Rönesans Holdings Board Member Bramske van Beijma on the energy transition and why change is needed
“Only if you become sustainable will you be able to play a role in the future.”
Rönesans Holdings Board Member Bramske van Beijma joined Rönesans Holding’s subsidiary Ballast Nedam four years ago as Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Digital Transformation & Innovation. Since then, the company has taken many steps in the area of sustainability, resulting in, among other things, a 42% reduction in CO2. What are the current opportunities and challenges? And how do these relate to the energy transition? This conversation concerns low-hanging fruit, energy independence and agreements with the chain.
“Dealing with the planet responsibly with every action.” That's what sustainability means to Bramske. This is a tantalising definition because the sector in which Ballast Nedam operates significantly impacts the earth; think of the scarce raw materials that constructions consist of and the CO2 released during transport and construction. “On top of that," Bramske explains, "the sector is traditional. Change doesn't come naturally. My role is to explain why change is necessary. I provide several reasons: increasingly stringent legislation, a growing number of customers seeking sustainable solutions, and a sustainable company's inherent appeal to young employees. More and more, employees want to work for an employer who makes a positive impact. All things considered, there is really only one possible conclusion. Sustainability constitutes your 'license to operate'. If you are not sustainable, you will soon become irrelevant. You must adapt to be prepared for the future."
Green power and battery packs
Within Ballast Nedam, multiple steps are being taken in many ways and at all levels. “We shouldn't use the phrase 'spreading like an oil slick, of course,” says Bramske with a wink. “So let's put it this way: more and more people are picking up the gauntlet to make our company and our activities more sustainable. Change is not only happening at the head office; it is taking place everywhere, in every corner and at all levels of the company.” So, what are some of the sustainability measures Ballast Nedam has taken? “We started with low-hanging fruit by purchasing green electricity for all our construction and office sites, as well as for the production sites, such as our concrete plant. We also started investing in zero-emission construction equipment. With every investment in a new piece of equipment, a business case is drawn up to see whether a sustainable variant is financially feasible. In this way, we have already purchased several emission-free pieces of equipment, such as an emission-free roller and a crawler crane.”Emission-free construction sites emit less CO2 and produce less noise, but a new problem arises. All that zero-emission equipment runs on electricity, which must come from somewhere. “That's why we recently invested in the purchase of three battery packs for the construction sites.” Speaking of electricity, another crucial measure is replacing traditional fossil-fuelled lease cars with electric models. Every newly acquired vehicle is electric, ensuring that Ballast Nedam will have a completely emission-free fleet by 2030.”
"Our goal: to ensure all our construction sites will be carbon neutral by 2030."
Bramske van Beijma
Director Corporate Social Responsibility and Digital Transformation & Innovation - Ballast Nedam | Board Member Rönesans Holding
Helping suppliers to invest
Sustainability requires substantial investments. For that reason, Ballast Nedam seeks cooperation with suppliers in the chain. "For example," Bramske says, "we made agreements with transport company De Bruyn in 2023. By doing so, we committed to the multi-year use of the electric transport equipment they purchase. This way, we don't have to make the investment ourselves, but it becomes advantageous for De Bruyn. It also helps us to achieve our goal of making our transport and construction sites CO2-neutral by 2030. This collaboration is now bearing fruit. For example, a De Bruyn electric mixer combination, consisting of a Volvo FM Electric tractor with a 540 kWh battery pack and a mixer trailer with its own 60 kWh battery pack, was deployed on projects including the Prinses Amaliahaven and the A24 Blankenburg connection (both in Rotterdam). Compared to fossil-driven equipment, the mixer combination avoids about 300 kilograms of CO2 daily.”Advising clients based on our expertise
So Ballast Nedam has already taken quite a few sustainability measures. What are the largest opportunities at the moment? “The steps we have taken so far fall under the so-called scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. That is what you emit directly as a company and indirectly through the energy you purchase. The greatest opportunities now lie within scope 3: the emissions that occur in our supplier chains and over which we have no direct influence. This includes, for example, the emissions emitted during the production of the materials we purchase, such as concrete and steel, but also the emissions released through the use of our buildings. Here, we focus on purchasing sustainable materials, such as bio-based alternatives instead of concrete, as well as reusable and circular elements. We employ experts who can calculate what that means for the environmental performance of the buildings and infrastructures we construct; this means we can advise clients in a precise way and, where desired, make adjustments. So, we have developed the knowledge in-house, which means we know which buttons to push. That works very efficiently and is also good for continuity. This way, we retain the in-house knowledge, enabling us to continue our growth internally.”"We also seek out sustainable projects ourselves ."
Bramske van Beijma
Director Corporate Social Responsibility and Digital Transformation & Innovation - Ballast Nedam | Board Member Rönesans Holding
Clients and costs
The word 'clients' has been dropped. This represents a crucial link in making the construction industry more sustainable. In many cases, sustainable solutions are more expensive than traditional ones, and clients ultimately have to pay for them. Are they willing to do so? And how does this work regarding tenders, where cost is often a decisive factor in the awarding of contracts? “It depends on the type of customers. With infrastructure contracts, the pricing of sustainability measures often gives a notional discount on the tender price. So that way, you can actually distinguish yourself in terms of sustainability and still win the tender. Some clients maintain a more social focus with real estate contracts than others. It also differs per region. For example, the Municipality of Amsterdam is clearly willing to stick its neck out and impose requirements when granting permits for real estate development, as in the case of the Jonas residential building. That was set out to be an especially sustainable building and received the highest BREEAM certificates for design and delivery. This is, of course, pleasing to us as a construction company. We also seek out sustainable projects ourselves. Our subsidiary Heddes, for example, is very active in this respect. Even after they have been awarded a contract, they are proactive in talking to clients. I recently heard from them about an example where the planned concrete shell of a building was called into question in favour of a sustainable solution.” Bramske observes that another incentive is increasingly occurring in the financial world. “For banks, being 'green' is a requirement for loans that customers seek to finance their building projects. The customer then knocks on our door to find out how we can fulfil this. We are then happy to explain the possibilities.”Embracing challenges
Customers' willingness to embrace sustainability varies but generally seems to be increasing for a variety of reasons. However, there are other aspects that stand in the way of accomplishing further sustainability goals. Government policy plays an important role, as does the scarcity and cost of sustainable solutions. Additionally, what is unknown often goes unappreciated. “We sometimes hear that clients have doubts about the functionality of bio-based insulation materials, for example. Fortunately, there is more and more knowledge about this area. The fact is that the market is in transition. Parties are searching and trying to learn from each other. Our project developer, Ballast Nedam Development, dares to experiment and take progressive steps, attracting broad positive attention. For example, Ballast Nedam Development is developing 'Het Natuurhuis', a climate-positive terraced house made of bio-based materials, as well as Cartesius, a sustainable urban district in Utrecht with about 3,000 homes. The latter project was inspired by the scientific theory of Blue Zones, which refers to places around the world where people live healthier and happier lives for longer. For the construction company Ballast Nedam, realising such projects is advantageous. We can gain experience with the application of new materials and techniques while also navigating the challenges they present.”Energy independent
Sustainability is a catch-all term for everything aimed at making the planet future-proof. A critical part of this is the energy transition, which involves exchanging fossil fuels for renewable fuels. Many sustainability measures taken by Ballast Nedam also fall under this heading. One particular project is the Virtual Power Plant. “We want to become energy independent,” says Bramske. "We have, therefore, been rolling out as many solar roofs as possible at our sites since 2021. For example, at Ballast Nedam Road Specialties in Leerdam, there is almost half a megawatt of panels; at the Materieeldienst in Almere, there is about 1 megawatt of panels. Both locations generate more than we need for our purposes. That's why we started our Virtual Power Plant last year, which sends excess energy to other Ballast Nedam locations. Our head office in Nieuwegein runs on power from Almere.”In addition to this virtual power plant, the company has a couple of wind turbines in the Zaanstad region. Ballast Nedam also likes to contribute to realising renewable energy within projects for clients. For example, a wind turbine was erected next to the prison built by Ballast Nedam in Zaanstad. The projects for the nearshore wind sites Maasvlakte and Windplan Blauw (in the IJsselmeer) speak for themselves in this context.
At Home
Parent company Rönesans Holding also has ambitions in this area. For example, an agreement was signed in 2023 with TotalEnergies to develop projects in homeland Türkiye with the aim of producing 2 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2028, including new wind farms. Bramske has been on the Board of Directors of Rönesans Holding since late last year. Does this mean she can now intensify her commitment to sustainability outside the Netherlands? “Indeed, I was brought in for that reason. There is a strong intrinsic motivation at Rönesans to advance sustainability and the energy transition in Türkiye. In the Netherlands, we are already a bit further along in this process, which allows me to make a meaningful contribution there with my knowledge and experience.”Where does her motivation originate from? “I acquired it from my home environment. My family always took good care of each other, never threw anything away, reused things, and spent a lot of time outdoors in nature. My father was a structural engineer and repaired everything himself. Together with my mother, a director in the medical social sector, he planted the seed for my ongoing passion for sustainability. Various people have inspired me along the way: conversations with colleagues, inspirational professors I have heard speak during training courses, innovative thinkers, special collaborations... Observing your surroundings, including other sectors, is an excellent way to identify opportunities and find inspiration. That applies to me as a person and to Ballast Nedam as a company. But things also arise internally. Ballast Nedam is a large organisation where many people develop outstanding sustainability ideas. We learn from each other as colleagues. That also inspires new initiatives. Our strength lies in the fact that there are no walls here. Everyone supports one another, is eager to collaborate, and is willing to take steps forward. My dream is that, in the not-too-distant future, Ballast Nedam will have a project portfolio that embodies sustainability and that we will exclusively undertake projects that contribute to cultivating our socially responsible role in society.”
Source: https://www.ballast-nedam.com/news/2024/only-if-you-become-sustainable-you-will-still-play-a-role-in-the-future