79% of waste recovered at VINCI’s concessions in 2021
Given their extensive international operations, VINCI Concessions business lines must find alternatives to landfills for treating waste. That is why VINCI Concessions has set a target of zero waste to landfill by 2030, by focusing on the following actions:
To engage the entire aviation community in achieving this goal, Aerodom launched Pacto Verde in the Dominican Republic. In 2021, this initiative won the Green Airport Recognition Professional Award from Airport Council International Latin America & Caribbean (ACI-LAC). Pacto Verde signatories pledge to set out a waste management plan based on a circular economy model, a change in corporate culture and a sustainable purchasing policy.
On the Group’s international motorways, some areas do not have a waste collection and treatment network in place. A case in point is the Lima Expresa infrastructure in Peru, where local residents litter the motorway with their rubbish due to the lack of facilities in their neighbourhoods. To remedy the situation, the company has launched numerous awareness campaigns to reduce waste. In 2021, it signed an agreement with the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment to take general solid waste management measures (e.g. support for local authorities on a waste segregation at source programme and collection of municipal solid waste). On the East End Crossing Partners network in the United States, five waste bins were installed in 2021 for pedestrians and cyclists using the bridge. These connected, solar-powered units measure the fill rate to optimise collection frequency and improve recycling.
In addition to raising awareness, the Group’s concession companies are working to find effective and relevant waste recovery solutions. Again at Lima Expresa, in a partnership with a local organisation that helps women to find jobs, the advertising banners used for communication campaigns are now repurposed to design bags for the company’s new employees. At airports, a great deal of waste comes from the inspection and security points before boarding. VINCI Airports is aware of the issue and has implemented several initiatives, such as installing prep areas at London Gatwick airport, with secure bins where passengers can discard prohibited items. These items are then recycled in the airport’s recycling centre. Biowaste is transformed into biomass for a boiler, and packaging and liquids are recycled. The Porto airport provides two sinks for travellers, one for water and one for other liquids. The water is then treated, with up to 250 litres reused per day, mainly for watering.
Airports are also taking measures to sort waste from passengers during their flights. For health reasons, international regulations require specific disposal methods, such as incineration (preferred) or sterilisation before being sent to landfill. However, an analysis of the waste produced by airlines showed that it could be recycled. VINCI Airports collaborated with the airline EasyJet to define a procedure for staff to follow, an information message for passengers and a range of non-opaque rubbish bags in two colours. At the same time, VINCI Airports worked with Nantes Atlantique and Lyon-Saint Exupéry airports to make sure that the two separate waste streams (recyclables and other waste) are collected in separate containers as aircraft arrive, making it possible to recycle cups, cardboard, magazines and cans.
17 sites
with zero waste to landfill at VINCI Concessions in 2021
These businesses work to prevent producing waste at the source, improve their waste management and develop sorting solutions to increase recovery rates, while implementing reuse solutions whenever possible. For example, Eurovia has applied selective demolition techniques to transform road surfaces into recycled materials. The Major Projects Division as a whole has made the commitment to recycle 90% of the waste it produces through existing waste recycling facilities by 2030. Some entities set specific targets, including VINCI Construction Terrassement, which endeavours to reduce its production of packaging waste and achieve the “zero plastic” objective by 2030. And through its framework document, VINCI Construction France has laid down specific worksite waste recovery targets, such as sorting all waste and reaching a recycling rate of 80%. Awareness actions regarding the importance of waste sorting, as the first essential step, were strengthened in 2021, in particular by improving signposting on worksites and by organising regular training and awareness sessions.
The VINCI Energies divisions that were part of the reporting scope in 2021 achieved recycling rates of 69% for hazardous waste and 72% for non-hazardous waste. At VINCI Construction, only the Central Europe division is included in the scope for waste recovered, with recovery rates of 31% for hazardous waste and 93% for non-hazardous waste.
