2013-vinci-annual-report

Measuring water consumption remains very complex. By way of an example, earthworks activities use water mainly for hosing down work
areas to reduce the amount of dust produced during works. In Africa, water is often pumped from generators installed near villages simply
to provide the communities with water. The water itself undergoes no transformation whatsoever. It either evaporates or runs back to the
water table without being polluted. Water consumption is measured based on the fuel consumption of generators. Many businesses use
water in this way. Responding to the CDP Water Disclosure questionnaire is thus a sign of the maturity of VINCI companies.
2.2.2 Raw materials consumption and the circular economy
In the Concessions business, most raw materials consumption is monitored and consolidated. In 2013, 1.857 million tonnes of coating were
used for motorway maintenance and 57,561 tonnes of de-icing salt were purchased (34,902 tonnes in 2012).
In the Contracting business, raw materials purchasing is decentralised, with purchases generally not consolidated at Group level. Efforts
focus on purchasing recycled materials of equivalent performance, recycling waste (see paragraph 2.2.8) and sourcing local products.
170 VINCI 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
There is also a focus on designing products that use fewer raw materials. The Group’s eco-design approach is used by VINCI Construction
France for developing housing, offices, student accommodation and other projects. In housing, the Habitat Colonne procedure, used to build
about 1,079 homes in 2013 (500 in 2012), reduces raw materials consumption by 20%.
The timber construction businesses of VINCI Construction France, under the brand Arbonis, generated revenue of €60 million in 2013, up
50% since 2010. Arbonis is the timber construction leader in France. The wooden roof structure of the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, delivered
in 2013, is the first ever of its kind in the world. It reduced consumption by 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ compared with a traditional structure.
Eurovia’s Granulat+ programme is the sector’s first experiment in industrial ecology and is recognised by France’s Ministry of Ecology,
Sustainable Development and Energy as a leading initiative in the circular economy. Adopted at quarries in the Mediterranean area, the aim
of the programme is to recover all the resources needed to produce aggregates used in construction. It is based on the combined effort of
quarry managers, local waste producers and raw materials users. In addition to the direct benefits, the programme provides a way for regional
actors to integrate environmental issues into their processes.
To gain a better understanding of the environmental impact of raw materials, VINCI collaborates with professional groups to prepare life
cycle inventories (LCI) of its materials. Soletanche Freyssinet participates in the Diogen working group focused on environmental databases.
VINCI also works with France’s energy, environment and transport observatory (OEET) and the French underground tunnel association (Aftes).
Soletanche Freyssinet is contributing to developing a life cycle assessment-based methodology for assessing and comparing underground
structure building methods, estimating the impact of materials used, making design and construction adjustments, and comparing technical
solutions.
2.2.3 Energy consumption
In 2013, VINCI was active in the debate on the energy transition launched by the French government authorities, focusing on retrofitting
buildings to improve energy efficiency and developing eco-mobility. The Group's contribution zeroed in on energy performance guarantees,
the topic of VINCI’s Research Day on 18 December 2013.
In France, the 2012 thermal regulations (RT 2012) form a major part of the Grenelle environment legislation and seek to encourage low-energy
buildings. These regulations now apply to all projects. To meet the new requirements while maintaining costs, VINCI is developing new
systems in both the commercial and housing sectors, drawing on VINCI Construction’s expertise to minimise energy losses through the
building shell and VINCI Energies’ to install innovative equipment such as all-air heating using the Green Floor process. VINCI is playing a
part in preparing the future 2020 thermal regulations, which will consider building sustainability as a whole and not merely in terms of energy.
Current work is focused on building use and the calculation of overall multi-criteria performance. With its Oxygen eco-commitment, VINCI
Construction France guarantees the energy performance of both the new and refurbished buildings it delivers and provides ways for occupants
to optimise their energy use. In 2013, three Oxygen buildings were handed over with 16 new projects under development.
VINCI Facilities (VINCI Energies) is using its expertise in areas such as energy diagnostics and audits, monitoring and optimisation work to
develop energy efficiency contract solutions for its clients through its structure Smart Energy. Within the framework of the Chair in Ecodesign,
MINES ParisTech has developed an energy and environmental performance simulation tool to be used on a neighbourhood-wide
scale (novaEQUER). The tool is available through a third-party company and can be used by anyone involved in urban planning (contractors,
engineers, designers, other companies). It offers relevant solutions for entire neighbourhoods. Public lighting, for instance, is becoming a
key issue that requires efficient solutions with guaranteed performance. For example, the VINCI Energies brand Citeos offers such solutions
in a large number of projects; it has reduced energy consumption 40% in Cergy Pontoise and 20% in Lille.