SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK
The Group sustainability framework (below) provides an overarching and focused approach to managing the pertinent risks and opportunities, impacts and outcomes related to financial and environmental, social and governance (ESG) imperatives across all jurisdictions in which we operate.
It ensures that sustainability thinking is integrated in the way we execute our projects and conduct our business. Shared learning within and across our businesses supports continual improvement and consistency. Ultimately, the sustainability framework protects our reputation as a well-governed, ethical and responsible multinational organisation.
Engineered Excellence is how we build trust and grow value for our clients, stakeholders and the Group. It is our promise that we are committed to our Purpose, Vision and Values. It compels us to deliver safe, efficient, sustainable, profitable and environmentally benign project outcomes that create lasting economic and environmental value for host communities and countries in return for maximum value recognition for the Group. This means that we carefully and consciously plan to achieve the outcomes our clients and stakeholders expect, including an industry-leading ESG performance.
Engineered Excellence applies to all aspects of our business and throughout a project’s life cycle from the design and engineering phases through to project implementation, commissioning, operations and maintenance. The systems, principles and practices of Engineered Excellence apply Group-wide and to our joint-venture consortia and subcontractors.
Our sustainability framework, risk management framework, health, safety and environment (HSE) framework and ethics framework all support Engineered Excellence. How well we apply Engineered Excellence determines the quality of our stakeholder relationships, and sustainability stewardship.
The ESG outcomes we expect are integrated with our performance management and development processes, which are linked to our remuneration and incentive schemes. More broadly, we strive for environmentally and socially sustainable supply chains that ensure safe and fair conditions for current and future generations.
- Additional information: governance of sustainability
- Additional information: supply chain management
- Additional information: refer to the 2024 Remuneration Report, available in the downloads section below.
AT OPERATIONAL LEVEL
Harmonising ESG imperatives with commercial opportunities is seen by the Board as an ethical obligation for the Group. It also a requirement on which clients and funders insist and an important source of competitive differentiation for our business platforms.
Our mining businesses aspire to be the global mining services partners of choice, recognised as a responsible, fully diversified service providers with the best skillset in the industry. Mine operators are increasingly broadening their capital allocation priorities to include investments in environmental and social development initiatives. This includes working towards less invasive ways of accessing orebodies, for example, vertical shafts rather than open pit mines with large surface footprints and which are difficult to rehabilitate at the end of life. Clients are also pursuing more efficient and precise means of extracting the orebody with less waste, thereby limiting the need for large tailings facilities on the surface and improving cost efficiencies. Our existing capabilities and our approach to innovation and development of new capabilities positions us well to respond to these shifts.
Having consolidated its service offering in the renewable energy and power infrastructure sectors, OptiPower leverages the experience gained on large projects to deliver better ESG outcomes. The business continues to work with its joint-venture partners to ensure that high ESG standards are consistently applied on projects. Refinements to its environmental baseline data have enabled the business to set medium- to long-term carbon emission reduction targets, and identify improvement initiatives to progress its net zero commitments.
OUR ESG PRIORITIES
- Ensure our projects meet and exceed client and community expectations for safety and health; local contracting partnerships, employment and procurement; training and skills development; socioeconomic development of communities; and environmental and long-term impacts of projects.
- Continue to embed ESG criteria in risk and opportunity assessments and project execution.
- Improve performance, measurement and reporting in supply chain, environment and climate change, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), community advancement and labour.
- Help clients meet their environmental goals through innovative designs and sustainable construction methods, and improve our understanding of what they need to operate in a lower-carbon economy and how this impacts the Group.
- Maintain a competitive employee value proposition that supports the retention and attraction of critical skills and the flexibility needed to capacitate projects at various stages.
OUR ESG BENCHMARKING
CEN-ESG, based in the United Kingdom, assesses the Group’s ESG performance and disclosure, providing a baseline for further improvement. In the most recent assessment conducted in FY2022, our governance disclosure was the strongest of the three categories, and we scored well for remuneration disclosure, including our detailed compensation policy and linking ESG objectives to executive pay. Against our peers and clients, we scored higher for energy in the environmental category, and achieved a robust score for the social category when compared to the sector, and our peers and clients. Our goal is to exceed the global average in ESG performance for our sector. This will be a multi-year journey.
Additional information: our ESG benchmarking scores, available in the downloads section below.
ESG PROGRESS OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS
- Formulated and communicated our sustainability statement and principles (see above sustainability framework diagram).
- Clarified our position on participating in fossil fuel projects (Climate Change Position Statement
- Enhanced our environmental baseline to inform efforts to reduce our environmental impact, help mitigate project risks and enable better tracking of our progress.
- Identified greenhouse gas emission reduction priorities to achieve net zero by 2050 or earlier.
- Enhanced our DEI and corporate social responsibility policies and plans.
- Published the Group supply chain standard, incorporating ESG requirements.
- Improved the coverage of our Scope 3 emissions reporting.
- Enhanced the integration of ESG considerations in risk and opportunity assessment and project execution.
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE CREATION
We play a key role in designing, building and operating the critical infrastructure needed to achieve global sustainability goals; contributing to wealth creation, sustainable human development and better living standards.
Our ESG commitments localise this value, providing employment, improving the lives of thousands of people across our value chains, and positively contributing to and supporting the social fabric and vitality of the communities and countries in which the Group operates. In addition, many of the projects being undertaken by OptiPower support the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.
Additional information: value-added statement in the indicator report below.
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