
Carbon dioxide intensity for input goods and purchased services
The target refers to lower emissions of greenhouse gases Scope 3 (ton CO2e/MSEK).
Target 2030: –50%
Outcome 2022: –2%
Equal opportunity
The target is measured as: percentage of recruited women in production among skilled workers (SW, production and processing) and white-collar workers (WCW, production management and production support) > percentage of women who have graduated with, for us, relevant degrees on the education markets.
Target | Outcome 2022 |
>5,0% (SW) | 7.9% (SW) |
>30,0% (WCW) | 45.3% (WCW) |
Equal opportunity workplaces in focus
A lot of work remains before the construction and civil engineering industry has gender equal workplaces. This is a challage for our industry, but as Sweden’s largest community builder– and one of largest in the Nordic region – we want to be at the forefront of changing this. The inequality is found in workers close to production. Only about five percent of job applicants to Peab with a relevant practical education are women. This means that the construction and civil engineering industry has a major role to play in taking advantage of all the competence community has to offer.
These challenges start in the education system which leads to a limited recruitment base for employers. We are willing to do our part and contribute to change but we cannot do it without help from communities and schools. Peab and the industry’s equality challenge requires various measures, mainly in the educational system so that the supply of more possible female managers and skilled workers increases. We do our best to bring this matter up in various industry contexts, and in meetings with politicians and the media. During the year we also recruited a Diversity & Inclusion Manager whose mission is to work strategically for greater equality, diversity and inclusion in the Peab Group. There is also a female network based in local operations.
The Construction Year builds for the future
Over the past year we have invested a great deal of energy in what we are calling The Construction Year. In 2023 Peab will launch a national, one-year internship for women that have just finished high school or have worked a few years and want to learn a new skill. Participants take an introduction course and after that do their internship at a local workplace. The program does not require prior knowledge about construction and civil engineering. What it does require is curiosity about the industry and the will and engagement to learn.
The purpose of The Construction Year is to attract more women to the construction industry, have more of our own capable skilled workers and contribute to increasing interest in the profession. The goal is to achieve greater gender equality in Peab in general, and in production specifically.
We also have a number of business area specific initiatives. For example, business area Construction is acting on research about how the way ads are worded can have the effect of excluding women. Therefore efforts are now being made to use more inclusive language in recruitment processes. The business area has also worked with the industry initiative “Choose your words” to encourage more inclusive language in work teams.
The construction and civil engineering industry has a major role to play in taking advantage of all the competence society has to offer. The proportion of women in production at Peab is still way too low. The big inequality is in professions close to production while there is a good balance between women and men in all the other parts of our organization.
As one of the largest Nordic community builders we want to challenge ourselves and thereby create a shift in the entire industry. Our initial target therefore is to strive for the percentage of women recruited to Peab for our core skills to always be higher than the percentage of women who have graduated with, for us, relevant degrees on the education markets. We focus on core skills in production (skilled workers) and production management and production support (white-collar workers). At the end of 2022 the percentage of women in new recruitments was 7.9 (6.8) percent in production and processing compared to our target of more than 5.0 percent and 45.3 (34.9) percent in production management and production support whereas our target was 30 percent. In total the proportion of women in Peab is 14 percent (13.3). We have a lot left to do.”
Stefan Danielsson, Business Area Manager Construction
Equal opportunity recruitment
Target: Share of women recruited > the education market
(reported annually)
Ethics are fundamental to community building
We have a significant responsibility as community builders to work with ethics and counteract corruption. This can be a challenge in an industry of generally decentralized operations and complex value chains since these factors have been known to increase the risk for ethical violations and corruption. The fact that our operations and next to all our employees are in the Nordic region as well as most of our partners is positive for our ability to educate and support them. Peab has made it abundantly clear that we have zero tolerance for any and all forms of corruption, ethical violations are not accepted and that every infringement has consequences.
In 2022 we taught 1,777 (2,064) employees about ethics, which included our policies and procedures, in order to counteract corruption. Relevant “cases” are also an important part of this education.
Structured incident management
An ethically sustainable business is built on transparency. Peab works preventively through long-range and systematic measures, in particular by ensuring our employees’ knowledge concerning ethics, anti-corruption and competition law. We encourage all employees and partners to report any possible illegal acts, violations of our Code of Conduct or any other kind of infringement. We encourage open reporting but this is complemented by an external web-based whistleblower system that guarantees the anonymity of the reporter, whether or not the reporter is in Peab or external. No one making a report should worry about reprisals. Read more about our whistleblower function under Governance or in the GRI appendix.
When Peab is made aware of an incident the matter is sent to the Ethical Council which ensures that all incidents in the Group are dealt with consistently. During 2022 0 (0) incidents of anti-competitive activities, breaches of the competition law or monopolistic behavior leading to legal action were discovered. Peab has not been involved in any legal process during the year nor was there any ongoing legal process at the end of 2022.
In 2022 Peab discovered 1 (1) case of suspected corruption and 0 (0) internal incidents of suspected financial irregularity. The responsible manager handled the matter with support from the Ethical Council and the incident was reported to the police by Peab.
During the year we have implemented the regulations and reporting requirements that we updated in 2021 regarding employees’ side occupations.
Collaboration for a more sustainable industry
As the Nordic Community Builder Peab naturally wants to contribute developing our industry, not only in collaboration with our customers but with our other stakeholders as well. Current national and global challenges require that actors in society work together, which is why collaboration was a prioritized part of our local community building in 2022 as well.
- We continued to engage in the industry’s work on a more secure ID06, the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning’s initiative for a safe project culture and for healthy competition.
- In Sweden Peab is a partner in the Joint Initiative Against Bribes and Corruption which works to jointly counteract bribes and corruption in the publicly funded construction and real estate sector.
- In Finland Peab is a member of the construction industry’s interest group Rakennusteollisuus (RT), sits on its board and supports the organization’s ethical principles.
Respect for human rights
Respect for human rights is a given in every aspect of Peab’s business and throughout the entire value chain. This commitment is explicitly expressed in our Code of Conduct. The risk of violating human rights exists in all our areas of operation, internally and externally. Read more in the section on risks. These risks are particularly prominent in the various parts of the supply chain, which is why we now have a Suppliers Code of Conduct. This matter is vital for us and embraces several of our prioritized sustainability aspects. We work with risk analysis and rectifying faults in our own operations, and we quality-ensure our supply chain to reduce the risk of disrespect for human rights.
Peab’s Code of Conduct
Peab’s Code of Conduct applies to everyone who works for and with us – our employees, suppliers, interns, subcontractors and other partners. The code makes explicit demands on compliance and respect in a number of areas like child labor, forced labor and the right to organize, climate responsibility, non-discrimination and anti-corruption. In the beginning of 2023 Peab adopted a Suppliers Code of Conduct to further clarify our expectations of suppliers and subcontractors, particularly regarding respect for human rights and the environment. The Suppliers Code of Conduct, which is built on our Code of Conduct, will be implemented in 2023.
Sustainable throughout the entire chain
The production chain in the construction and civil engineering industry is complex and consists of many different actors. When it comes to the supply chain specifically, the basis for a sustainable business is a supply chain where business ethics, human rights and the environment are fostered and respected. This requires governance from executive management right through to individual workplaces as well as specifying demands and monitoring every aspect of the production chain. This requires procedures to assess, prevent and manage risks along with cooperation and transparency. Once again Peab’s Code of Conduct is the foundation and during the year we have launched a Suppliers Code of Conduct that explicitly defines our expectations of our partners.
Risk management in the supply chain
At Peab we manage 41,000 external suppliers annually. Around 1,500 suppliers make up 80 percent of the Group’s total purchase volume, of which 60 are internal suppliers. In other words, we are major buyers in the Nordic region which means we have a good platform for promoting secure and sustainable procurement along with supplier collaboration. This requires good purchasing governance, which Peab has prioritized for quite some time. The process begins when a supplier is first assessed and then continues via risk analysis, requirements, checks and follow-up. Because of the war in Ukraine we have emphasized the important of supplier checks and successively updated our procedures to include handle the work connected to sanctions.
Processes and procedures are important but they must also be complemented by reliable system support. We have digitalized checks in our supplier register, which provides us with a good overview and control of our suppliers. The system flags various risks which can then be handled based on the specific level of control required. We classify suppliers into three different levels depending on what their relationship to Peab is: safe workplace, secure payment and secure supplier.
We also monitor suppliers based on the measurement secure procurement. In short, the definition of a secure procurement is that it has been made from an approved supplier, is covered by a written agreement and is digitally traceable. A secure supplier meets both the requirements of the decision matrix and their social obligations such as regular payments of employer contributions. We also check that suppliers have collective bargaining agreements. Peab’s purchasing behavior is systematically monitored and documented quarterly. Peab also takes advantage of the chance to exchange experiences over borders. There is a team in the purchasing function that assesses our suppliers from a Nordic perspective. We also have joint Nordic purchasing forums that work with category steering, process and system matters.
The basis for a sustainable business is a supply chain where business ethics, human rights and the environment are fostered and respected.
Peab’s total purchasing volume is divided up into purchase categories. We currently have round 250 different purchase categories, of which frameworks and facades, installations and site transportation, and construction machine services are the largest. Each category has a contact person responsible for it. The point of a category-steered purchasing system is to gather Peab’s total purchase volume into a specific category in order to sign contracts for the entire category with advantageous prices and the right specifications. This way we can steer our purchase volumes to certain framework contract suppliers making it easier for production, since only call-off orders from approved suppliers with predefined terms are made, instead of signing contracts for each project. At the same time this facilitates our ability to manage risks in the supply chain. In addition, we continually follow a number of business critical categories like fuel, electricity, bitumen and steel based on parameters like availability and price.
Supplier checks and audits
Every year we conduct an analysis of our purchase categories and select several prioritized ones. We choose these categories based on a number of parameters, in particular issues related to human rights such as the work environment, child labor, discrimination and the environment. We then monitor our prioritized categories throughout the year and a cross-functional audit team consisting of category heads and QEW responsible supervisors conduct supplier audits. An example of a category-steered process is how we work with risk categories. A risk category is earmarked by a special or high level of risk concerning the work environment, labor conditions and other human rights. The risk categories Peab has identified are staffing, hole punching, demolition, cleaning, scaffolding construction, decontamination and security. As part of our continuous improvement work, several years ago we began increasing checks on our subcontractors and suppliers. As a result of this in Sweden more and more subcontractors apply the industry-wide requirements in “UE 2021 (Subcontractor 2021)”, which is a framework continually developing through cooperation in the industry, especially through tougher sustainability demands. This entails a responsibility for ensuring that all subcontractors in the supply chain have collective bargaining agreements and an F-tax certificate, and that they are not involved in disputes regarding back wages or other remuneration to employees. The primary purpose is to rid the industry of unscrupulous actors, get control over the subcontractor chain and create safe workplaces. This aligns with Peab’s ambition to strive for a healthy construction industry that safeguards good business ethics, quality, the work environment and environmental consideration.
In 2022 Peab’s cross-functional audit team continued to conduct onsite audits at our prioritized suppliers which have been identified based on volumes and assessed risk level. Our Code of Conduct is the basis of our requirements and follow-up and our method is always the learning dialogue. Our goal is to promote improvement and create a sustainable, secure production chain by working on it together. In 2022 we conducted 6 (15) supplier audits and broadened the scope of them through additional questions about quality. In 2023 we plan to increase the number of supplier audits. Among other things, we will review our audit program so that it becomes more efficient for us and suppliers.
Our goal is to promote improvement and create a sustainable, secure production chain by working on it together.
Order through third party checkpoints
Workplace inspections are a well-established method in Peab to promote safe workplaces. In 2021 Peab introduced third party checkpoints in Swedish operations to ensure that no unauthorized persons could have access to, or be at, our workplaces. During the year 21 (68) workplaces were inspected and checks of 421 (2,241) individuals were made. Results from these workplace inspections confirmed that everything is in order and that through the electronic personnel ledger system we can verify both the employee’s information and where they are employed. We also have a link to our supplier register where the employer is checked based on the criteria for “safe workplace”. Every night the system retrieves information from open sources and credit check companies, which means the information is always current.
Commitment to youths
One of the areas our customers emphasize more and more is the importance of working together in shared social responsibility for the local community. For Peab, with our extensive local presence all over the Nordic region, this is a positive development and key to our business model. Some examples are providing internships and jobs for newly arrived immigrants or for people with disabilities, creating safe residential areas or aiding youths in their development and education. The education and development of youths is a particularly prioritized matter for us. We want as many Nordic children and youths as possible to have equal access to leisure activities, education or a step up into the labor force. This is an important part of our strategic target to be a leader in social responsibility.
The Peab School is a concrete example. It consists of Peab’s three independent upper secondary schools. The Peab School has concluded its sixteenth school year and in June 87 (77) students graduated. In 2022 there were 233 (219) students in the construction and civil engineering program and 65 (73) in the introduction program for vocational training. This means that since its start in 2006, 1,500 youths have received their upper secondary education through us.
Umbrella for youth programs
Peab Life is our concept for how we contribute to young people’s development and education in the local community. By making it possible for them to participate in local building projects we want to build away inequalities and contribute to greater diversity, inclusion and participation amongst Nordic youths. During the year we carried out 34 (9) projects with more than 1,500 (1,000) youths. Examples of them are when we designed secure schools with the Friends Foundation, built a schoolyard together with The Rescue Mission, trained 200 youths in Biskopsgården in community building together with Vasakronan and Gothenburg City and helped ten high school youths get a summer job.
Our commitment to the young is woven into our core operations. When we build homes, schools, swimming facilities and hospitals or construct infrastructure and courtyards it’s important for us to take into consideration the perspective of those who will spend time there. A large and significant target group is children and youths. Therefore, for instance, Project Development includes the child’s perspective in its strategic work, in close collaboration with Peab Life and according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which is also Swedish law.
One of the areas our customers emphasize more and more is the importance of working together in shared social responsibility for the local community.
Within the framework of Peab Life we also continually visit schools to talk about Peab’s operations and try to keep them from getting the wrong idea about the community building industry. During the year with our Diversity & Inclusion Manager we met several middle school classes from Järva School for a discussion about choices for the future, the construction industry and equal opportunity.
Sponsoring our local community
Peab’s sponsoring is governed by guidelines specific to it. The Group’s sponsoring is based locally and requires that all sponsored activities give back something to the community. The Group Sponsoring Council meets once a month to decide on sponsoring requests. Peab Life is part of Peab’s extensive sponsoring program of local associations and clubs.
Focus on environmental targets
The construction and civil engineering industry has a significant environmental and climate impact. Peab affects the environment and climate through our own operations and through the impact generated by, for example, suppliers and customers. At the same time conditions for our business are affected by environmental and climate changes. Together with other actors in the value chain we therefore work step-by-step to reduce our environmental and climate impact, in line with our set targets.
In recent years Peab’s climate and environmental work has become increasingly comprehensive and our targets and measurements more stringent. High ambitions and a rapid tempo is necessary since as the Nordic Community Builder we have a significant responsibility for reducing the construction and civil engineering industry’s environmental impact.
Environmental targets – our North star
Taking responsibility for the environment is key to our strategic target to be the leader in social responsibility. Peab has three long-term environmental targets that identify our focus areas and help us implement practical measures that improve the environment. These both support and strengthen each other. The most long-term target of Peab’s three comprehensive environmental targets is to be climate neutral no later than 2045, which aligns with the scientifically-based 1.5 degree target in the Paris Agreement. Our targets up to 2030 are to reduce carbon dioxide intensity by at least 60 percent (baseline 2015) in our own operations – Scope 1 and 2 – and for input goods and purchased services – Scope 3 – by half (baseline 2015). Peab’s second environmental target is to be completely resource efficient by 2040. This target also contributes to our climate target since resource consumption and producing material have a substantial climate impact. Within the framework of resource efficiency we also work actively to promote biodiversity. Peab’s third environmental target is to phase out environmentally and health hazardous products no later than 2030. We want to protect people and the environment from toxic exposure in both production and usage.
2030
Year 2030 we will have phased
out environmentally and
health hazardous products
2040
Year 2040 our business
will be 100 percent
resource efficient
2045
Year 2045 we will be
climate neutral
Climate neutrality: Focus on reducing emissions
According to the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, developers and construction companies generate around 20 percent of Sweden’s carbon emissions. This means we have to move quickly if we are going to reduce emissions at the rate required by the Paris agreement. We work systematically towards this goal and in Sweden we support the construction and civil engineering industry’s “Road map for fossil free competitiveness”. We have an advantage in that we can supply our contract construction operations and the projects we develop ourselves with input goods and raw material through our business area Industry, which enhances our ability to steer towards lower carbon emissions. We contribute to the ongoing climate transition through different kinds of investments, for example in our production and in electric machines and vehicles. In 2022 transition investments were around SEK 300 million.
Sources of our emissions
Peab’s operations primarily cause emissions of greenhouse gases by using various materials in production like concrete, steel and asphalt. Two other major sources of carbon emissions in production are energy consumption and transportation. Therefore our prioritized, emission reduction activities are centered on these areas. As community builders we also have a comprehensive perspective on our climate work and strive to contribute in the usage stage and to local community building on the whole. This can entail designing flexible constructions, investing in solar power plants, wind farms and railroads or by building in such a way that people can live more sustainably. We have a life cycle perspective in our operations and take responsibility for both making and meeting demands in the value chain in relation to our customers and suppliers.
The steel solution
In 2021 Peab was the first Swedish construction and civil engineering company to enter into a partnership with SSAB regarding fossil free steel, which means that as of 2026 Peab will start using fossil free steel in our construction and civil engineering projects. In 2022 we were given a grant for a research project with SSAB via the Swedish Construction Industry’s Development Fund (SBUF) to investigate possible climate savings in the construction and civil engineering industry through the hydrogen gas based HYBRIT technology. A rough preliminary analysis shows that 90 percent of the steel in a conventional steel frame for an office building can be replaced by fossil free steel, which means a climate reduction of about 70 percent compared to conventionally produced steel. The research project will also make a detailed study of the climate impact from the fossil free steel as well as the effect this climate savings can have on the total climate footprint of construction and civil engineering projects.
The crucial issue of material
Since material-related emissions are clearly the largest source of greenhouse gases in our operations, and cement is the single greatest generator, we are laser focused on reducing emissions through the material we choose and use along with recycling and reuse. Our ECO-products are essential to this endeavor, and we continually develop them.
We produce our own slag-based binder Merit that, to a certain extent, replaces cement in concrete. Cement represents 90 percent of concrete’s environmental impact. Our subsidiary Swerock uses Merit in the manufacture of its climate-improved ECO-Betong (ECO-Concrete) thereby lowering carbon emissions by up to 50 percent and reducing excavation of virgin limestone. Our construction and civil engineering operations intend to increase the amount of climate-improved concrete in our projects to reduce our carbon footprint. Business area Civil Engineering always uses climate-improved concrete where it is technically possible and available, and business area Construction’s goal is that at least 50 percent of precast concrete will be ECO-Betong no later than 2023. Our long-term goal is to make all concrete climate neutral, which entails investing resources in R&D, particularly regarding alternative binders and carbon dioxide capture.
Progress and collaboration in 2022:
- We prepared our first climate declaration according to the new law regarding climate declarations that became effective in 2022. The legal requirement entailed a major shift in the importance of climate issues in the construction industry.
- Our subsidiary Swerock launched climate-improved concrete (ECO-Betong) on the Finnish market.
- For the first time we cast an overpass in Småland for The Swedish Transport Administration with concrete where the cement was replaced by 50 percent by Merit. Our comprehensive tests in the laboratory and onsite at the overpass demonstrated good durability and better strength than traditional concrete. Carbon savings amounted to more than 37 tons.
- We signed a partnership contract and became one of the owners of the Swedish start-up CemVision which works with producing a new climate neutral cement. Subsequently even Bill Gates has invested in the company through his mentorship program “Breakthrough Energy Fellowship Program” which supports the most promising innovations for the climate worldwide.
- Together with Wihlborgs our customer, we preliminarily certified our first construction project according to Net Zero Carbon Building. Read more about the project Kvartetten in Malmö here.
Material
The three most important measures to reduce Peab’s climate impact:
- Choice of material
- Material efficient solutions and work methods
- Recycling/reuse
Energy
The three most important measures to reduce Peab’s climate impact:
- Energy efficiency improvements
- Electrifying with green electricity
- Renewable fuels
Transportation
The three most important measures to reduce Peab’s climate impact:
- Choice of transportation method (renewable fuel)
- Transportation and route optimization
- Optimized mass management
Community builder
The three most important measures to reduce Peab’s climate impact:
- Energy efficient, flexible constructions with long lifetimes
- Promoting sustainable living
- Contributing to sustainable energy and transportation infrastructure
Expanding ECO-family
In addition to Merit and ECO-Betong (ECO-Concrete) we work with several other ECO-products. In 2021 subsidiaries Byggelement and Smidmek introduced the concept ECO-Stomme (ECO-Frame) and ECO-Prefab that are both built on the binder Merit. During the year Byggelement decided to develop this further in its most sweeping program so far. With an investment of close to half a billion Swedish kronor the company will double its production capacity in walls and joists while halving the need for cement by raising the portion of alternative binder up to at least 50 percent. During the year Byggelement also launched the product solid wall with 50 percent alternative binder, which reduces climate impact significantly compared to solid walls without the climate-improved concrete.
Energy on the agenda
The basis of oour productin of ECO-Asfalt is that biofuels replace fossil fuel oil when fring and heating the gravel material which is the most energy consuming part of the manufacturing process. This halves climate impact without affecting the end product’s properties. Subsidiary Peab Asfalt currently has around 90 asphalt plants in the Nordic area. Twenty of them in Sweden can offer ECO-Asfalt. For nine of them, we have received funding for conversion from the investment support “Climate Leap” (the Swedish Environment Protection Agency). During the year the transition process has spread to our other countries with the conversion of four asphalt plants in Denmark, three in Finland and two in Norway. Peab’s operation in Finland increased its energy efficiency in asphalt production by lowering the manufacturing temperature by 15 degrees. This was done through education, changes in local planning and weekly follow-ups.
In addition to Merit and ECO-Betong (ECO-Concrete) we work with several other ECO-products.
The work with ECO-Asfalt is an example of how we can save energy and use renewable energy sources in our production to lower climate impact. We continued to test pave and develop asphalt with the natural binder in wood lignin, made from residual products from the forest industry, which can partially replace the oil-based binder bitumen. During the year we tested paving asphalt with lignin in Finnish Kotka in collaboration with Stora Enso. All in all we have test paved lignin on seven different stretches in the Nordic area. We are also doing R&D to find other alternative binders.
Higher energy requirements
Energy requirements for the construction and civil engineering industry are rising and there is a bigger focus on the construction process itself. In order to reduce energy consumption in 2022 the Swedish construction industry, led by Peab, produced a joint standard for energy classification of construction barracks and getting them on site. There are around 60,000 construction barracks in Sweden alone. All the suppliers have had their own classification system, but they have now agreed on common criteria. Subsidiary Lambertsson has construction barracks with an energy value that is among the best on the market and they are used extensively in Peab’s operations.
Lambertsson has also launched Lambertsson Control, which enables measuring and steering energy and water consumption in a project. Energy consumption can be reduced 30-40 percent by using the measurements to find energy thieves and cut off effect spikes.
Electrical vehicles and machines
We have continued to work on replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy for our vehicles and machines during the year:
- Swerock invested in twelve concrete hybrid pumps that will be used in Sweden and Finland. Through them Swerock lowers its climate impact across the board, from production of ECO-Betong (ECO-Concrete) and delivery with electrical concrete mixer trucks to pumping it out with the new hybrid pumps.
- Four electric concrete mixer trucks are operating in Stockholm. This reduces carbon emissions annually by more than 80 tons per cement mixer compared to a diesel vehicle.
- As the first Nordic company Peab Asfalt tried out a 2.5 ton electric vibrating tandem roller which reduces emissions by ten kilos carbon dioxide per hour.
- Lambertsson is successively replacing its machines run on diesel with hybrid or electric ones, even the really big machines like excavators, dump trucks and wheel loaders.
- We are making a rapid transition to hybrid or electric alternatives in company cars and pickups. Of the company cars we ordered in 2022, 94 percent were hybrid or electric, and all in all more than every fifth car in the Group today is either a hybrid or electric car.
Optimizing transportation:
When it comes to transportation we strive to use the right kind of transportation for the right place, optimize logistics and handle excavation soil efficiently. For example, Lambertsson has been offering a construction logistic solution for more than a year now that includes logistics personnel, a digital delivery planning tool, mixed loading and intermediate storage of construction material. Planned and mixed load transportation flows are both efficient and reap environmental gains.
Research and innovation on the agenda
In the beginning of 2022 we created the new function Research and Innovation aimed at supporting our business in its transition to climate-adapted products and with investments in new technology. Circular material and new energy services are examples of areas the function deals with. During the year the function has started up new collaborations and identified new partnerships that, among other things, comprise new circular processes which include using more and more residual products from other industries.
The Haga Initiative
For the third year in a row The Haga Initiative has examined which of the stock market’s 128 large companies set targets to halve their emissions by 2030 in line with the 1.5 degree goal. Peab got a green light for its entire value chain (Scope 1, 2 and 3) in the 2022 review.
Resource efficiency:
Many roads to resource efficiency
Peab’s second environmental target for completely resource efficient operations by 2040 saves valuable natural resources and also contributes to our climate target since resource consumption and material production have a major impact on the climate. We include protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services in resource efficiency. We therefore strive for resource efficiency in production with effective use of material, responsible management of residual products and work methods that foster biodiversity. Our measures can entail designing resource lean constructions, purchasing circular products, minimizing waste, reusing material and making sure leftover material is recycled, using land respectfully, managing excavated soil efficiently as well as sorting material so that it can be recycled. We also maintain close collaboration with the other actors in the value chain to achieve circular flows. Three good examples from our business are using reclaimed asphalt pavement, ECO-Ballast (ECO-Mineral aggregates) and reuse in construction projects.
Circular material on its way
Besides replacing fossil fuel oil with biofuel in the manufacture of ECO-Asfalt we are developing solutions for partially exchanging the binder bitumen with residual products from the forest industry. We also work to increase the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement in production. The portion of reclaimed asphalt pavement in Peab’s Nordic asphalt production in 2022 amounted to 27 percent (compared to 14 percent 2015).
Potential med mineral aggregates
ECO-Ballast (ECO-Mineral aggregates) is another concept Peab launched through Swerock in 2021. It can be used in the manufacture of, for instance, asphalt or concrete or as a construction material. ECO-Ballast is made of recycled raw materials that can come from construction or civil engineering projects or byproducts from industrial processes and therefore makes a significant contribution to circular community building. The product has the equivalent properties of virgin mineral aggregates and is quality-ensured with an environmental and health declaration.
Mineral aggregates may also have a role to play in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), in other words capturing and permanently binding carbon dioxide to reduce the amount in the atmosphere. We are running a research project until the spring of 2023 with financing from The Swedish Construction Industry’s Development Fund (SBUF) that examines the possibility of manufacturing new mineral aggregates as construction material by storing biogenic carbon from wood and other biomaterial in residual products from quarry and concrete operations. We have the right prerequisites for this considering our business comprises the whole circle from excavation to use and finally recycling mineral aggregates.
From waste to circular material
Building creates waste. Every year vast amounts of building material is thrown away in construction projects. Peab has explicit guidelines on how to handle leftover material at construction sites aimed at enabling greater reuse and compliance with laws and our Code of Conduct. We also have a number of initiatives creating new ways to recycle and reuse this construction material. Particularly important is establishing a dialogue and collaboration with material suppliers and reuse actors early on so that we can manufacture and use more products that contain reused material. For instance, we have continued to collaborate with reuse companies regarding insulation, windows and plastic.
With so-called C&D Recycling Wash Plants Peab’s subsidiary Swerock contributes to circular material flows by reducing the amount of surplus excavation soil that becomes landfill by up to 80 percent.
Peab’s civil engineering operations work increasingly with so-called in situ remediation which entails remediating contaminated land and dredged soil on site instead of removing the soil. This also means transporting less replacement soil for filling. According to our life cycle calculations in situ remediation and stabilization of polluted soil can lower carbon emissions by 80 percent.
Progress and collaboration in 2022:
- One of our largest projects, Platinan in Gothenburg, delivered more than five tons of leftover material for reuse and reused material in the building’s ceilings.
- We ran pilot projects for the reuse of wood, which is our largest waste fraction, and continued construction on Varvsstaden in Malmö where reuse is key to the development of the new city borough.
- We paved a test stretch with 50 percent reclaimed asphalt pavement in Drammen Municipality in Norway.
- We were the first construction and civil engineering company in Sweden to sign a contract with a supplier of circular salt in order to contribute to more climate-adapted summer and winter road maintenance on Swedish roads. By using circular salt we lower carbon emissions by 10,000 tons annually, which is the equivalent of a 90 percent reduction compared to traditionally produced salt.
- We were commissioned by the Danish Road Directorate to pave more than 50,000 tons of a climate-adapted wearing course, which lowers rolling resistance and cuts the fuel consumption of the vehicles on this stretch of the road.
Peab’s biodiversity under the microscope
Every year Ecogain Biodiversity Index (EBI) measures how the largest companies in Europe report on biodiversity. It is an indicator on how well biodiversity has been integrated into the companies’ business. Of 100 companies on the list Peab came in 18th.
Protection and development of biodiversity
Biodiversity means having variations within and between species as well as different types of life environments and is crucial to human welfare. Our environmental target for resource efficiency includes the issue of protecting, preserving and strengthening ecosystems and biodiversity when exploiting land and natural reserves. Peab’s operations encroach on nature and risk displacing species. This is why we are careful to take steps to protect life and species, and even add to the biodiversity in the environments where we operate. Peab fosters biodiversity by developing green and blue infrastructure like fish passes and fauna passageways. Biodiversity is also a factor considered in environmental certification of buildings, for example the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. Normally before Peab opens a quarry we make a natural value assessment in order to determine with the help of experts if the location is suitable and identify any possible protection measures. Sometimes Peab draws up biodiversity plans in connection with new quarry permits in order to identify the best way to protect and even benefit various species. In 2022 we prepared nine biodiversity plans in Sweden. Quarries offer unique life environments for a number of threatened species and can therefore contain higher natural values than their surroundings. Last year we made a biodiversity plan in one quarry when we discovered that the red-listed moor frog had found a cozy environment in one of the manmade dams. Peregrine falcons can now nest in a different quarry through measures taken there and in yet another, sand martins have made nests in stone flour piles.
Progress and collaboration in 2022:
- Together with companies in the industry and authorities we have run and participated in several developmental projects concerning combatting and managing invasive species that threaten biodiversity.
- We participated in two teams in an industry-wide project initiated by Ecogain aimed at producing a practical tool to evaluate the effects of measures taken to support biodiversity.
- Swerock is a member of the network Business@Biodiversity Sweden focused on biodiversity and business benefits.
Phasing out environmental and health hazardous products
Peab’s third environmental target is to phase out environmentally and health hazardous products no later than 2030. We have a responsibility to protect people and the environment from toxic exposure in both production and usage. We also want to avoid mixing in toxic substances in material that will be reused. Our ability to phase out environmentally and health hazardous products are largely dependent on making the right decision to begin with. Quite simply, hazardous products should never get into our operations.
Methods that facilitate product choices
To phase out environmentally and health hazardous products we use environmental assessment systems such as Byggvarubedömningen and Basta to help us choose products. We develop methods and systems to steer purchasing towards better product selection by, for instance, integrating information on environmental assessments and ecolabelling into our purchasing processes. Traceability helps us identify substances we do not currently consider hazardous but which may later prove to be so. Keeping a logbook on built-in material is a way of ensuring traceability.
In order to phase out hazardous products we work together with suppliers and producers to find new and better alternatives. We have implemented a substitution staircase and defined the criteria which inform the phasing out process, the so-called Peab criteria. We have continued to implement a digital chemical management system into a growing portion of our operations to facilitate monitoring and steering chemical consumption. Last year we also began to apply a system with traffic lights, a color code that signals whether or not a product is an approved choice at Peab. This is an aid that visualizes how to choose chemical products to achieve our third target.
Certification of buildings: Well-defined framework for sustainable projects
Buildings affect our environment during their entire lifecycle, from construction and operation to dismantling and demolition. Environmental certification systems provide a well-defined framework to work with in planning and production to assess how environmentally sustainable a building is, and support us in our efforts to reduce our environmental impact.
All Peab’s own developed tenant-owner apartment buildings produced in Sweden with more than two stories are Swan ecolabelled. Our own developed rental apartment buildings in Sweden are Swan ecolabelled or certified according to Miljöbyggnad. In Finland we certify apartment buildings according to the Swan ecolabel or BREEAM. Since 2021 all our own developed housing projects in Finland are built with energy class A. Our own developed commercial buildings in Sweden are certified according to BREEAM or Miljöbyggnad. In Finland Peab’s property development business uses the environmental certification system LEED.
Collaboration with universities
Collaboration is vital to developing and puzzling out new ways to create a sustainable society. During the year Peab and Luleå University of Technology (LTU) entered into a long-term strategic partnership in sustainable construction, digitalization and resource efficiency which lets Peab take advantage of the latest research and LTU can test its research in practice. At Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg we participate in the research program for “Future Transportation Infrastructure” and at Lund’s The Faculty of Engineering, (LTH) we are active in the “Center for construction robotics”. For years we have worked together with The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm within road technology and geotechnical engineering.
Peab’s need to compile, analyze and report reliable environmental data from suppliers increases as our own and external demands and expectations grow.
Measurable environmental footprint: Greater need for environmental data
Peab’s need to compile, analyze and report reliable environmental data from suppliers increases as our own and external demands and expectations grow. Therefore the Group now has a project to develop environmental data management in order to measure, analyze, govern and report the business’ environmental impact. The purpose of the project is to create work methods and system support to aid us with this. During the year we launched three apps that help us to visualize our environmental impact. They provide us with an overview of our energy consumption, how far we have come in phasing out environmentally and health hazardous chemical products and they support data compilation and reporting. The project will continue during 2023.
We are also working on increasing accessibility to environmental information on our ECO-products through, for instance, climate calculations and third party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). We also produce more and more project specific EPDs.
We have participated in the initiation of the project “Environmental Data NOW”, which is run together with a number of actors in the industry under the umbrella of the Swedish Construction Federation. The purpose is to arrive at a common standard for the content and format of information in data reporting. In addition, we are part of developing the construction industry’s resource and waste guidelines aimed at creating an industry standard for measuring waste as well as a definition and calculation of key ratios.
“Peab should be climate neutral by 2045. Our targets by 2030 are to reduce carbon dioxide intensity by at least 60 percent in our own operations (Scope 1 and 2) and for input goods and purchased services (Scope 3) by at least 50 percent compared to base year 2015. The outcome after 2022 reveals that developments are going in the right direction although to different degrees. Carbon dioxide intensity in our own production has gone down by 43 percent compared to base year 2015 and by two percent for input goods and purchased services. This means that we are well on the way to converting the production we ourselves have control over but the greater challenge is when we are dependent on other parties for a reduction in our carbon footprint. It is therefore vital that we continue to make explicit and stringent demands as well as point out choices that are better for the climate in order to reduce emissions.”
Elisabet Stadler, Head of Environment
Carbon dioxide intensity: Climate targets for our own production
Target: Reduced emissions of GHG Scope 1+2* (tons CO2e/MSEK) by 60% (reported annually)
* Direct and indirect emissions as a result of using fuel and energy in our own production.
Carbon dioxide intensity: Climate targets for input goods and purchased services
Target: Reduced emissions of GHG Scope 3* (tons CO2e/MSEK) by 50% (reported annually)
* Includes concrete/cement, asphalt/bitumen, transportation and machine services, steel, waste and business trips.