CO2 Performance Ladder: progress report 2024

BESIX and participating BESIX Group affiliates have made significant progress in recent years in reducing its scope 1 & 2 emissions. Therefore the carbon intensity reduction target for 2030 (vs. 2019 performance) for scope 1 and 2 emissions in the Benelux-France region has been increased from 40% to 57%.

In 2024 the companies which are part of the CO2 PL boundary emitted 23.202 ton CO2eq as their scope 1 & 2 emissions (including scope 3 emissions related to commuting and business travel). This represents 2.753 ton less than in 2023. End 2024, the scope 1 & 2 footprint was reduced with 26% in absolute figures in comparison with the baseline year 2019.

The same evolution is shown when scope 1 & 2 emissions are set off vs turnover.

Considering that the company's strategy is to shift more to infrastructure and industrial projects and that large infrastructure projects will start up in 2025 and 2026, this KPI is expected to show an increasing trend in the coming years. These kinds of projects requires more than utility projects (office, buildings,…) especially in the use of owned heavy site equipment. BESIX has the ambition to further invest in full electric powered mobile heavy site equipment where possible.

Key initiatives in 2024 included:

BESIX Infra and BESIX Unitec moved into a renovated eco-friendly head office in Schelle while the Bilzen office has been adapted end 2024 into a fossil-free heated office. Franki Foundations plans an energetic renovation of its offices in Saintes in 2026. Finally BESIX has the ambition to relocate its head office in 2028 to a fossil-free heated office building.

In 2024, more than 7% of the total energy need originates from own renewable energy production (including used energy from the Third-Party wind mill on the premises of BESIX Infra in Bilzen). This will increase in the coming years as solar panels (including battery systems) are more and more applied on project level and that solar panels will be installed in 2025 at the site of BESIX Infra in Schelle and by Franki Foundations at its site in Koekelare.

The transition to a full electric company lease car fleet is progressing faster than expected. End 2024, more than 40% of the company lease car fleet is full electric. As a result the 2032 target of a 100% full electric company car fleet has been advanced in time with 3 years.

Where the transition of company lease car is progressing faster than expected, it is the opposite for the (heavy-duty) vehicles. In 2024, BESIX started the transition to a 100% electric utility vehicle fleet and will reach by the end of 2025 its target of 10% full electric utility vehicle coverage. BESIX Unitec is planning beginning 2026 a test pilot with electric utility vehicles in its business line Fiber to the home. For the heavy-duty vehicles at BESIX Infra, BESIX Unitec and Franki Foundations the situation is more complex. Due to slower market evolution and additional driver licence requirements it was decided to shift the 2025 and 2026 targets with 2 years while maintaining the 2028 target. We expect that HVO will become more widely available at an acceptable cost by 2028.

BESIX Infra Nederland introduced its first electric lorry, BESIX delivered a full electric telehandler on a project in the Netherlands, BESIX Infra collaborated with its subcontractor in performing a full electric directional drilling operation and Jacques Delens tested a city battery system on a site in Brussels. In 2025, similar battery systems will be installed on projects in the Netherlands (Krammersluizen,…) and Belgium (De Molens in Deinze,…) cutting emissions and improving grid stability. At the same time focus is given on the use of hybrid generators.

BESIX Invest is spearheading renewable energy efforts and has been awarded a large project for De Watergroep (incl. wind turbines, solar panels, battery storage solutions…). In 2024, BESIX Technology also invested in Bao Living that designs and produces modular, sustainable residential housing solutions.

BESIX keeps engaging its supply chain to cut emissions with a primary focus on cement, ready-mix concrete and rebar. Ambitious targets have been set following value chain analysis of rebar and ready-mix concrete. In 2024 a life cycle analysis was performed on the rebar supplied by BESIX Steel & Formwork department leading to an Environmental Product Declaration and MKI value.

In 2025 additional targets will be defined for asphalt following a value chain analysis performed by BESIX Infra and Belasco in the first semester of 2025. And also Franki Foundations is planning to gain more insights in 2025 on its piling solution thanks to a specific value chain study that has been initiated beginning 2025.

Focus has been put on internal knowledge sharing through Sustainably Newsletters and Environmental training programmes, among other initiatives. More information on actions taken on our projects can be found on the CO2 projectplan website (www.CO2projectplan.nl), an initiative with our peers in the Netherlands.

In 2024, dialogue with clients and suppliers remained central to driving sustainable solutions, with several round tables and workshops (Concrete forum in March 2024, a second supplier forum in November and a client & architext sustainability co-creation workshop in December) organised to identify and implement more sustainable solutions across the life cycle of our projects.

BESIX is, in partnership with Buildwise, active in a scope 3 workgroup of the Belgian Alliance for Sustainable Construction which lead in the first semester of 2025 to a first list of emission factors for construction materials. This collaboration will continue in 2025 with the development of a scope 3 guideline for the Belgian Construction sector.

BESIX Group and BESIX Environment are actively driving the shift to hydrogen as a member of a number of hydrogen oriented sector initiatives such as the Belgian Hydrogen Council, TWEED and Waterstofnet.

More details on our carbon footprint, energy & GHG reduction program and sector involvement can be found on CO2 Performance Ladder