In terms of external recognition, VINCI was reviewed by CDP Forests for the second year and earned a score of C, “Awareness” level. Wood is one of the most challenging resources used by Group’s businesses, in terms of procurement risk management and performance in combating deforestation. The risks relating to this natural resource essentially concern the activities of Arbonis, as well as those of other VINCI subsidiaries, including Tarare Bois and CBCI. These activities pay close attention to their sourcing practices. The vast majority of their purchases (more than 80% of their supply) are either PEFC or FSC certified, and come from sustainably managed forests in France, French Guiana (especially for CBCI, which operates in French overseas territories) or Northern Europe.
At Group level, many solutions are being rolled out to promote responsible sourcing. Arbonis is a subsidiary of VINCI Construction France specialised in timber design and construction for all types of buildings. To shorten the supply chain, Arbonis staff use local tree species whenever possible and work with the French National Forest Office (ONF) to support the country’s certified timber suppliers. In 2021, Arbonis was involved in major projects in France, including the Jacques Chirac convention and exhibition centre in Valence, where the structural frame is built with four prefabricated beams. Another project, the Treed It mixed-use programme in Champs-sur-Marne outside Paris, reflects the role that Arbonis plays in the construction sector’s shift towards wood. Wood and concrete were combined in a way that makes the most of the performance potential of each material. The 11-storey tower has a timber frame (awarded the level 2 Bâtiment Biosourcé label), its wood and concrete flooring was built using the Arbodal process (a fireproof wooden slab construction system), and the silo car park is also made of wood.
In addition, Eurovia continues its work on life cycle analysis for environmental products and solutions (high-percentage recycled roads, fully recycled roads, Power Road® technology), all providing tangible evidence of the environmental benefits it is able to offer. Eurovia companies continuously experiment with innovative processes and conduct many research projects. In 2021, Eurovia’s divisions in Nîmes and Albi completed the first Recyvia®-E project in Lozère in southern France, selected as an alternative to a more traditional offer. This process is used to recycle old road surfaces and reuse 100% of the materials in situ, thereby minimising the use of virgin materials.
Group subsidiaries are taking action to reduce the amount of waste generated and maximise waste recovery rates, both in construction and energy activities, which deal mainly with large volumes of worksite waste, and at concessions, which have to dispose of their users’ waste at airports, motorways, etc. The Group’s subsidiaries implement waste management plans at their worksites in accordance with local waste management procedures and systems. In addition to monitoring their waste management every year in terms of its volume and the extent of recovery, VINCI companies have developed their own waste reduction and recycling strategies.
| Actions taken | Performance indicators | |
|---|---|---|
| Reducing waste at source |
Reducing waste at source Actions taken
|
Reducing waste at source Performance indicators – Amount of waste generated per year |
| Waste recovery |
Waste recovery Actions taken
|
Waste recovery Performance indicators
|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (in tonnes) | VINCI Autoroutes | VINCI Concessions | VINCI Energies | VINCI Construction | VINCI Immobilier | VINCI Autoroutes | VINCI Concessions | VINCI Energies | VINCI Construction | VINCI Immobilier |
| Non-hazardous waste | 72,877 | 20,942 | 660,823 | 4,236,016 | 1,553 | 16,856 | 29,112 | 519,110 | 3,503,172 | 1,161 |
| Hazardous waste | 536 | 775 | 6,927 | 76,993 | - | 590 | 836 | 5,207 | 129,419 | 1 |
Movement in these indicators is tied to improvements in monitoring as well as the phasing of projects during the year and the nature of work carried out. In the Group’s construction activities, and especially those relating to civil engineering structures, worksites can generate large quantities of inert waste at the start of a project. For VINCI Autoroutes’ road maintenance projects, the quantities of inert waste generated vary from one year to the next. The reporting scope for waste recovered includes the entire Concessions business, but not all VINCI Energies and VINCI Constructions entities (see “Note on the methods used in workforce-related, social and environmental reporting”, page 258).
As for waste generated by motorway users, all of the rest areas on the network are equipped with sorting bins. Since 2020, efforts have focused on reducing waste, especially plastic (see paragraph 3.3.1.1, “Responsible sourcing actions”). Every year, VINCI Autoroutes’ teams lead strong user awareness initiatives to fight littering and encourage users to sort their waste. Nudge techniques were trialled in 2021 at the Loupian and L’Arc rest areas, taking a fun and educational approach to encourage users to sort their waste. Once sorted, the waste from operations produced by VINCI Autoroutes is shipped to external recovery and treatment facilities; 74% of waste from operations and rest areas directly operated by VINCI Autoroutes was recovered in 2021. The VINCI Autoroutes Foundation has also produced a video that has been posted online and on social networks. It has since been viewed more than 6.1 million times, urging all citizens to think about their own tendency to litter and what they can do to stop it. Finally, VINCI Autoroutes and Sytrad, a waste treatment collective of Ardèche-Drôme in south-east France, have signed an agreement to improve waste recovery at some 30 rest areas, and at several carpool parking facilities, where more than 500 semi-underground containers have been installed to collect 900 tonnes of waste every year.
