90% of material recovery from inert and non hazardous waste (excluding soil) at VINCI Construction’s Building France and Civil Engineering France divisions in 2023
VINCI Energies’ divisions achieved an average waste recovery rate of 70% in 2023. To help reduce and recover waste, Cobra IS engages the responsibility of its subcontractors by including environmental clauses in its contracts and is also developing partnerships with local businesses. For example, Cobra Comunicaciones Colombia has signed an agreement with Compuabiente, a company that recycles plastic from used cones and hard hats to make new objects.
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. Axians eWaste (VINCI Energies) is also developing a pilot project to facilitate waste collection. The solution measures the waste container’s fill level and automatically triggers the collection process when it is full.
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 internal reuse marketplace, a digital platform where anyone can post an ad to rent out, hire, buy or sell any type of material or equipment. As an alternative to purchasing new equipment, the Reyuz application from VINCI Energies enables the sale of equipment not in use between its business units. In total, 5,320 pieces of equipment have been sold or are in the process of being sold on the platform.
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, in house synergies continue to be identified and implemented 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), the Deconstruction and Road Equipment delegation (VINCI Construction’s Networks France Division) and VINCI Energies. Through these synergies, La Ressourcerie reached more than 400 tonnes of materials reused. In addition, VINCI Energies has organised its reuse structures by product, in particular for ventilation ducts, glazed partitions and cable trays. VINCI Energies has also developed external partnerships with Cycle Up for equipment research and refurbishing, and Tricycle for drop off and delivery of refurbished equipment. 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.
VINCI Construction is also taking steps to reuse materials on its projects. For example, as part of the conversion of an office building for residential use at a site in Paris, GTM Bâtiment teams in the Building France Division reused 550 sq. metres of gravel tiles, 119 single sink basins and 270 radiators. In the same division, 210 radiators were reused on a project to renovate 674 housing units in Wattignies, in partnership with Réempro. Lastly, the Deconstruction and Road Equipment delegation has identified almost 20 projects throughout France where a voluntary selective removal programme will be launched to promote reuse.
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.
In the Concessions business, VINCI Airports has developed partnerships to reuse items lost or confiscated at security checkpoints: between Les Restos du Cœur and the Nantes Atlantique and Clermont Ferrand Auvergne airports, between Fundación Teletón (an organization that offers rehabilitation services for children and adolescents with disabilities, cancer, and autism) and Torreón airport (Mexico), and between The Hygiene Bank Crawley & Horley and London Gatwick airport. For example, under the partnership at Gatwick, some 4 tonnes of toiletries have been collected and donated to local schools and charities. Cofiroute (VINCI Autoroutes) also collected used work uniforms to donate to the Frip’art association (Vendôme) , so that the parkas could be reused during the winter.
