Our Essentials
The world needs to build more today than ever before, and we are proud to provide sustainable solutions and innovative expertise that serve a useful purpose for all.

#1 Advance low-carbon mobility

Shrinking carbon footprints is a global issue, and train, tram and metro systems are one of the ways forward. These collective mobility options are all the more beneficial for the environment as they are shifting en masse to electricity – and the electricity powering them is increasingly decarbonised.

Public transport by road is also going electric – for example bus rapid transit lines and trolleybuses – while cycling and other active mobility options are gaining ground as they have the smallest environmental impact.

Authorities are aware of the considerable part that these moves will play in building a more sustainable future, and investing in a growing number of low-carbon mobility projects in Europe and the rest of the world.

At VINCI Construction, we work side by side with them. This year again, our companies were active throughout the value chain in these infrastructure projects, conducting feasibility studies, financing, designing and building them, and providing maintenance.

Besides pooling a wide range of expertise, they work on an extensive variety of contracts ranging from small jobs – for instance building cycling lanes and upgrading public spaces – to large-scale, transformational programmes including high-speed train lines and metro and tram systems.

#2 Maintain the buildings and structures we use in our daily life

The huge wealth of existing assets, including buildings, mobility infrastructure, civil engineering structures and pipelines, is well worth maintaining and renovating to extend its useful life.

Maintaining existing assets also carries considerable ecological upsides: it preserves our natural resources and reduces our carbon emissions.

We are tapping into an array of leading-edge expertise to develop maintenance and renovation techniques that help protect these assets.

• Examples in the building sector include heavy-duty rehabilitation work, reinforcing structures and safeguarding heritage, as well as lead and asbestos removal and other clean-up services.
• In the infrastructure sector, we renovate and reinforce civil engineering structures, roads and railway lines nearing the end of their design life and showing early signs of technical failure.

Our teams are maintaining existing assets around the world to address a range of economic, safety and sustainability issues.

#3 Develop low-carbon energies

The climate emergency and rising geopolitical concerns are reshaping the energy landscape, and spurring the transition to cleaner and more sustainable sources of energy.

We are supporting growth in renewable energy production infrastructure, including solar arrays, wind farms, biomass power plants and hydroelectric facilities.

We are also playing a significant role in the nuclear energy sector while working to expand the use of hydrogen as a source of power.

#4 Preserve water

The challenges revolving around managing and preserving water – which overlap with global warming, resource scarcity and the need to expand access to drinking water while preventing and plugging leaks – are growing and require efficient and lasting solutions from policymakers and all other stakeholders, in particular businesses.

To tackle those challenges, we have deployed a comprehensive range of expertise across all the hydraulic structures and equipment involved in small water cycles.

We are involved in every link in this value chain – design, construction, refurbishment and maintenance – at the intersection between environmental and public-health concerns.

#5 Protect from the effects of climate change

Extreme weather events, which are becoming increasingly frequent and intense due to global warming, are weakening urban and human infrastructure.

Torrential rain causing catastrophic floods, rising water levels jeopardising some coastal areas and heat waves including the highest temperatures on record, principally in cities, are a few of the climate phenomena that public authorities around the world are addressing by making structures and infrastructure more resilient.

We work alongside them, for instance designing reservoirs to prevent floods, sea walls to counteract rising sea and ocean levels, urban cool islands and bioclimatic buildings.

#6 Champion low-carbon materials

The construction sector today accounts for about 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Reaching the non-negotiable carbon neutrality target by 2050 will involve rethinking construction methods and ways of using materials.

This is especially true of the materials that are used most extensively in construction and release the highest amounts of CO₂, such as concrete.

We are steadily increasing the use of low-carbon solutions at our worksites, aiming to use 90% low-carbon concrete on our projects by 2030.

At the same time, we are using more bio-sourced materials including timber and other natural alternatives, which both reduce carbon emissions and foster circular economy loops.

We are fully aware of the climate-related challenges and taking a growing number of forward-looking measures to protect the environment for future generations.

#7 Aim for the highest level of technical excellence

Technical excellence is a fundamental pillar in construction trades, where precision, durability and innovation have an essential role to play in tackling the complex and varied challenges inherent in each project.

Excellence, at VINCI Construction, means more than the ability to deliver exceedingly complex construction programmes: it includes our capacity to develop and implement new technologies, methodologies and materials.

As innovation is central to technical excellence, we strive to make continuous progress in order to:

• Improve construction process efficacy
• Reduce environmental impacts
• Deliver sustainable and economically viable solutions

These levers demonstrate our ability to raise the standards of technical excellence and enable us to broaden the possibilities of engineering to take on extraordinary projects.

#8 Rally our teams around environmental concerns

Besides reducing our impacts to address climate change, we need to nurture a genuine environmental culture throughout our teams.

To do this, at VINCI Construction we adopted an ambitious environmental strategy in 2020 aimed at shrinking our ecological footprint. This strategy is based on three pivotal goals:

• reducing CO₂ emissions by 40% by 2030
• optimising resources thanks to the circular economy
• preserving natural environments

We are rapidly integrating these goals into each of our business lines, to a large extent thanks to our employees’ extraordinary dedication.

We are additionally taking a wide variety of measures ranging from greening our vehicle fleets to optimising waste management and on to preserving biodiversity and limiting pollution in and around our jobsites.

And we keep this spirit of initiative and sense of responsibility alive throughout the year with training and awareness-raising campaigns, culminating with our Environment Day.

#9 Keep people safe

Construction is a high-risk sector: work at heights and in trenches, handling heavy loads, working alongside moving machinery, using power tools and the weather are only a few of the hazards.

This is why we rank people and their safety at the top of our priorities, and constantly nurture an all-round safety culture. Measures include risk-awareness campaigns, job-specific training and adopting increasingly safe processes and techniques, with a single goal in mind: zero accidents.

#10 Engage with society

As companies are now assessed based on their positive impact on society as well as their business performance, we attach the highest importance to honouring our corporate social responsibility.
Our strong commitment, which stems straight from the VINCI Manifesto, cascades into a large number of initiatives in all our divisions, to address various issues:

• Diversity
  We value diversity as it sparks motivation and innovation. Our goal, in creating inclusive and respectful workplaces, is to ensure we lastingly integrate an ample variety of talents and thereby continue to create value over the long term.
• Training
  We see professional training as an essential lever to maintain and sharpen our employees’ technical and managerial proficiency. Our investment in training is aimed at enhancing efficiency and quality on projects as much as keeping our employees healthy and safe at work.
• Professional integration
  We provide training and job opportunities for people on the fringes of the job market including youths, people with disabilities and minorities, to meet our needs for qualified workers as much as to prepare the next generation of professionals.
• Sponsorship
  Beyond the financial aid we provide, our sponsorships and philanthropy mirror our deep commitment to serving the public interest by embracing causes such as education, culture employment, health and the environment.
• Community engagement
  We build lasting ties with the communities we are in touch with and are fully involved in local development projects and events.

Our complete Essentials