COWI Holding A/S
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2023)
Reporting Period: 2023
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:60,609 tCO2e/year
Scope 1 Emissions:472 tCO2e/year
Scope 2 Emissions:2,035 tCO2e/year
Scope 3 Emissions:58,102 tCO2e/year
Total Energy Consumption:12,784 MWh/year
ESG Focus Areas
- Climate change mitigation
- Climate change adaptation
- Biodiversity
- Gender equality
- Health and safety
- Corruption and bribery
- Protection of whistle-blowers
- Corporate culture
Environmental Achievements
- Reduced total emissions by 5% from 2022 to 60,609 tCO2e. Emissions per headcount decreased by 8% to 7.6 tCO2e/headcount. Emissions per revenue decreased by 10% to 7.6 tCO2e/DKK '000.
- Entered into a ten-year power purchase agreement with Better Energy for solar electricity in Denmark, covering approximately one-third of office electricity consumption.
- Entered into a power purchase agreement with REEL to establish solar plants in Denmark, covering another third of electricity consumption (planned for 2024).
- Denmark, Norway, and North America offices received ISO 14001 certification for environmental management.
Social Achievements
- Achieved a favourable engagement score of 78% (90% response rate).
- Wellbeing score of 80% (4 points above global benchmark).
- Increased percentage of senior career positions held by women to 26% (from 21% in 2022).
- Introduced Diversity and Inclusion Month in June 2023.
- COWI in India introduced a six-week co-parental leave benefit.
Governance Achievements
- Established an Audit Committee.
- Obtained ISO 27001 certification for information security for Group IT.
- Developed training material on data ethics (rollout planned for Q1 2024).
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Reduce Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions by 42% and Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030 (compared to 2022 baseline).
- Net-zero emissions across all scopes by 2050 (compared to 2022 baseline).
- By 2030, at least 40% women in leadership positions.
Medium-term Goals:
- Achieve an EBITA* margin of 10% by 2026.
- By 2026, women to hold at least 30% of senior leadership positions.
Short-term Goals:
- Maintain a favourable engagement score of 78% in 2024.
- Achieve an EBITA* margin of around 7% in 2024.
Environmental Challenges
- Lower-than-expected employee utilization impacting profitability.
- Challenging market conditions in Sweden impacting Arkitema.
- Slowdown in the UK infrastructure market.
- Postponement or cancellation of some offshore wind projects due to increased costs.
- Weakened SEK, high inflation, and increased costs in Sweden.
Mitigation Strategies
- Cost management measures.
- Simplified Arkitema's organizational setup and intensified collaboration with COWI.
- Strengthening contract management team to handle commercial risks in large projects.
- Focus on markets in Scandinavia, the UK, and North America.
- Reallocation of staff from low- to high-growth sectors.
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- Code of conduct for suppliers
- Supplier sustainability requirements (considering climate targets and emission reductions)
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Opportunities
- Development of energy-efficient products and services
Reporting Standards
Frameworks Used: UN Global Compact, EU Taxonomy, Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001 (Group IT)
Third-party Assurance: PricewaterhouseCoopers (limited assurance on ESG metrics)