Carbon transparency

Skanska UK has published estimates of the emissions of all of its supply chain and is calling on other major contractors to do the same

A call for real transparency

We think more transparency is an opportunity for greater control and influence over emissions. We believe that if all major contractors took this approach, there would be a more complete picture of emissions.

The exact ratio of the difference will vary, depending on each company’s delivery model.

However, including an estimate of supply chain emissions will always give a more transparent picture of tier one contractors’ emissions. It will also provide the industry’s customers with a more realistic view of the emissions impact of their projects.

Greater transparency is essential if the sector is to realistically tackle the carbon emissions it produces.

Skanska UK emissions data

Skanska UK: emissions by source, including supply chain estimate (tonnes CO₂ equivalent gases)

	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
Direct¹	42,327	40,616	30,589	38,282	37,276	35,454	37,263	35,668	35,035
Supply chain²	402,686	298,423	276,795	226,158	247,231	281,429	371,070	349,215	378,332
Total³	445,013	339,037	307,384	264,440	284,507	316,883	408,333	384,883	413,367

¹ Skanska UK’s emissions – as reported to the CEMARS carbon disclosure scheme.

² The estimated total level of carbon emissions from our supply chain, while engaged on Skanska UK projects.

³ Skanska UK’s emissions reported to CEMARS added to the estimate of the supply chain emissions from Skanska UK projects.

Skanska UK direct carbon emissions (certified to ISO 14064-1 by the CEMARS carbon disclosure scheme)

This is one of the ways the construction industry currently reports emissions.

Skanska UK: estimated total carbon emissions, including the supply chain

We believe this is a more transparent way of measuring emissions, even though they are estimates. The column on the left is the total amount of estimated emissions (including CEMARS emissions), while the column on the right shows only CEMARS emissions, allowing a comparison to be made.

Skanska UK: estimate of carbon intensity, including the supply chain

This measures carbon efficiency: how much carbon is produced by the activities of an organisation. The lower the figure, the better.

Carbon intensity shows the average level of emissions against each £1 million of revenue.

Decreases – or increases – in the total amount of an organisation’s annual emissions may actually be caused by a fall or rise in revenue, rather than from lower carbon emissions from a set activity.

Projection of estimated carbon emissions and intensity to 2030, including the supply chain

While absolute emissions have fluctuated because of revenue changes, overall we are a more carbon efficient business. Our activities produce fewer emissions.

Through a detailed understanding of our emissions, we have been able to analyse how to cut them effectively. This data has given us confidence in our projections.

Five-year rolling rates

The construction industry is particularly affected by cyclic economic factors, which means that using annual figures on their own to assess carbon reduction can be misleading.

An annual five-year rolling rate of the estimates – the average of the last five years – smooths out any immediate distortions, caused by economic factors. Revenue is also averaged over five years.