Sustainability in practice

We take our societal and ecological responsibility seriously. Therefore sustainability aspects have top priority in our daily work—not only at our workplace and in our supply chains but also with regard to our products and services. We also initiate and support environmental protection and social projects.

Perspectives - ESG Activity Report

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Sustainability Best Practice: Highlights 2023

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Power tunnel project in Eryri National Park in Wales

Project in a nature reserve: HOCHTIEF is currently building a power tunnel in the Eryri National Park in North Wales. In future, the overland connections will run underground—restoring the landscape to its original appearance. To protect the native snakes from the construction work in the national park, we have erected reptile fences under the supervision of environmental experts. The HOCHTIEF construction office uses a rainwater collection system to flush the sanitary facilities.

Flatiron builds beaver lodges in Colorado

A group of volunteers from Flatiron took part in a project in Estes Park, Colorado, in the summer of 2023 to restore Fish Creek. The course of this tributary of Lake Estes had been altered by devastating storms, causing the creek bed to increasingly dry out and jeopardizing beaver habitat. The volunteers spent two days building several artificial beaver lodges to slow the flow and seepage of water, planted more than 300 willows for shade, and removed invasive plant species to reintroduce beavers to the area.

Highest score for light rail in Sydney

CPB Contractors has achieved the highest rating level and highest score to date for a major infrastructure project in the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) 2023 assessment: The Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 project, a light rail line in Sydney, scored 104.35 out of a possible 110 points, achieving a “Leading” As Built rating for its extensive economic, social and environmental measures.

Social Days: doing good as a team

A series of "Social Days" took place at HOCHTIEF in Germany. For example, employees from the HR department designed a barefoot path for a daycare center in Essen—working with wood, stones and other natural materials. A team from HOCHTIEF Engineering rolled up their sleeves at the Ronald McDonald House in Essen: the employees cooked for the guests and did gardening work. The facility provides accommodation for families of seriously ill children being treated at the university hospital. For the Liebfrauenschule in Ratingen, volunteers from the Technical Competence Center laid the foundations for an irrigation system for the school’s herb and vegetable garden.

Recycled materials for large-scale project

In the Cross River Rail project in Brisbane (Australia), we are using recycled glass as filling material for the water pipes. Several CIMIC companies are involved in this major project, which includes laying more than ten kilometers of track. The team in Yeerongpilly (Brisbane), which is responsible for the "Rail, Integration and Systems" package for the Cross River Rail project, has procured recycled safety beacons from OC Connections, a company that supports employees with disabilities. The beacons are made from 100 percent recycled material and the bases from 70 percent recycled plastic. The products are usually imported and made from new material.

Environmental protection during construction and operation

Turner is using 70 percent of the existing building fabric for the expansion of Terminal C at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. On the terminal roof, Turner is installing a solar system with an annual production of 675 megawatt hour

Circular economy with wine bottles

Ten percent of the asphalt used by CIMIC subsidiary CPB Contractors for road construction in South Australia came from recycled wine bottles: 459 wine bottles per ton of recycled asphalt and 115 bottles per ton of surface course.

Water from the air

Hydropanels were installed at eleven rest areas on the Elefsina-Patras highway in Greece in 2023. They convert air vapor into water that travelers can use free of charge as drinking water. HOCHTIEF is one of the operators of the highway.

New mangrove forest created in Indonesia

The Leighton Asia team completed the first compensatory planting and revegetation of a 10,000-square-meter mangrove forest in West Papua, Indonesia, in an LNG project at the end of 2023. Mangrove forests play an important role in the coastal ecosystem there, serving as a buffer between marine and terrestrial communities and providing a habitat for diverse wildlife.

A broad approach to occupational safety

Action days and poster campaigns promote employee awareness of safety issues. When communicating occupational safety on projects, we naturally also involve those who are not directly employed by HOCHTIEF, such as employees of subcontractors and suppliers.

Contact in the community

We maintain a dialog with our stakeholders—for example neighbors, residents and interested parties—and provide information about our projects, for example at open days and construction site tours. At the family day at the Sydney Metro City and Southwest Line construction site, there were guided tours of the tunnel and photo shoots on the construction site.

Inclusive employment program in Australia

Practicing social inclusion—this is an important goal of the Spark consortium, which is currently implementing the North East Link Tunnels project in Melbourne in which the CIMIC companies Pacific Partnerships and CPB Contractors are involved. Through its inclusive employment program, the consortium offers opportunities to people who otherwise often experience exclusion on the labor market. These include people with disabilities as well as people who have experienced family violence, have been unemployed for a long period of time, people with a migration background, and refugees. Spark aims to recruit a total of 1,000 workers from this group for construction work within five years.

Successful educational program for subcontractors in the USA

Founded in 1969, the Turner School of Construction Management is a free educational program that offers small, underrepresented companies the opportunity to build long-term business relationships, network and learn how to position their company to win contracts. Each course in the 11-week training program is led by Turner employees and covers topics such as risk management, construction estimating, safety and effective marketing. Today, the Turner School is successfully offered annually in more than 30 Turner offices across the U.S.

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