GineersNow Construction Leaders Magazine June 2017 Issue 003, Bechtel

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Last April 2017, Bechtel announced a set
of ambitious long-term targets to increase
the company’s contributions to global
sustainability. The goals and targets are part
of Bechtel’s ongoing and comprehensive
strategy to further integrate sustainability
within the company.
“How we plan and execute projects today
has a profound impact on the future. As
an industry, we must continue to challenge
ourselves to design, source materials, and
build projects that are more resilient, safer,
smarter, greener, and more cost-efficient for
our customers and society,” said Tam Nguyen,
Bechtel’s global head of sustainability.
“These goals also make sense from a business
point of view as sustainability measures
can increase the financial bottom-line of a
company.” For example, Bechtel created a
patent pending technology for gas-fired power
plants that can reduce the power lost during
carbon capture – the process of removing
of carbon emissions – by almost 65 percent,
while lowering capital costs by more than 30
percent.
Bechtel established four long-term
sustainability goals where the company’s
experience, technologies, and core
competencies can make a substantial
global impact: support global goals around
energy, infrastructure, water, and worker
welfare; drive sustainability in project
development and delivery; strengthen the
resilience of communities; and leverage
supplier engagements to catalyse sustainable
opportunities.
By 2030, Bechtel aims to:
• Contribute 100 ideas to help achieve the
United Nations Global Sustainable
Development Goals.
• Improve the resilience of five million
people to natural hazards through our
voluntary initiatives
• Use sustainable alternatives to reduce
our environmental footprint on 100
percent of our key projects and nonproject
facilities.
• Engage 100 percent of our key suppliers
to promote sustainability in the delivery
of materials and services, and prevent
modern-day slavery, including within
their own supply chains.
Bechtel has released three annual
sustainability reports, which measure the
company’s sustainability achievements and
successes globally. The fourth report, to be
released in June 2017, will start measuring the
implementation progress of Bechtel’s 2030
goals and targets.
Source: www.bechtel.com
14 Construction Leaders • June 2017