Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Safety
• Health and Wellbeing
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Carbon Emissions
• Resource Efficiency
• Biodiversity
• Community Engagement
• Supply Chain Sustainability
• Ethical Procurement

Environmental Achievements

• 26% year-on-year reduction of non-operational carbon footprint since 2013
• Lowest ever Environmental Incident Frequency Rate (EIFR)
• 95% of waste diverted from landfill
• 4% decrease in carbon footprint compared to 2016

Social Achievements

• Best ever safety performance
• Increased number of women in senior management positions from 10% to 18% in three years
• Engaged over 16,000 young people in STEM initiatives
• Employees volunteered over 5,000 hours in local communities
• Extended Employee Assistance Programme to supply chain

Governance Achievements

• Published first Modern Slavery statement
• Achieved ISO 44001 certification for collaborative business relationship management

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Reducing carbon emissions
• Improving biodiversity
• Increasing diversity and inclusion in the workforce
• Engaging with and supporting local communities
• Promoting sustainable practices within the supply chain

Mitigation Strategies

• Implemented various initiatives to reduce carbon footprint, including green energy tariffs and hybrid vehicles
• Developed Biodiversity Action Plans for projects
• Launched EDI strategy with initiatives to enhance line manager training and flexible working
• Implemented community engagement plans and volunteering programs
• Established Supply Chain Academy to support SMEs and promote sustainable procurement

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Sustainable procurement policy requiring FSC or PEFC certified timber
• ISO 20400 sustainable procurement action plan
• Supply Chain Academy for SMEs

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Opportunities

• Development of energy-efficient products and services
• Vehicle-to-Grid Technology integration

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G4 guidelines

Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 44001, Achilles CEMARS

Third-party Assurance: Achilles (for carbon emissions)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation
• SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy
• SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Costain's services directly support the objectives of these goals by providing technology-led solutions for water management, renewable energy, and transport infrastructure.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Self-healing concrete
• Use of recycled materials in construction

Awards & Recognition

• RoSPA Patron’s Award
• Business In The Community Wales’ Responsible Large Business of the Year Award
• Green Apple Award
• Supply Chain award at the 2017 Institute for Collaborative Working Annual Collaboration Awards

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Health and Safety
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Wellbeing
• Social Value
• Responsible Procurement
• Ethical Conduct
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced total emissions by 15%
• Reduced emissions intensity (tCO2e/£M) by 32%
• HVO now makes up 80% of fuel mix (compared to 12% in 2021)
• 2% reduction in electricity usage
• 24% reduction in natural gas usage
• Achieved first diesel-free site on HS2
• A30 project predicted to achieve over 20% increase in biodiversity
• Achieved a ‘B’ rating from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

Social Achievements

• Accident Frequency Rate (AFR) of 0.05 from over 32 million work hours
• Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIR) of 0.09
• Raised £57,000 for Samaritans 24/7 campaign
• 47% of 2022 Graduate Cohort were BAME
• 38% of spend with SMEs
• 75% of employees feel included and respected at work
• Launched ‘Little Book of Respect’
• Re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant

Governance Achievements

• Restructured internal audit function, outsourcing to Mazars
• Converted £125m revolving credit facility into a sustainability-linked revolving credit facility
• 97% of employees completed mandatory Code of Conduct training
• All applicable employees met Real Living Wage threshold

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Company car emissions increased 732% (due to data issues)
• Data limitations in supply chain for biodiversity and climate risk assessments
• Material and labor shortages amplified by Ukraine conflict and cost of living crisis
• Fatality on one of our Rail projects in July

Mitigation Strategies

• Implementing recommendations from fatality investigation, including changes to industry practice
• Improving data availability through new waste application and stricter reporting processes
• Working with supply chain and industry groups to minimize unethical labor practices
• Implementing a Materials Mandate to reduce carbon intensity of materials
• Addressing data issues related to company car emissions

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Quarterly performance reviews on all contracts for strategic and preferred partners

Responsible Procurement

• ISO 20400:2017 Sustainable Procurement principles
• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Sustainable Procurement Prioritisation Matrix

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events impacting project delivery times
• Extreme heat impacting staff productivity and materials
• Flooding impacting project delivery

Transition Risks

• Carbon pricing mechanisms increasing operational costs
• Delayed transition to low-carbon economy resulting in more severe climate impacts
• Market risks resulting in slowdown in infrastructure investment

Opportunities

• Developing low-carbon alternatives
• Generating additional revenue through sale of carbon credits
• Supporting infrastructure customers with decarbonisation
• Supporting the energy transition

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD, GRI, SASB

Certifications: ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001, PAS2080

Third-party Assurance: Achilles (for carbon emissions)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)
• Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure)
• Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities)
• Goal 13 (Climate Action)
• Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

Costain's infrastructure services contribute to these SDGs through sustainable practices and the delivery of low-carbon solutions.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Low carbon concrete
• Sustainable steel
• Hydrogen powered settlement tanks
• Electric road sweepers
• Hydrogen fuel cell and solar power cabins

Awards & Recognition

• Stonewall silver employer
• Disability Confident employer
• Engineering Talent Awards: Employee Network of the Year and Overall Excellence in Engineering Award

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate change
• Nature and biodiversity
• Resource efficiency
• Employee diversity and inclusion
• Community and social value
• Employee health and safety
• Ethical corporate behaviour
• Quality

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced total emissions by 10% compared to 2022
• Achieved ‘Gold’ status for the Supply Chain Sustainability School Plant Charter
• Reduced Scope 1 emissions by 24% due to HVO fuel mandate (HVO made up 88% of fuel mix)
• Reduced waste by 34% compared to 2022
• >99% waste diverted from landfill
• First UK Highways project to use 3D printing of concrete on the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross scheme
• Preston Western Distributor project saved the equivalent of 6,134 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions

Social Achievements

• Raised £247,000 for Samaritans
• Launched a pilot development programme to support women to progress in their careers
• Accredited as a Best Companies 1 star ‘A Very Good Company to Work For’ in 2023
• 96 veterans and transitioners graduated from Building Heroes Onsite Skills Academy
• Secured £76,476.81 grant funding for local community projects on the A1 Birtley to Coal House project
• Improved over 500,000 lives

Governance Achievements

• Updated code of conduct training with focus on competition law, conflicts of interest, and gifts and hospitality
• 94% code of conduct completion rate
• Recertification for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and ISO 20000-1 standards

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• 36% increase in Scope 2 emissions due to increased projects using mains-supplied electricity and major tunnelling operations
• Increased ethnicity pay gap for Asian and Mixed Heritage colleagues
• Need to improve the maturity of Scope 3 emissions data
• Need to launch a water resource strategy

Mitigation Strategies

• Implementing significant improvements to Manchester office to reduce natural gas use
• Running listening circles with employees from different ethnic backgrounds to understand pay and reward experiences
• Completing a company-wide commuting and homeworking survey to increase the accuracy of Scope 3 emission sources
• Developing a nature positive plan (NPP) to address nature-related risks and opportunities

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 100% of strategic labour suppliers have undertaken an independent ethical labour audit

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier code of conduct
• ISO 20400:2017 Sustainable procurement principles
• Low carbon materials mandate
• Ethical labour requirements
• Real Living Wage

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather
• Changes in temperature

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes
• Market shifts
• Material scarcity

Opportunities

• Development of energy-efficient products and services
• Investment in nature-based solutions

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD, TNFD, SBTi

Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 9001, ISO 22301, ISO 27001, ISO 44001, ISO 20000-1, PAS 2080

Third-party Assurance: Achilles and Toitū carbonreduce

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 7 (Affordable and clean energy)
• Goal 9 (Industry, innovation, and infrastructure)
• Goal 11 (Sustainable cities and communities)
• Goal 13 (Climate action)
• Goal 15 (Life on land)

Costain's initiatives contribute to these goals through carbon reduction, sustainable infrastructure development, community engagement, and biodiversity net gain

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• 3D printed concrete headwall
• Low carbon concrete mixes
• Alkali-activated materials

Awards & Recognition

• National Sustainability Awards
• British Construction Industry Awards
• Water Industry Awards
• RoSPA Health and Safety Awards
• Green Apple Award