Skanska embarked on the circular economy green deal as a pioneer in the construction industry. Environmental Manager Laura Eklund now reveals that she even sweated when it was time to announce the deal goals. By wiping away the sweat, Skanska's model will serve as an inspiration to everyone.
Skanska Oy was among the first companies to commit to the Circular Economy Green Deal in autumn 2024. The state-led, voluntary strategic commitment model aims to reduce the consumption of natural resources and promote a low-carbon circular economy.
We were actively involved in the preparation of the Green Deal rules from the beginning, and therefore felt it was natural to be among the first to make a commitment. Although there are a large number of different pilots and commercial solutions on the circular economy front, additional momentum is still needed to accelerate the large-scale circular economy transition. Resource efficiency and circular economy solutions will curb many of the pressing challenges of our time, from nature loss to climate change.
I believe that many organizations currently considering their own commitment will be grappling with the same questions that we at Skanska will be grappling with in the spring of 2024. At that time, we will be considering what the most impactful metrics would be, how to define the baseline, and how ambitious the goals should be calibrated to be.
We considered several different metrics, and I have to admit that when the pledge was published, the signatories had mixed feelings. Sometimes the goals seemed impossible compared to the baseline, and other times they seemed ridiculously easy.
Hopefully, after 2030, we and the entire construction industry will have developed so much that only the latter option will be realized. If necessary, we could tighten and refine our goals along the way.
Circular economy on the table, whether the customer asked or not
For several years now, we at Skanska have had an internal goal regarding low carbon, namely to offer emission reduction measures in all our projects, even if the customer does not specifically ask for them. The aim has been to increase our own expertise on a broad front and not just in individual pioneering projects. At the same time, we have heard that many of our customers have learned new things from us.
Our circular economy goals now reflect this same approach. Our first main goal is that by 2035, all of our new projects will have defined circular economy goals or measures.
There is no baseline data for this goal, as the indicator and monitoring system are still being created. The set of measures is very broad. It includes, among other things, the preference for recycled raw materials in construction products and earthworks.
To support this goal, we are currently developing our internal tools, online course and processes. All with the aim of being able to better offer circular economy solutions to our customers in the future.
It's not the amount, it's the learning from experience
As a follow-up to the international ReCreate research project, our second Green Deal goal is to increase the reuse of construction products. Within the framework of the commitment, we monitor and aim to increase the reuse of products with significant mass and emissions, such as hollow core slabs, columns, beams, wall elements, steel structures and bricks.
We set the metric as the number of projects under construction or completed in the reporting year that have reused construction products installed. In 2030, the total number of projects should be 18 and in 2035, it should be 48.
Specifically for this goal, we considered alternatives for goals based on different masses. We came to the conclusion that, especially now, when the principles and practices of reuse are still being developed, project-specific experiences are more important for learning than the number of masses.
As more projects decide to utilize reused construction products, more professionals in the field will be able to familiarize themselves with the intricacies of reuse, such as site-specific proof of suitability. Of course, our goal is to scale up the use as quantitatively as possible in the name of low carbon and resource efficiency – while taking into account technical constraints and costs.
Moving forward together
The circular economy has been a focus of our environmental responsibility work for several years. Our Green Deal commitment has brought us more visibility and appreciation for the work we have been doing for a long time. On the other hand, a public commitment encourages us to set goals at a level that genuinely moves our operations forward. It has further increased the importance of the issue and pushed us to develop our operations.
It is challenging to achieve the 2035 circular economy Green Deal goals alone. Scaling solutions requires interested customers and other stakeholders.
I challenge all actors in the industry to boldly outline their own commitments. Our commitments will move the entire construction industry forward and bring much-needed positive visibility to the sector. A circular economy society is built in cooperation.
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