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.

As the Nordic Com­mu­ni­ty Builder we drive developments in our industry in matters con­cern­ing the cli­mate and en­vi­ron­ment, ethics, and equal op­por­tu­ni­ty and inclusion. We work well together with stakeholders in the world around us and stride every day towards a sustainable value chain. With our extensive local pres­ence we are also an important actor in the local com­mu­ni­ty.

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 2023
>5.0% (SW) 14.2% (SW)
>30.0% (WCW) 18.8% (WCW)

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 2023: -49%

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 2023: -9%

Equal opportunity workplaces in focus

The construction and civil engineering industry has a major task in taking advantage of all the competence community has to offer. The number of women in the industry and in Peab is still far too low. 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 greatest inequality is found in workers close to production. Only about five per­cent of job applicants to Peab with a re­le­van­t practical education are women. On the other hand, there is a good balance between women and men in all the other parts of our organization.

These challenges start in the education system where there are few female students 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. We even have 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

Last year we launched the program The Construction Year, which is a na­tio­nal, one-year paid internship for women that have just finished high school or have worked a few years and want to learn a new skill. Around 40 trainees from Kiruna in the north to Malmö in the south will work for a year as skilled workers while they also receive a theoretical education. Participants took an in­tro­duc­tion course together and after that they are doing their internship at a local workplace.

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.

I’ve always liked building but when my all friends chose social science att high school I did the same. Then I saw the ad for The Construction Year and felt like I got a second chance. 

Sevval Göker, trainee The Construction Year

Fewer recruitments mirrored in the outcome

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 2023 the percentage of women in new recruitments was 14.2 (7.9) percent in production and processing compared to our target of more than 5.0 percent and 18.8 (45.3) percent in production management and production support whereas our target was 30 percent. The reason behind the reduction was the few recruitments during the year because of the current market situation. In total the proportion of women in Peab is 14.8 percent (13.3). 

Equal opportunity recruitment

Tar­get: Share of women re­cruit­ed > the ed­u­ca­tion mar­ket (re­port­ed an­nu­al­ly)

Production management and production support (WCW), %
Production and processing (YA) %

Ethics are fundamental to community building

We have a significant responsibility as community builders to run a business with high ethical standards 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. 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. 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 counteract all forms of ethical transgressions.

In 2023 we updated our course in ethics and 10,352 (1,777) employees took it. The course included our policies and other regulations aimed at counteracting 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 2023 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 2023.

In 2023 Peab discovered 8 (1) cases of suspected corruption and 0 (0) internal incidents of suspected financial irregularity. The responsible managers handled the matters with support from the Ethical Council and the incidents were reported to the police by Peab.

Collaboration for a more sustainable industry

As the Nor­dic Community Builder Peab naturally wants to contribute to 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 2023 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 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. Our fundament is our compliance with the extensive Nordic legislation in this area. We also protect the right to organize, which is apparent in our respect for our employees’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. This right includes having several employee representatives on the Board, which is a well-functioning praxis we are proud of.

Our approach to human rights and the right to organize underlines Peab’s commitment to a work environment that is both safe and healthy, and inclusive and fair. By supporting these work environment principles and integrating them into our processes and culture we contribute to strengthening human rights and labor laws. We also link these matters to several of our material sustainable aspects. We work continuously on evaluating and remedying possible shortcomings in operations and ensuring that our suppliers respect human rights.

Sustainable throughout the entire chain

The production chain in the construction and civil engineering industry is complex and consists of many different actors. Striving for a sustainable supply chain where business ethics, human rights and the environment are protected and respected is a cornerstone of our business. This is steered from executive management right through to individual workplaces and by specifying demands and monitoring every aspect of the production chain. This requires well-defined procedures to assess, prevent and manage ris­ks as well as cooperation and trans­pa­rency. Peab’s Code of Conduct is the starting point and we also have a Suppliers Code of Conduct that explicitly de­fi­nes our expectations of our ­part­ners.

To further strengthen work on our value chain we encourage the use of Peab’s whistleblower system. It provides employees of our suppliers a way to report suspicions of illegal acts or violations of our Code of Conduct.

Risk management in the supply chain

At Peab we manage some 40,000 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 continues via risk analysis, requirements, controlling and monitoring. Because of the war in Ukraine we have emphasized the importance of supplier checks and updated our procedures to 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.

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. We also continually follow a number of business critical categories like fuel, electricity, bitumen and steel based on parameters like availability and price.

One of the Group’s two development initiatives for the business plan 2024-2026 concerns further quality-assuring the work on our value chain, in particular traceability. Within the framework of this initiative we are developing work processes, measurement methods, dialogues with, and controls of, our suppliers. Naturally this also includes issues regarding human rights and the environment.

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. 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 2023 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 Suppliers’ 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 2023 we conducted 37 (6) supplier audits and broadened the scope of them through additional questions about quality. In 2024 we will continue to work on increasing the number of supplier audits. Among other things, we will review our audit program so that it becomes more efficient for us and suppliers as a part of the ongoing development initiative.

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 35 (21) workplaces were inspected and checks of 1,298 (421) 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.

Local community involvement

One of the areas our customers emphasize more and more is the importance of working together in shared social responsibility for the local community, particularly local community building to form the society of the future. For Peab, with our extensive Nordic presence, this is a positive development and a key part of our business model. Some examples of this are designing safe residential areas, promoting local clubs and the development and education of youths. It includes creating togetherness and contributing to planning green areas, meeting places and accessibility to service facilities. By participating in dialogues with relevant departments in municipalities where the local community contributes, Peab plays an important role in forming a sustainable, vibrant and inclusive society. We participate in processes to develop comprehensive plans together with municipalities and other general contractors. Our involvement in these dialogues underlines our part in establishing the foundation for future plan programs.

Focus on youths

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. Since 2006 we run our own vocational high schools and currently there is a Peab School in Malmö, Gothenburg and Solna. Over 18 years a total of 1,834 students have received their high school education through Peab. We are the only major construction and civil engineering company that runs its own schools completely focused on a vocational education aimed at our core operations. In 2023 there were 214 (233) students in the construction and civil engineering program and 66 (65) in the introduction program for vocational training. In June 2023 84 (87) students graduated and became part of the labor force or continued their studies.

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. We also continually visit schools to talk about Peab’s operations and try to keep youths from getting the wrong idea about the community building industry. During the year we carried out 38 (34) projects with more than 2,000 (1,500) youths. Among them were pedagogical activities for preschool children and career information meetings at middle schools. We have participated in math classes all over Sweden to demonstrate practical math and in Uppsala we carried out a big project to inspire young people to choose practical and technical education. Peab staff participated in classes in Technique and Social Studies and 140 students came to us on field trips.

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.

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.

In line with Peab’s target to be a leader in social responsibility during the year we supported the democracy project “Make Democracy Great Again” which is a documentary that spotlights the issue of democracy and its wellbeing. We use the film in our business and show it for our employees and in the community building school the Peab School.

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 the impact generated by suppliers and customers for example. Meanwhile our business is also affected by environmental and climate changes. In line with our targets we work to reduce our environmental and climate impact together with other actors in the value chain and maintain close collaboration with our partners in the value chain – both customers and suppliers.

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 (cp. 2015) in our own operations – Scope 1 and 2 – and for input goods and purchased services – Scope 3 – by half (cp. 2015). Peab’s second environmental target is to be completely resource efficient by 2040. We optimize material use, reduce waste and promote biodiversity so this target also contributes to our climate target. 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 more than 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 can supply our contract construction operations and the projects we develop ourselves with input goods and raw material through business area Industry, which improves our ability to lower carbon emissions. We contribute to the ongoing climate transition through different kinds of investments such as electric machines and vehicles and energy efficiency in our factories. In 2023 transition investments were around SEK 530 (300) million. In 2023 we further concretized our work in a Group activity steered transition plan we call the Climate Road Map. Executive management adopted it as part of Peab’s two development programs in the business plan period 2024-2026.

Sources of our emissions

Peab’s operations primarily cause carbon emissions by using production materials like concrete, steel and asphalt. Two other major sources of carbon emissions in production are energy consumption and transportation. Therefore our 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 in general. This can entail designing flexible structures and building 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 second development program in the business plan period 2024-2026 therefore concerns developing our work with suppliers on quality and traceability where striving to limit and measure carbon emissions in the supply chain is key.

Emissions from materials

Since ma­te­ri­al­-re­la­te­d emissions are clearly the largest source of greenhouse gases in our operations 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. When our subsidiary Swerock uses Merit in the manufacture of its climate-improved ECO-​Betong (ECO-Concrete), it lowers carbon emissions by up to 50 per­cent compared to conventional concrete as well as reduces virgin limestone excavation. In 2023 Swerock opened a new concrete laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment for testing and analyzing in different kinds of environments. The laboratory improves our ability to further develop concrete with a lower climate impact while controlling the products’ quality and properties.

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 in principle always uses climate-improved concrete where it is technically possible and available, and the goal of both business areas Construction and Civil Engineering is that at least 50 per­cent of precast concrete will be climate improved. In 2023 the proportion was 48.2 percent for Civil Engineering and 42.2 percent for Construction.

Our long-term goal is to for all concrete to be climate ne­u­tral, which means that we invest in R&D, particularly regarding al­ter­na­ti­ve bin­de­rs and carbon dioxide capture.

New factories provide more ECO-Prefab

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, both built on the binder Merit. In 2023 Byggelement started on the considerable expansions of its plants in Ucklum and Hallstahammar. The new production facility in Ucklum has opened and production has begun. In Hallstahammar the new production facility began manufacturing in the beginning of 2024. With this investment of close to half a billion Swedish kronor the company doubles 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 both a double wall and solid wall in ECO 50 where 50 per­cent of the cement is replaced by Merit and a half sandwich wall in ECO 60. Their climate impact is reported in EPDs, which certify that all these products surpass the industry’s lowest benchmark for a climate-improved product.

In 2023 Byggelement also carried out tests demonstrating that hollow core slabs made with recycled concrete have the same quality as in traditional production. In the successful test castings ten percent of mineral aggregates were replaced by crushed concrete which had been recycled from waste generated in manufacturing.

Swerock test cast outdoor ECO-​Betong with 60 percent slag. The result was lower climate impact by raising the concrete’s water to cement ratio and replacing almost 60 percent of the cement with Merit. The new formula has been tested in a lab environment with very good results and the goal is to use the concrete in actual constructions projects.

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

Fossil free steel production

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 can start using fossil free steel in our construction and civil engineering projects.

However, already in 2023 Peab and SSAB took an important step in our partnership when, together with Ruukki Construction and real estate company Wihlborgs, we presented the first building in the world with steel produced fossil free. It is a more than 6,000 m2 industrial building in Lund where sections of the facade panels are made from steel produced fossil free. Building the first building in the world with steel produced fossil free is a milestone for the construction and civil engineering industry and the project demonstrates how together with customers and material suppliers we can shift to sustainable construction.

Since 2022 we are also working together with SSAB in a research project with a grant from the Swedish Construction Industry’s Development Fund (SBUF) where we investigate possible climate savings in the construction and civil engineering industry through the hydrogen gas­ ba­se­d HYBRIT technology. Among other things, calculations show steel made by SSAB with HYBRIT technology has the potential to reduce the climate impact of built-in material in this kind of building by around 30 percent. In the calculation the steel in the frame, facade panels and roofing sheets is replaced with steel produced fossil free and the potential is calculated based on a standard scenario where 100 percent of these products are manufactured of newly produced iron ore based steel. A preliminary rough analysis shows that more than 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 – 80 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 impact of construction and civil engineering projects.

In addition Peab and SSAB have extended their collaboration to include SSAB Zero, which is steel based on recycled steel manufactured and transported fossil free. Last year Peab used the initial delivery volume of 300 tons for micro piles in groundwork and the other half in construction projects. Once again Peab was the first construction company in the world to use SSAB Zero.

Energy on the agenda

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. Our production of ECO-Asfalt is based on replacing fossil fuel oil with biofuel when drying 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. Our subsidiary Peab As­falt currently has around 90 as­phalt plants in the Nor­dic area. In Sweden 21 of them 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). In our other countries 11 asphalt plants offer ECO-Asfalt (4 Den­mark, 5 Fin­land, 2 Norway).

In our paving operations we have also test paved 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 Fredrikshamn in collaboration with Stora Enso. All in all we have test paved lig­nin on eight 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. Peab led the initiative that established an industry standard for ener­gy class­ification of construction barracks and getting them on site in 2022 and which is now used to reduce energy consumption on construction sites. 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 increasingly used in Peab’s operations.

Lam­berts­son also offers 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. During 2023 we started a new round of energy mapping in our business aimed at further identifying energy efficiency improvements. We also carried out a campaign to call attention to how we can reduce our energy consumption that included everything from tips to simple instructions. As part of the ongoing project to develop management of environmental data we launched an energy application that makes it possible for our operations to follow their use of electricity and district heating on a monthly basis all the way down to per project in the form of kWh and CO2e emissions. Some operations can even analyze their fuel consumption. Apps help to see trends in consumption and then adjust operations to reduce both climate impact and costs.

In Norway the entire business decided that all electricity will be purchased with an origin guarantee that ensures that the electricity is produced through renewable production. Peab has a framework contract with Fjordkraft for electricity.

Electrical vehicles and machines

We have continued to work on replacing fos­si­l fuels with renewable ener­gy for our vehicles and machines during the year:

  • Peab Asfalt was the first company in Sweden to only use electric machines to pave asphalt with. The totally electric project was carried out in Järfälla north of Stockholm with an electric asphalt paver, an electric roller and an electric vibratory plate compactor in combination with electric trucks. In addition to lower CO2 emissions this improves the work environment and reduces maintenance costs. Read more about the project on page 47.
  • Swerock began excavating soil and rock with its first crawler excavator run by electric motors. This technological solution results in lower CO2 emissions since a generator sends electricity to the electric motors that drive the machine.
  • 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 light-duty trucks. Of the company cars we ordered in 2023, 97 (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 offers a construction logistic solution 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 generate both efficiency and environmental gains.

Peab has built the world’s first building containing fossil free produced steel from SSAB. It is a more than 6,000 m2 industrial building in Lund where sections of the facade panels are made from fossil free steel. In the picture on the right Sweden’s Minister for Climate and the Environment, Romina Pourmokhtaris, is screwing on the sign for the project together with Peab’s Business Area Manager Construction, Stefan Danielsson. The project was commissioned by real estate company Wihlborgs and the building will be ready to move into in the spring of 2024.

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. We also 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 construction 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 2023 amounted to 28 (27) per­cent (cf. 14 per­cent 2015).

Potential med mineral aggregates

ECO-Ballast (ECO-Mineral aggregates) is another concept Peab offers through Swerock. ECO-Ballast is made of recycled raw material 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. ECO-Ballast can be used in the manufacture of asphalt or concrete or as a construction material.

Mineral aggregates may also have a role to play in Car­bon Cap­tu­re and Sto­rage (CCS), i.e. capturing and per­ma­nently binding carbon dioxide to reduce the amount in the at­mo­sphere. In a research project we are examining the possibility of binding and storing bi­o­genic carbon from wood and other bi­o­ma­te­ri­al in residual pro­ducts from quarry and concrete operations to use as raw material in the manufacture of mineral aggregates. 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. We have dialogues and action plans concerning retrieving surplus material and installation waste with material suppliers and contracts with reuse companies in around 70 different locations. There are several construction projects spotlighting reuse, for example Varvstaden in Malmö, where reused construction material is built into new structures. This provides important experience for more circular construction.

With so-called C&D Recycling Wash Plants Peab’s subsidiary Swerock contributes to circular material flows by upgrading surplus excavation soil into new products. This reduces 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. During the year in situ remediation has been carried out in, for example, Kristianstad where a college is being built on land that previously had a bus depo on it. Similar work has been performed in Stockholm.

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 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 2023 we produced three biodiversity plans in Sweden and now have 15 in total. Quarries offer unique life environments for a number of threatened species and can therefore contain higher natural values than their surroundings. During the year we created an environmental council in Peab for, among other things, biodiversity.

Collaboration in biodiveersity:

  • 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. The tool has now been launched.
  • Swerock is a member of the network Business@Biodiversity Sweden focused on biodiversity and business benefits, in Aggregates Europe’s (UEPG) team on biodiversity and SBMI’s newly started team on biodiversity.

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 become part of the circular flow. Our ability to phase out environmentally and health hazardous products is 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 implemented a digital chemical management system into most our operations to facilitate monitoring and steering chemical consumption as well as an app that visualizes where we are in phasing out hazardous products.

Greater need for environmental data

Demands to reduce climate and environmental impact in projects are growing. This is particularly apparent with the increasingly tough demands customers are making on thresholds for the climate impact of buildings and continuously reporting climate impact throughout the entire construction process. To prove that legal and contract requirements are being met we have to be able to measure our climate and environmental impact. Peab is therefore working intensively to develop structures for compiling, analyzing and reporting environmental da­ta. In 2023 we completed the first stage of a project aimed at developing work methods and system­ support to aid us with this. This has produced 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 provide support in data compilation and reporting. The work to digitalize environmental da­ta and make it accessible will continue within the framework of a Group-wise development program during the coming business plan period.

We are also working on increasing accessibility to environmental information on our ECO-​products through, for instance, cli­mat­e calculations and EPDs. We also produce more and more pro­ject­ spe­ci­fi­c EPDs.

We 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 was to produce an industry stan­dard for the content and format of digital in­for­ma­tion on how data regarding delivered material should be repor­ted. In addition, we have also been active in developing an industry ­stan­dard for measuring waste, including de­fi­ni­tions and calculations of key ratios, which was launched in 2023.

Reducing emissions is a joint effort. Only through partnerskap can we attain really significant sustainability changes. 

Christina Friborg, Head of Sustainability SSAB

Emission curves pointing in the right direction

Peab will 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 by at least half (cf. 2015) for input goods and purchased services (Scope 3). The outcome after 2023 reveals that developments are going in the right direction although to different degrees. Carbon dioxide intensity in our own production has gone down by 49 percent since base year 2015 and by nine 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 on our suppliers and subcontractors as well as point out choices that are better for the climate in order to reduce emissions.

Carbon dioxide intensity for 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 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 management services and business trips