BAM announces acceleration of ambitious carbon targets

BAM has announced that its UK and Ireland businesses have set a carbon target to become net zero in their direct operations by 2026.

The contractor is ruling out counting electricity from green energy tariffs towards its net zero emissions, adding that the target places BAM ‘at the forefront’ of the construction sector’s major contractors. 

The move builds upon Royal BAM Group’s target to reduce its direct emissions intensity by 80% by 2026 from 2015 levels. The company revealed it is committed to ‘openness’ and not relying heavily on carbon offsets which it believes can ‘disguise’ more substantial progress in how a company is acting. 

BAM’s UK and Ireland net zero commitment encompasses direct scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, as well as select scope 3 emissions. BAM’s scope 3 emissions include water consumption, staff transport, emissions arising from using hotels, emissions from third party fuel and energy use, and all well-to-tank (upstream) emissions associated with scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. The company says it has ‘significant influence’ over all these emissions sources. 

John Wilkinson, chief operating officer of BAM UK & Ireland, said, “Net zero carbon is the objective we are all seeking because the construction sector still accounts for 39% of all global emissions. We have a serious job on our hands to get that down and to do so fast.

“That’s why we have chosen to accelerate our progress – and we are not fooled that we will be alone. The whole industry needs to challenge itself, work together, and assist its clients and supply chain to make faster progress too. There is no room for or advantage in disguising or hiding performance. Vague data is useless, so science based, transparent information and a healthy dose of honesty are part of the medicine. 

“The other red herring is offsetting. We cannot rely on planting trees elsewhere in the world to cover up our own emissions. Although these have a role to play in the short term, we must drive these down ourselves and face up to our responsibilities. I believe BAM is now firmly at the forefront of our industry but it is the sort of arms race we need to collectively bring about change and decarbonise our environment.”

BAM added that there is another difference to most other net zero commitments concerning the scope 2 emissions arising from electricity use. The business has chosen to use location-based emissions as part of its direct emissions inventory.

The vast majority of the company’s direct energy procurement already uses REGO-backed energy contracts, and whilst it could use these to claim that it is zero carbon, BAM said it believes it should seek to reduce the real emissions from grid electricity usage.  

BAM is supporting the drive towards building more renewable energy generation through the delivery of schemes such as the SSE substations framework in Scotland which directly links to renewable generation.  

Sarah Jolliffe, BAM’s carbon reduction lead, added, “We are on a journey here – we have already reduced our emissions intensity by 20% this year compared to the same period last year, mitigating the release of 7 kilotons of carbon. We have worked with the Carbon Trust on measuring scope 3 emissions and our FM business has helped pioneer Scope 3 measurement in the facilities management sector working with the SFMI (The Sustainable FM Index). These kinds of collaborations are crucial as we explore more ways to work with our supply chain and clients to decarbonise the built environment. 

“The data baseline this has created and our investment in data collection and analysis is a key enabler in confidently setting this new demanding 2026 target.”

BAM’s track record on emissions includes reducing its direct emissions intensity by just over 40% since 2015. Its Science Based Target requires a 50% reduction by 2030 but it expects to meet this seven years early. The CDP has ranked BAM as an ‘A’ list company for the past five years.

Sarah added, “Our track record is down to a deep and sustained effort by our teams and commitment from the top of our business to getting carbon out of our environment.”

BAM listed some examples of its work to remove and reduce the impact of carbon. These include using HVO fuels to replace fossil fuels, transitioning to electric vehicles, using lower carbon concrete as BAM has done for the Dawlish Sea Wall, conducting independent embodied carbon studies in primary schools and offices including the new HQ for Meta, creating several net zero projects, and delivering the National Children’s Hospital in Dublin with a 60-70% lower operational energy use.