Introduction Tom Vendelmans
Connectivity is at the centre of our work, connecting our customers, stakeholders and employees daily across the several jurisdictions we work in. INFRA’s connectivity approach is innately aligned to the principles of ESG, recognising that each business operates within a wider global landscape directly interlinked with its people, planet and communities.
Our four sustainability pillars underpin these values. We believe in achieving sustainable growth alongside working for the ecological transition developing our roots in a sustainable manner, putting people at the heart of our projects and developing a strong culture of social responsibility
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"Within our projects, we’re helping clients to address their sustainability impact, delivering quality outcomes whilst addressing client’s ESG needs."
Our 4 sustainable pillars
Putting people at the heart of our projects
Working for the ecological transition
Developing our local roots in a sustainable manner
Promoting a strong culture of social responsibility
Climate change is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges facing the modern world, and all businesses, organisations, and nations must adapt quickly to prevent a climate catastrophe. While the scientific solution is simple: we must keep global temperatures to no more than 2C, the journey to achieving this is more complex. INFRA want to be at the forefront of this work and ease our clients through this transition. Within our projects, we’re helping clients to address their sustainability impact, from assessing the materials and resources used in projects, to maintaining or modifying facilities and networks to support the energy transition, to installing solar panels or IRVE charging point, to helping decarbonise infrastructure projects, delivering quality outcomes whilst addressing client’s ESG needs.
Additionally, we apply sustainability principles to our own operations. We are proud to have pledged a science-based approach to carbon reduction, signing up to the Science Based Targets Initiative to reduce our emissions by 4% annually by 2031. We’re also constantly looking at ways to enhance our environmental management, such as overhauling our fleet, minimising our waste and investing in energy saving technology. Putting people first is an important component of our ESG strategy. I’m immensely proud of the talented team at INFRA, whose incredible work make us the leading provider of infrastructure services in Europe.
As an infrastructure organisation, health and safety is foundational to the work that we do, and we have rigorous processes in place to support this, which is verified by third party accreditations. We also take our responsibility to safeguard our employee’s wellbeing seriously, to create a workplace environment where employees want to stay at INFRA for the long haul. Our learning and development programmes, alongside our wellbeing and employee engagement approach ensures that we continue to put people at the heart of our projects.
While Infra recognises we still have a long way to go in our ESG journey, we’re proud of the work undertaken so far. For more information on our ESG initiatives, please explore our reports and policies on the right.
Environmental management
Infra are committed to minimising our environmental impact across the business – from decarbonising our operations, to creating efficiency improvements in our waste and energy practices.
Embracing the renewable energy transition.
INFRA is committed to reducing our direct emissions impact by improving our energy management and enhancing the efficiency of our offices. In 2023, five new buildings were equipped with solar panels last year, installing 2000 m2 of panels – allowing us to generate our own energy onsite to power our offices.
We are also currently working with stakeholders to identify reduction opportunities in our offices, such as installing motion detectors and thermostats to bring down wastage, as well as grouping companies together to share resources.
Sustainable transport
Company vehicles and site equipment are crucial to facilitate day-to-day operations at INFRA. We need vehicles to transport our employees to and from sites, and machinery to deliver our projects. However, to run these requires a significant amount of fuel, and as such, a large amount of energy. Our fuel-related emissions comprise a significant part of our carbon footprint-the second largest contributor overall. To address this, we have targeted key investment areas to reduce our energy-related emissions and overhaul our fleet.
Circular economy
Building sustainable infrastructure for future generations means embracing circular economy principles and applying a fresh approach to waste management. INFRA aims to reduce our waste, alongside promoting the re-use and recovery of materials.
Our waste streams are typical of our industry, with soil waste, plastic packaging, cardboard, and wood accounting for the bulk of our waste production. To address these areas, we have been working alongside our partners to launch local initiatives centred around reducing waste in our companies and on our sites. Additionally, we are seeking to expand the number of ISO 14001 certified sites to improve overall waste management practices.
We also take careful precautions to manage our waste responsibly, and safely. All teams are required to manage waste in line with global and local regulations. We send the majority of our waste to recycling and recovery suppliers who are certified for waste treatment and information security, meanwhile our hazardous waste follows careful disposal procedures and is transported by qualified hauliers.
Awareness raising and communication on sustainable development
Employee stewardship is crucial to delivering on our sustainable development aims. Embedding sustainability into INFRA’s working culture requires ongoing communication with our employees on our goals, both through disseminating information on best practice, as well as encouraging feedback on ideas to enhance practices.
We also have a dedicated low-carbon trajectory monitoring committee, who oversee the Group’s decarbonisation plan and take responsibility for steering all internal stakeholders towards our emission reduction goals through clear communication, collaboration and engagement.
Putting our people first
INFRA’s talented workforce are the driving force behind the success of our business.
Therefore, ensuring the health, safety, and wellbeing of our people is paramount to upholding the standards of service we deliver and creating a work force where our employees want to stay with us for the long haul.
Creating a work safe environment
Creating a culture of safety is crucial to retaining the trust of our employees and stakeholders, as well as safeguarding against risk. Our safety management standards are thoroughly vetted and upheld by third-party standards and certifications including ISO 45001, VCA and MASE.
INFRA is acutely aware that the nature of our work inherently increases our exposure to accident risk, which is why we take rigorous measures to prevent potential incidents. Our deployed network of ‘preventionist’ specialists undertake extensive work to mitigate against accidents, from annual risk assessments to incident reporting, to providing proper equipment and training to employees.
INFRA is acutely aware that the nature of our work inherently increases our exposure to accident risk, which is why we take rigorous measures to prevent potential incidents. Our deployed network of ‘preventionist’ specialists undertake extensive work to mitigate against accidents, from annual risk assessments to incident reporting, to providing proper equipment and training to employees.
INFRA’s primary objective is to attain a zero-exposure to risk, which requires effective governance. We take a top-down approach to health and safety governance, from Group-level right down to specific local requirements for each of INFRA’s geographic locations, regulations, and standards. Meanwhile, our Safety policy covers all internal and external threats to our employees, contractors, customers, and visitors to our locations, and we have robust processes in place to prevent any potential incidents.
Effective training is a fundamental component in our health and safety approach, and all production staff receives regular training across:
- First aid
- Explosive atmospheres
- Welding
- Electrical risks
- Confined spaces
- Asbestos
- Chemical risks
- Operating machinery
- Eco-driving
Additionally, our teams participate in customer safety days and induction sessions, which provides refreshed training on day-to-day risks, as well as the specific risks to customer’s installations and the potential dangers associated with co-activity on site.
Wellbeing
Creating a culture of psychological safety is just as important as a physical one, and we take great care to prioritise the wellbeing of our staff. Our Respectful Workplace Policy is foundational to our wellbeing approach, outlining our commitment to cultivating an environment of respect and dignity, as well as providing recognition for the unique value each employee brings to the organisation.
We use wellbeing metric indicators to monitor employee wellbeing on an ongoing basis. Absenteeism rates provide an invaluable indication of any potential issues, helping us to better assess the company’s social climate, focus on any motivation problems within teams, as well as identify any breakdowns in working conditions. Additionally, we distribute an employee wellbeing survey annually, providing us with feedback into current employee sentiment, as well as helping us flag any areas for improvement.
Developing employees’ skills
We take great pride in our skilled workforce, and we strive to provide fulfilling, stimulating, and purposeful careers for our employees. INFRA are a diversified construction and public works group with a wide variety of professions, offering a range of opportunities to carve out tailor made career paths. We encourage internal mobility, providing employees with the tools they need from day one with us.
Our member orientation programme helps to integrate new employees into the business, providing them with the opportunity to learn more about their new role and responsibilities, meet the team, and immerse themselves in INFRA’s culture and values. Each joiner is provided with a manager, along with a designated human resources representative and tutor.
Providing ongoing employee training is then crucial to ensure our employees retain the skills needed to keep pace in an ever-changing environment. From the emergence of new technology, to embracing INFRA Group’s new climate strategy, training is a key lever to sustaining our performance. We have made significant investment in our training programmes in the last year, and will continue in the coming years.
Inclusivity at Infra
INFRA understands the inherent value that diversity of thought, background, experience, and skill can bring to a business. Therefore, we strive to create an environment of belonging, mutual respect, and a place where everyone is empowered to succeed- regardless of race, culture, sexual orientation or gender identity. We want to create a workplace that honours and celebrates the rich racial and cultural diversity of our members, communities, customers, and partners. We have a zero-tolerance policy to racism or workplace discrimination, and we encourage our members to use resource groups to listen, learn, and raise awareness.
As a traditionally male-dominated sector, encouraging and retaining women in the workforce is an ongoing challenge for the building and public works industry. While we’re beginning to see some positive breakthroughs, there is still work to be done. INFRA want to play an active role in creating an environment that encourages and platforms women. We have set ourselves the target to increase the number of women in management bodies (Executive Committee / Management Committee) by 30% and the proportion of women in the Board of Directors by 20% by 2030.
Key to our inclusive approach is our hiring practices. Our proximity model enables us to apply targeted recruitment strategies through local partnerships to build diverse teams that represent the communities in which we live and work. Through our cooperation network, employees also have the opportunity to recommend talent within their personal networks, with incentives offered to those who refer successful candidates.
Promoting social dialogue Trade unions and employee representative bodies make a vital contribution to the development of a progressive social approach and provide valuable forums for meetings between union representatives and management. These group representatives are entrusted with maintaining relations and working towards the common good at INFRA, exchanging views on the economic and financial landscape, developments in employment, social policy and health and safety. Some of our initiatives to diversify our talent pool:
- In 2023, our immigration teams began to put in place processes and partnerships to facilitate cross-border hiring.
- INFRA work in partnership with local schools and training centres, offering apprenticeship and courses.
- We are involved in programmes designed for adults changing careers or returning to work after a career break.
- Each job description includes a statement outlining our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and informs potential candidates of accommodating measures available.
Promoting social dialogue
Trade unions and employee representative bodies make a vital contribution to the development of a progressive social approach and provide valuable forums for meetings between union representatives and management. These group representatives are entrusted with maintaining relations and working towards the common good at INFRA, exchanging views on the economic and financial landscape, developments in employment, social policy and health and safety.
Corporate governance
Good corporate governance practices are essential to delivering on our ESG objectives, as well as upholding the highest standards of integrity across all aspects of our business operations.
Effective ESG Governance is crucial to deliver on our sustainability objectives, which are defined under the supervision of several groups, including:
INFRA’s Board of Directors, who set long-term strategic, financial and organisational objectives.
Our ESG Executive Steering Committee, which is chaired by the Group CEO. The committee is composed of management representatives from the operating committee and Group functions. The Chairman communicates all ESG initiatives and strategies to INFRA’s Executive Committee and to the CEOs of the operating companies.
Local ESG Managers, who work in collaboration with ESG Committee members to drive forward our strategy and implement actions. We undertake risk assessments on an ongoing basis. This includes environmental risks (including physical and transitional risks posed by climate change, as well as existing and emerging environmental regulations), societal (including membership risks) and governance (including security, data privacy and ethics). These are overseen by the Board, senior and operations management.
Ethical business conduct
INFRA is committed to acting with the utmost integrity across all aspects of our business operations. Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, along with related policies, outlines our adherence to retain the highest standards of business conduct.
