When did Skanska begin to focus on sustainability?
Around the year 2000, Skanska began to intensively focus on sustainability. This focus expanded to ethical aspects, health, and safety. Although we have always upheld strong values since Skanska’s inception, the past 25 years have seen a more organized and systematic approach. Our commitment is not only internal but extends to the legacy of our projects, as seen in our green building initiatives, marking our contribution to the broader sustainability dialogue.
How does the construction sector, and Skanska in particular, contribute to carbon emissions, and what steps are being taken to mitigate this?
The built environment is intricately connected to several heavy industries, making it a significant contributor to emissions. These emissions stem primarily from the production of materials and transportation. We are addressing this by looking at the entire value chain and the lifespan of buildings, focusing on materials, design, and transportation. In light of the increased frequency of extreme weather events, building for resiliency has become equally crucial.
We have set a target to achieve a 70% reduction in our direct emissions by 2030 and to halve the emissions from projects we develop. This requires steering design impacts, reducing material use, especially heavy emission materials like concrete and cement, and employing innovations like low carbon concrete and circular solutions. Collaboration, innovation, and efficient use of resources, aided by digital tools, are central to our strategy to reduce our carbon footprint effectively.
How do you ensure sustainability in material sourcing and in your supply chains, and what innovative solutions are being implemented in Skanska?
We have committed to net zero in our supply chain. We are actively steering designs and reducing material use, particularly in heavy-emission materials like concrete and cement. We are exploring innovations like low-carbon concrete and circular solutions, with ongoing pilots focusing on carbon sinks and the use of biochar produced from organic scrap materials on our sites.
We believe in lean construction aided by digital tools and design optimization to reduce the need for materials and enhance efficiency.
Additionally, we developed the EC3 tool in the U.S. market, an open-source digital tool based on our knowledge transfer from Europe. It helps in carbon footprinting and analysis for projects and has become a leading tool in the US, leveling the playing field for industry peers and helping make informed decisions based on carbon footprinting. Our approach is comprehensive, focusing on material choice, transportation impacts, and the role of design, and is enabled by artificial intelligence and digital tools.
How does Skanska view the role of top-down standards and regulations in the industry?
In Europe, there are varying degrees of regulatory requirements for environmental product declarations. We have also globally implemented the ISO 14000 standards. We believe in having a common yardstick and embrace standards and benchmarks that focus on facts, figures, and data for performance comparison. We have collaborated with peers and global councils to develop such standards, ensuring credibility through third-party verification.
Whether developed by the industry or imposed by regulators, we see clarity in standards as vital. They offer value to customers and investors and ensure that there is credibility and a common basis for comparison in sustainability performance. External verification of our track record and proof points is essential, and we are committed to working within these frameworks to showcase the value we create and develop in the realm of sustainability.
Can you share more promising new technologies that Skanska is utilizing for sustainability and innovation besides low-carbon concrete?
We partnered with Volvo in Sweden to introduce electric heavy machinery on our sites, a venture we have piloted in Sweden and Los Angeles. This initiative is part of our broader strategy to leverage collaborations, pilots, and knowledge sharing to advance sustainable construction practices. We understand the need for collective efforts and learning to address the energy and climate challenges in our industry.
Moreover, we have introduced the "Powerhouse" concept, where we develop buildings that produce more energy than they consume throughout their lifetime. It is a step towards transforming buildings into energy contributors rather than just consumers. These structures can share surplus energy, becoming integral components of the energy ecosystem. This innovation underscores our vision of buildings playing a multifaceted role, including energy production and storage.
Does greener construction necessarily come at a higher price, and if so, who bears this cost?
New sustainable concepts often require an initial investment in development, pilots, and acquiring expertise. However, it is not always about higher costs but rather about investing extra effort to gain insights and knowledge. Efficiency in resource utilization can lead to cost savings. Early contractor involvement is pivotal; being part of the design and planning phases allows us to significantly influence project sustainability.
Our Powerhouse concept is an example of how innovative design can offset costs. These buildings not only conserve energy but produce excess, potentially generating revenue or offsetting operational costs. It illustrates that with innovation and expertise, the transition to greener construction can be both economically and environmentally sustainable.
What message would you like to convey regarding the future of the construction industry in light of the upcoming COP 28?
Partnerships and innovation remain at the core of advancing sustainability in construction. To push the boundaries of what is achievable, leveraging knowledge and insights is paramount. We have developed a digital tool using AI to optimize transportation and heavy machinery usage, demonstrating the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 10 to 15% through informed decision-making.
Our focus is on raising expectations of what buildings and the built environment can achieve. This can only be realized through the accumulation and application of knowledge and insights. We are contributing to this knowledge pool through platforms like our podcast, "Shaping Sustainable Places", and our Foresight section on our website. Both platforms showcase not just Skanska’s innovations, but broader industry advancements, underscoring that knowledge and insight are superpowers in shaping a sustainable future.
