Operationalizing Sustainability

As one of Canada’s leading builders, Aecon is committed to driving positive environmental change.

As a Canadian leader in construction and infrastructure development, Aecon is committed to driving positive environmental change, including by supporting the transition to a net-zero carbon economy. As we deliver complex projects across Canada and internationally, we work to measure and mitigate the environmental impacts of our own equipment, facilities and processes.

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Responsible Consumption and Production

We are focused on:

Implementing an enterprise-wide environmental management system
Making responsible and conservative use of resources, including energy, water and raw materials
Understanding and reducing potential contributions to climate change and assessing our climate change risks
Minimizing waste
Respecting biodiversity across terrestrial, aquatic, and marine habitats, especially in protected areas

In addition to the Sustainability Policy that articulates the five commitments listed above, our work to improve our environmental performance is also guided by an Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework and an Environmental Management System ( Environmental Policy ).

Climate Change

Aecon is committed to reducing its contributions to climate change through the measurement and reduction of our GHG emissions. We’re also committed to evaluating and disclosing information about the financial implications of climate change for our organization, using the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. See Appendix A of our Sustainability Report for more information.

Managing our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

Aecon became the first Canadian construction company to publish a comprehensive inventory of our GHG emissions. The inventory was prepared in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This data enables us to make better energy decisions, set targets, and identify promising areas for emissions reduction efforts. In April 2021, Aecon proudly announced that we set a target to reach net-zero (scopes 1, 2 & 3) by 2050, with an initial interim target to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in direct CO2 emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by 2030 as compared to 2020. In 2021, Aecon achieved a 15 per cent year-over-year CO2 emissions reduction on an intensity basis and completed a comprehensive GHG inventory, which now includes a scan of indirect (Scope 3) emissions. Read more about our approach to managing our GHG emissions here.

Responsible Project Delivery

Aecon helps our clients meet high sustainability standards by executing every project responsibly, not just following the rules but actively seeking ways to reduce waste, mitigate harm to local ecosystems and respond to community priorities and concerns. Making a meaningful commitment to the principles of sustainability not only aligns with our values, it reduces costs, builds public support for projects, and helps our clients achieve their own goals in areas such as waste and emissions reduction.

Acting on the Evidence

Our GHG inventories affirmed that over 90% of our Scope 1 and 2 emissions result from construction activities. Within that category, diesel-powered construction equipment and fleet vehicles are collectively the largest emitters. Many initiatives described in this report, such as fleet-usage optimization and the pilot-testing of electric, solar and biodiesel-fuelled construction equipment, focus on these key opportunities to improve our performance as we work to meet our newly adopted targets. Next year we aim to further expand and refine our measurement practices, for example by deepening our understanding of Scope 3 emissions across our supply chain and by more precisely quantifying the performance improvements we’re achieving through our fleet telematics program.

On the way to #30by30

In 2021, Aecon saw a 6.7% reduction in year-over-year greenhouse gas emissions across our operations notwithstanding an 8% increase in revenue, resulting in a 14.5% reduction in GHG intensity by revenue. The main driver for achieving these reductions was a 16% decrease in diesel consumption, largely tied to the different mix of work in 2021 as compared to 2020. That is consistent with our understanding of Aecon’s emissions profile, which is that our Scope 1 emissions are a function of several variables, including type of work, phase of project, equipment used, type of fuel consumed and proportion subcontracted, all of which will fluctuate in the normal course from one year to the next. While those variables may see emissions rise in some years and fall in others, in the long run we plan to see a trend emerge consistent with our target to achieve a 30% reduction by 2030.