VINCI Energies’ divisions achieved an average waste recovery rate of 73% in 2022. To help reduce plastic waste, VINCI Energies led a circular economy project in Spain called Salva Mares, in which employees collected plastic waste in an area of the Mediterranean. Reforest Project also organised boat trips to collect floating plastics throughout the year. The plastic collected is then transformed into polyester to make blankets for the homeless. Between May and September 2022, 1,400 kg of plastic was collected to produce 700 fleece blankets.
Among the business units emerging from the Intrapreneurs programme run by Leonard, VINCI’s innovation and foresight platform, Waste Marketplace offers a digital solution for managing worksite waste used both in-house and by non-Group companies. Not only can this tool be used to coordinate faster and more efficient dumpster collection, Waste Marketplace also supports companies in implementing custom solutions to handle special waste and improve recovery rates. It achieves this through a network of waste treatment specialists and industrial users of secondary raw materials, by adapting containers to waste streams and guaranteeing waste traceability. In 2022, Waste Marketplace raised €2 million to expand in France and enhance its system, especially in the area of waste traceability.
Several programmes and tools have been put into effect to encourage Group employees to play their part in the reuse campaign. VINCI Construction and VINCI Energies have developed their reuse marketplace, a digital platform where anyone can post an ad to rent out, hire, buy or sell any type of material or equipment.
In addition to raising employee awareness about the issue, the commitment to a reuse programme must be incorporated into projects supported by the Group. For example, 75% of materials used for the athletes’ village within the Universeine project must be able to be dismantled, reused or recycled, and at least 10% of materials collected, in terms of mass, must come from reuse. To keep up with emerging demand for reused materials from programme managers, initiatives were launched in 2022 to create exclusive VINCI reuse structures, with La Ressourcerie du BTP (a reuse specialist within VINCI Construction’s Building France Division developed through Leonard’s intrapreneurship programme), Neom (a VINCI Construction subsidiary specialised in asbestos and lead removal, cleaning and logistics) and VINCI Energies, especially for cable trays, in the context of two projects: cleaning of building E at Pantin 2024 and the cleaning and stripping of casings for the H&M store on the Champs-Élysées (8th arrondissement of Paris). In Portugal, VINCI Energies is reusing fire detection equipment removed during renovations to provide a rapid and effective response for customers experiencing disruptions in the operation of their fire detection equipment.
Reuse is also being developed as an outcome of programmes to replace guardrails on the A72 and A89 motorways in the VINCI Autoroutes network. An initiative to recover old road restraint systems has sparked new collaborations with local organisations, such as the GAEC association of farmers in Les Mollières in north-west France. The programme has given these materials a second life, as they are reused in cattle pens or as livestock containment structures so that animals can safely be administered medical care.
VINCI also promotes reuse with programme managers. VINCI Construction is a member of the Booster du Réemploi initiative to boost reuse via its property development subsidiary Adim (Building France Division). Launched in September 2020, this initiative rallies property professionals around the movement to promote, accelerate and massively increase reuse in the building sector. VINCI Immobilier is also taking steps to develop reuse. As part of the Dauphiné property development project for Société de la Tour Eiffel, the business line works with assistant programme manager Cycle Up to recover demolition materials. For example, carpet tiles are put up for sale, and materials from reuse are employed, such as cable trays and suspended ceiling tiles.
Entities also donate materials to charity organisations. The Building France Division of VINCI Construction has donated furniture and materials from renovation projects on housing in Labège and at INSA Toulouse to non-profit organisations, namely beds for Ukrainian refugee families, and various materials and equipment to Toulouse’s recycling centres. VINCI Energies has also launched the initiative “Solidarity Computers” in Portugal to extend the life of computers beyond the company replacement period, enabling employees to reuse them for personal use or for donation to NGOs.
Across a broader scope than reuse, VINCI Construction also promotes circular economy principles in its sector. The business line is a founding member of CircoLab, an organisation that develops the circular economy in the property and construction industries. The business line’s Greater Paris New build housing and Greater Paris Renovated housing delegations have signed the Metropolitan Charter for Circular Construction of the Greater Paris Metropolis, a partnership agreement between CDC Habitat and GTM Bâtiment promoting the circular economy.
The business of some Group companies is to produce materials, for example quarry operations. Their main challenges are therefore to develop alternatives for primary materials by deploying recycled materials and developing recycling facilities.
