Environmental & Social Information • Feb 24, 2022
Environmental & Social Information
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On 16 December 2020, Bouygues unveiled a new stage in the Group's Climate strategy to stakeholders. Each of its business segments defined a set of quantifiable objectives aimed at reducing its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) at a pace consistent with the Paris Agreementa , and backed up by action plans. After endorsement of Colas' GHG reduction targets in 2021, the other business segments' are now looking for the SBTib to endorse their own decarbonisation targets.
| OUR 2030 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCTION TARGETS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUSINESS SEGMENT | REFERENCE YEAR |
SCOPES 1 AND 2c |
SCOPE 3Ac | SCOPE 3Bc | |||
| Colas | 2019 | -30% | -30% | n.a. | |||
| Bouygues Construction | 2019 | -40% | -30% | n.a. | |||
| Bouygues Immobilier | 2020 | -32% | -32% | -32% | |||
| Bouygues Telecom | 2020 | -50% | -30% | -30% | |||
| TF1 | 2019 | -30% | -30% | n.a. | |||
| n.a. = not applicable |
In order to successfully implement its climate strategy, the Group has earmarked, within its expenditure for 2022-2024, an estimated €2.2 billiond that will help reduce its carbon footprint.
In 2021, Bouygues ramped up its decarbonisation actions, in terms of its products and services and the internal operations of the Group's business segments.
a The Paris Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the average global temperature rise well below 2° C above pre-industrial levels and by pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels.
b Science Based Targets initiative, a joint effort of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
c Scope 1: direct emissions; Scope 2: indirect emissions related to energy consumption; Scope 3: other indirect emissions; Scope 3a other indirect upstream emissions; Scope 3b other indirect downstream emissions.
d Estimate by the business segments of the expenditure and investment necessary to achieve the climate targets (different method to that of the taxonomy)
In 2021, the Group developed methods for calculating the level of carbon avoided (scope 3b) by the products and services of the business segments.
The construction businesses have boosted their range of low-carbon solutions. These relate in particular to low-carbon construction, energy optimisation for building operation, and the construction of low-carbon energy and soft mobility infrastructure. The Group's telecoms and media businesses launched sustainable solutions and initiatives.
2021 saw progress in efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of products, such as for concrete and road asphalt mixes, and to replace the latter with bio-based materials.
Solutions exist to optimise the operation of buildings in order to reduce their carbon emissions. For example by intensifying their use. In 2021, Bouygues Construction and Bouygues Immobilier marketed the following solutions in several of their major projects:
a Excluding subsidiaries.
b Vegecol: a low-carbon asphalt mix which is more than 80%-comprised of a plant-based binder.
c Timber programmes in existence since 2005.
In 2021, the Group's construction businesses pursued work on several large-scale low-carbon energy infrastructure projects. For example:
In 2021, the construction businesses launched innovative, eco-friendly offers for the building of infrastructure dedicated to soft mobility. For example:
Bouygues Telecom launched several initiatives in 2021:
a Kraftanlagen Energies & Services GmbH is a subsidiary of the Energies & Services arm.
b The green track system uses grass and vegetation between and along tracks, thereby reducing the use of concrete as well as watering requirements.
TF1 has introduced:
Bouygues' commitment to low carbon is also visible in the efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emitted by its internal activities.
This second set of actions by the Group therefore aims to ramp up employee training, increase the proportion of responsible purchasing and the number of circular economy initiatives, speed up the roll-out of a Green IT policy and boost innovation.
Training employees to be aware of the climate emergency is crucial to the implementation of the Climate strategy. The aim is to develop a "carbon mindset". Specialist staff for whom decarbonisation is central to their work receive specific technical training. Several programmes were implemented in 2021:
All Bouygues group business segments have signed renewable electricity contracts to purchase power with a low carbon footprint:
| Bouygues Construction | Colas | Bouygues Immobilier | Bouygues Telecom | TF1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable energy contracts for all head offices and branches in France up to 2025 |
Low-carbon electricity supply contracts up to 2023 in France and the UK |
Electricity contracts linked to the national Bouygues Telecom contract for branch offices and stores. |
Contracts for renewable electricity sourced primarily from wind farms, covering all electricity purchased up to 2024 |
Renewable electricity contract for the group headquarters |
A proactive policy to increase the number of rechargeable electric and hybrid vehicles has been implemented in all business segments:
| BY Construction | COLAS | BY Immobilier | BY Telecom | TF1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target: a 100%-green vehicle fleet by 2030 In 2021, rechargeable hybrid company vehicles accounted for 16% of orders by eligible employees. |
Decision taken to electrify the entire company car fleet. |
Hybrid, rechargeable hybrid and electric company vehicles are now available to all employee grades: 15% of the total fleet in 2021 and 20% of ordered vehicles |
Rechargeable hybrid and hybrid company vehicles are now available |
Targeting 100% hybrid or electric vehicles in France, as and when the fleet is renewed: over 60% of the fleet was electric or hybrid at end-2021 |
Colas has signed an agreement with Saipol to supply its fleet of trucks with Oleo 100, a bio-based fuel that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 60% compared to diesel and emissions of fine particles by up to 80%.
In 2021, the construction businesses published low-carbon solutions guides for buyers, engineers and customers. They launched a partnership initiative with their supplier and subcontractor ecosystems to identify practical carbon-reduction measures that can be implemented. For example, all of Bouygues Immobilier's "nationwide catalogues" for private customers have been revised, resulting in a saving of over 30kg of CO2 per m2.
Bouygues Telecom is working with its main suppliers to reduce the carbon footprint of the equipment and products that it purchases. It has produced an environmental themes assessment questionnaire that all potential suppliers must complete at the tender stage and is included in the contractual conditions. It covers aspects ranging from a complete assessment of a supplier's environmental governance, to eco-design, the carbon footprint and a lifecycle analysis of products and services sold.
All of the Group's business segments have scheduled Supplier Conventions in 2022. These events will inform suppliers about specific decarbonisation targets and identify with them the most appropriate actions to take. The first event of this type - for Colas Rail suppliers - was held in 2021.
In 2021, the five business segments also adopted a Green IT strategy, which is based on a specific carbon audit that has identified a range of initial actions and set a number of quantified targets.
The major sources of emissions related to new technologies are the manufacture of equipment provided to users (smartphones, computers, screens, etc.) and the storage of data. The business segments' targets and plans of action focus mainly on extending the lifespan of this equipment and on the quantity and location of this data (datacenters to be located in low-carbon electricity countries, for example).
Innovations to reduce the carbon intensity of direct emissions (scopes 1 and 2) were rolled out in 2021. For example, Colas Rail is gradually equipping its locomotives in France, and soon in the UK, with Ecostop, a solution for reducing fuel consumption in locomotives, similar to the "start-stop" system used in cars. This patented innovation obtained a CEE (Energy Savings Certificate) from the French Ecology ministry.
The Group has embarked on a digitisation and industrialisation plan for the construction process. There are three core objectives: to simplify it, to improve safety and quality, and to reduce its carbon footprint. For example, Bouygues Construction signed two major partnerships in 2021, one with Dassault Systèmes to build a digital project management platform and another with Cambridge Service Alliance, of the University of Cambridge, in the UK to work on digital twins.
As part of its start-up acceleration programme, TF1 is partnering with Workflowers, which will provide content producers with a tool to measure and manage the carbon footprint of TV programmes.
The overall coordination and oversight of the climate & biodiversity strategy is the responsibility of the Group's Senior management. Every quarter, an ad hoc committee comprising the business segments meets to review progress on the roadmap. Group and individual business segment directors are regularly updated.
Each business segment has a dedicated structure charged with the roll-out of its specific climate strategy.
The remuneration criteria (for variable annual remuneration and LTIa ) of Executive Officers and the business segment heads include a range of climate strategy objectives (for more details see the Bouygues Universal Registration Document).
a Long term incentive plan.
In order to successfully implement its climate strategy, the Group has earmarked, within its expenditure for 2022-2024, an estimated €2.2 billiona in order to help reduce its carbon footprint.
This amount, comprised both of capital and operating expenditure, applies to all of the Group's business segments, unlike the Green Taxonomy which only applies to the eligible part of its activities that aim to mitigate or adapt to the effects of climate change. The Green taxonomy currently excludes almost all of the activities of Bouygues Telecom and TF1 because it considers them to be not a priority for the acceleration of the transition towards a more sustainable economy. Furthermore, only a small part of Colas' sales is considered to be aligned with this taxonomy (its low carbon infrastructure and water and energy transport business).
However, in line with its Climate strategy, the Group believes that its decarbonisation actions should be rolled out in all of its activities, even those that are not considered to be aligned with the Green taxonomy, in order to make them as virtuous as possible.
Furthermore, this amount comprises all the operating expenditure by the business segments that contribute to obtaining the decarbonisation targets, despite the fact that the taxonomy has a very strict definition of operating expenditure that does not reflect the reality of the efforts carried out by the business segments.
The percentage of Group sales aligned with green taxonomy criteria amounted to 35% in 2021. This covers primarily the property development activities, low-carbon transport infrastructure, the installation and maintenance of energy-efficient equipment, the production and storage of renewable energy and water and energy transport infrastructure. Sales generated by the nuclear power and gas activities, which were still considered as not aligned at end-2021, account for 2% of Group sales.
Information relative to the other Taxonomy indicators will be published on 24 March 2022 in the Group's Universal Registration Document.
Bouygues is a diversified services group operating in over 80 countries with 124,600 employees all working to make life better every day. Its business activities in construction (Bouygues Construction, Bouygues Immobilier, Colas); media (TF1) and telecoms (Bouygues Telecom) are able to drive growth since they all satisfy constantly changing and essential needs.
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a Estimate by the business segments of the expenditure and investment necessary to achieve the climate targets (different method to that of the taxonomy).
(a) Carbon Disclosure Project.
(b) Science Based Targets initiative, a joint effort of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
(c) Low-carbon buildings.
(d) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
(e) This forum aims to propose bold, high-impact measures that can be implemented by French companies. The CEC will run from 9 September 2021 to 18 June 2022. Source: CEC
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