Sustainability Report 2011 - Balfour Beatty Rail

Managing sustainability
Global issues
Collectively, the global construction and property sector has significant
economic, social and environmental impacts, in ways that are both positive
and negative. These impacts also provide opportunities for Balfour Beatty
to make a real difference to people’s lives.
Why this matters to us
The sector as a whole accounts for:
• 30% of the world’s waste
• 40% of global energy use and a third of global greenhouse
gas emissions
• 30% of the world’s consumption of natural resources and
• 20% of water use.
Buildings are responsible for up to 80% of greenhouse gas
emissions in our towns and cities. Reducing these emissions in
the built environment is widely recognised as the least expensive
method of abating the adverse impacts of climate change.
In socio-economic terms, the built environment has significant
direct and indirect impacts on social wellbeing and the livelihoods
and prosperity of communities and individuals. The sector is a
major employer, with a diverse and complex supply chain,
positively impacting local economies through jobs, training and
industry. The sector provides homes, education, healthcare,
transportation and recreational facilities for communities.
Source: GRI Construction and Real Estate Supplement, 2011
www.globalreporting.org
Global trends relevant to Balfour Beatty
In 2008, in conjunction with Forum for the Future, we identified
the issues likely to be critical to the continued global success of
our business from a sustainability perspective. The priority areas,
identified through horizon-scanning techniques, included:
• The availability and cost of raw materials and water as
populations grow and key natural resources dwindle. This
will impact the way we manage waste, source our materials
and conserve water resources, while also presenting new
commercial opportunities such as water and waste water
treatment technologies.
• The physical and economic impacts of climate change are likely
to increase over time. This is likely to increase investment in
adaptation and encourage more innovative ways of managing
existing assets being impacted by climate change.
• Globalisation and the rise of the BRIC (Brazilian, Russian,
Indian and Chinese) economies impacting on the demand
for infrastructure and other business opportunities.
• Increasing costs of fossil fuel energy and the price of carbon
will encourage us and our customers to seek low-carbon
opportunities to reduce costs, increase security of supply
and potentially profit from carbon trading.
• The availability of finance could determine investment priorities
and hence the size and nature of future market opportunities
• The attraction and retention of skilled workers will be
influenced by their perception of which businesses respond
effectively to their corporate responsibilities, including the
availability of opportunities to make a real difference to
society’s sustainability challenges.
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These issues helped to underpin the development of our 2020
sustainability vision and roadmap which was launched in 2009
and will be revisited in future updates of the roadmap in 2012.
Opportunities
Although there are many uncertainties over the next decade, this
horizon-scanning exercise highlighted major opportunities for
Balfour Beatty in the transition to a greener economy. For example:
• An estimated market in the low-carbon economy of over
£200bn over the next decade in the UK alone through transition
to more renewable energy such as wind, tidal and solar power,
new nuclear, waste-to-energy plants and upgrading of the
transmission network
• Continued growth in the construction and renewal of
rail infrastructure
• Increased demand for zero carbon and more sustainable
buildings – both new and the refurbishment of existing building
stock (the green retrofit market in the UK alone is estimated at
£10bn per annum and in the USA Executive Order 13514 requires
a 30% energy reduction across the Federal estate by 2025)
• Development of carbon capture and storage at power
generation plants
• Continuing demand for more sustainable social housing, schools
and hospitals, as global populations continue to grow.
For further details of our success in the growing
green economy, go to P27 – P38
Our plans for 2012
We will conduct another full horizon-scanning exercise in
conjunction with Forum for the Future to help inform the
development of new 2015 targets for our sustainability roadmap.
Balfour Beatty Sustainability Report 2011