Las puertas exteriores.

The call for cooperation in the chain is becoming ever stronger, also in our industry However, responding to the call can be difficult in practice. Besides laws and regulations that prescribe materials and procedures, a challenge that remains is to break through obstructive traditional role patterns and promote mutual openness and trust. We are continuing to work on this aim, albeit cautiously, to enter into dialogue.

Policy

Ballast Nedam’s notion of a chain comprises a vertical chain (purchasing) and a horizontal chain. The vertical chain consists of the various parties involved in a project or process, with the emphasis on internal and other suppliers and subcontractors. The horizontal chain consists of parties involved in various stages of a project or process, such as clients, consultants and developers, and likewise maintenance firms and property managers. Our current policy focuses on the purchasing chain. The situation we are working towards is one where our partners throughout the chain in which we work cooperate efficiently. Our starting point is that all parties must have a sense of responsibility for people, the environment and the community, which they demonstrate through their actions.

Objectives for 2011

To define sustainability criteria for two product groups. Not achieved

Results for 2011

We did not achieve this objective partly because sustainability criteria based on product groups do not appear to work well. Our industry produces much custom work. The imposition of specific criteria has more of a restrictive than a motivating effect. Suppliers know their products best; our task is to sit around the table with them at an early stage to identify the most appropriate solution for a given project. Only in this way can we contribute to a lower burden on space, raw materials and energy, a smaller CO₂ footprint, higher quality, lower life-cycle costs, reduced failure costs, innovation and capturing knowledge.

We continued last year to form our product group management to combine knowledge and contacts related to specific products. This helps us increase operational efficiency, but also offers opportunities to work with suppliers to devise applications and solutions that are better than those we could achieve separately. An example is the cooperation with various parties to optimize logistics (see the Logistics example on page 89). The aim of our purchasing policy is a favourable price-quality ratio. When a supplier provides raw materials or semifinished goods, what is delivered always complies with legal requirements. In 2011 we also discussed social aspects with various suppliers. We worked on a code of conduct for suppliers, which will encompass people and the environment. We will implement this code of conduct in 2012.

Objectives for 2012

As of 1 March 2012 the code of conduct will be an integral part of every new purchasing contract.

From 2017 all Ballast Nedam suppliers and subcontractors will be able to demonstrate a relative CO₂ reduction.

Ballast Nedam subscribes to ILO and OECD guidelines, and expects the same of its suppliers. If they infringe the international rules, they will be put on a list of suppliers we do not wish to do business with. When we do business with suppliers from ‘risk countries’, then as well as quality we also investigate their possible use of child labour and whether their working conditions are satisfactory. We applied this approach once in 2011, in China. An external auditor performed the investigation and confirmed that everything was in order.

In order to make sustainability less of an optional exercise, from March 2012 every purchasing contract will also include a code of conduct for suppliers and subcontractors. Our purchasers are trained to raise discussion of the impact of choices made in the chain, such as on energy consumption and CO₂ emission. In the spirit of the CO₂ performance ladder, we also encourage our chain to take the appropriate measures. As a result, in five years’ time suppliers must be able to demonstrate a relative reduction in CO₂. Since our approach is to avoid prescribing solutions, but to devise them jointly with our partners, our aim is to involve our suppliers at an earlier stage in the building process. For instance, we might ask suppliers about the best solution for a specific project, even in the tendering stage. We will follow this approach on tenders with a number of partners in the coming year. Another initiative is our involvement in the Verduurzaming Betonketen (Sustainable Concrete Chain) programme.

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Logistics example

Compared with other industries, construction gives relatively little consideration to aspects of chain logistics and logistics management. However, the growing number of inner city redevelopment sites is making logistics increasingly important. One of the projects that Ballast Nedam started in 2011 was a pilot to optimize logistics processes. We joined with suppliers (Vrolijks and BTB RIEDAS), logistics service providers (COMBEX and Maters Huissen) and a software and services firm (IBM Netherlands). These parties are keen to cooperate on new forms of coordinated logistics. The pilot project was executed at the Amstel Campus project on Wibautstraat in Amsterdam, with support from the Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics (Dinalog).

Woonteam+ example

An excellent example of cooperation in the horizontal chain is given by Ballast Nedem Building & Development West and its client Havensteder in the Woonteam+ initiative. They have optimized all activities and processes to allow them to perform as a single company in the major maintenance chain. They have cut preparation time substantially, lowered the all-in cost of construction and improved customer satisfaction.

Woonteam+ presents a concerted and clear identity to Havensteder tenants. In the coming year Ballast Nedam will optimize both the major maintenance chain and the new building chain. 2012 will also be the year of greater cooperation with subcontractors and suppliers. The Ballast Nedam Breakfast Club aims to engage new customers in dialogue about chain cooperation.

Concrete chain example

Ballast Nedam is part of MVO Nederland’s ‘Verduurzaming Betonketen’ (Sustainable Concrete Chain) programme. We and eighteen other innovative companies and organizations from the entire concrete chain are developing a vision for a more sustainable industry. The scope extends beyond environmental issues to include social aspects. Our objective is to work jointly in the chain towards sustainable resource extraction, buildings and constructions. Five working groups (definition, energy, emissions, raw materials, biodiversity and ecosystem services) are engaged on this vision. Other results of the programme include the Green Deal with the government at the end of 2011, which

FSC Bouw Award

The Schollevaar renovation project for Havensteder in Capelle aan den Ijssel, which was performed by Ballast Nedam and TimmerSelekt Doornenbal, was nominated for the FSC Bouw Award. The project won second prize. The FSC Bouw Award jury assessed each of the nominated projects for innovative application of FSC controlled wood, the effort expended, the general level of sustainability on the project and the quantity of FSC controlled wood used. Ballast Nedam companies are FSC certified. We use FSC controlled wood in projects we develop ourselves, and on other projects on customer request.

6.4.2. Our innovation policy

Innovation is crucial to Ballast Nedam. Innovation is the only way we can continue to provide sustainable total solutions in the built environment. Innovation makes us stronger. Innovation means renewing ourselves, exploring new avenues together, and taking the lead in our industry and for our customers. Innovation and open cooperation with partners create market opportunities, which translate into business and guarantee Ballast Nedam’s conspicuous and distinct position in the market relative to the competition. Our conviction is that innovation leads to sustainability and vice versa. This is why innovation is a high priority for Ballast Nedam.

Innovation is not all about new high-tech products, but also about new ways of working together, smart combinations of existing means of production, devising new contract forms, and creating opportunities in new markets. A good example is Ballast Nedam’s successful position on the market for public-private partnership projects. Otherwise, our initiatives in wind energy and natural gas and biogas also testify to innovation.

An example of redeveloping innovative processes is our organization’s successful approach to Building Information Models. There has also been much attention to process innovations on the ground in 2011, with the Lean Construction Management programme coming to fruition. These innovations are producing immediate savings and generating new business. Innovation therefore also makes money.

‘Innovation is not a department but a state of mind.’ This is why Ballast Nedam has a small and variable team of people working on innovation. Their goal is to constantly spur the organization on to innovation. Furthermore we have called on all employees to actively engage in innovation, including workers on sites and in offices, but also management and board members. The point on all levels is to encourage creativity and teamwork. We also communicate the topics we believe are important areas for innovation. Innovation is largely about creating and sharing ideas, and making choices.

Innovation: our mission, vision and strategy

Our vision for innovation: the best ideas are spawned through open cooperation with ample scope for creativity. Free people of constraints and encourage them. Acknowledge and appreciate their ideas. In due course successful innovations will be implemented. Our innovation mission: to make innovation part of the fabric of Ballast Nedam.

Our innovation strategy: to build a virtual innovation network organization within Ballast Nedam, to create a shared language, to devote the maximum attention to and to promote creativity, and the continuous communication and provision of information.

Some examples of our initiatives to promote innovation:

– tok!, Ballast Nedam’s digital ideas and discussion platform that we will open to industry, knowledge institutes and public authorities;

– our innovation panels and annual innovation day;

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At the corporate level a director of innovation has responsibility for the innovation management process. The activities are on the themes of facilitation, binding, information provision, consultancy and national and international representation. In this way we are clearly displaying Ballast Nedam’s innovative nature, enhancing our innovative strength, and maintaining relations with national and international organizations.

2011: five new, practical innovations

In 2011 we executed five tangible sustainable innovations, which we have used commercially in our organization.

Greenerator

The Greenerator fits in a standard shipping container. The container is equipped with solar panels and a wind turbine for generating energy. The Greenerator is therefore a ‘green generator’, and is equivalent, in terms of both cost and energy output, to a normal 15 kVA construction site generator. A major advantage of the Greenerator is that once it is in place it needs no more attention. A normal diesel generator needs regular visits for refuelling, but this green generator operates unattended on sun and wind. Batteries on continuous standby are able to supply enough energy for three sun and wind-free days (a rare occurrence in the Netherlands). The Greenerator is can also be used for storage. Gas valve for green gas (from biogas)

A special gas valve was opened at De Meerlanden in Haarlemmermeer on Thursday 17 November 2011: a valve for green gas made from kitchen and garden waste. The valve feeds the local natural gas network. Green gas is also a climate-neutral vehicle fuel. De Meerlanden, with the help of Ballast Nedam and CNG Net, therefore represents a major stride towards a local circular economy: residents around De Meerlanden* collect kitchen and garden waste, which goes to the Rijsenhout waste processor, where it is reused as a climate-neutral fuel for De Meerlanden’s kitchen and garden waste collection vehicles. Vehicles that run on green gas help improve air quality.

We implemented this innovative installation together with De Meerlanden, Liander and Greenchoice. Ballast Nedam IPM built the processing installation for turning raw biogas into green gas. Ballast Nedam’s CNG Net subsidiary installed the green gas filling station on the De Meerlanden site and has built public filling stations elsewhere in the Netherlands. Liander arranged for green gas to be fed into the local natural gas network. Greenchoice facilitated green gas trading. Vertogas certificates guarantee that the gas really is green.

Once the installation is up and running De Meerlanden will produce some three- million cubic metres of green gas a year, which is enough for about 1,250 vehicles. So far, 37 (with a further 10 on order) of the total of 128 De Meerlanden waste collection vehicles of various types run on green gas. In 2016 almost all De Meerlanden’s services can be climate neutral, with all vehicles fuelled by green gas.

Green gas is one of the five products provided by Ballast Nedam’s processing installation. The others are:

– compost (a natural soil improver);

– heat (heat from the composting process is used in a nearby market garden);

– water (De Meerlanden’s road-sweeping vehicles spray the streets clean with process water);

– CO₂ (methane and CO₂ are separated in biogas production. The methane is used to make green gas, and the CO₂ goes to nearby market gardens to promote crop growth and replace fossil CO₂).

iQwoning®

iQwoning® _{is an innovative housing concept developed by Ballast Nedam. What is}

special about iQwoning® _{is that as much work on the homes as possible is performed}

in the factory. The remaining work on the construction site to make the homes ready for occupation takes only six weeks. iQwoning® _{stands for sustainability on all fronts.}

– The method of maximum industrial production saves between 30 and 40 per cent on transport to and from the construction site.

– The homes themselves are also extremely sustainable. All iQwoning® _{homes have}

an average GPR Gebouw rating of at least eight. (GPR Gebouw measures building quality according to five criteria.)

– The sustainability attributes also contribute to a comfortable home. The homes are well insulated and have excellent noise performance because of their anchorless concrete cavity walls. The healthy indoor climate is maintained through natural ventilation, energy-efficient underfloor downstair heating and upstair convectors. – The iQwoning® _{normally achieves a rating well below the EPC standard of 0.6}

(the EPC coefficient is a measure of a building’s energy performance). If your sustainability ambitions are higher, then that is no problem at all.

The iQwoning® _{provides comfortable high-quality homes without compromising social}

responsibility. Offshore wind

Ballast Nedam has worked since 2011 with drilled foundations for offshore wind turbines. The most usual foundation for these wind turbines is a single hollow steel tubular pile with a diameter of between 4.5 and 6.5 metres, which is driven into the sea bed. Adapters are attached to the piles with grouted connections to adjust for

vertical piling tolerances. However, offshore pile driving is coming under increasing pressure because of the adverse effects for fish and marine mammals, with constraints being imposed on the duration and sound level of pile-driving operations. Moreover, the grouted connection appears to perform less well in practice than expected. Drilled foundations avoid these problems. There is no noise nuisance and the foundation consists of a single component with no grouted connection (at any rate for the steel Simplified Drilled Foundation).

BIM

Another good example is the application of Building Information Models (BIM). This process innovation allows us to organize cooperation in the building process far more effectively while reducing failure costs substantially. Thanks to the major strides we have made with BIM, we are now ready to tackle our projects more efficiently and optimize the design, construction, management and

maintenance processes. In 2011 we moved forward significantly in the implementation of BIM in our projects and the development of the underlying technology. This has not escaped the attention of our clients. The Government Buildings Agency started prescribing BIM for integrated contracts as of 1 November 2011. The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management is also enthusiastic about our approach. The staff of the Ballast Nedam BIM Centre are frequently requested to speak about BIM at national and international events. For instance, they gave a presentation in 2011 at the First Annual BIM Conference in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi.

Our Common Future 2.0: an inspiring vision of the future In May 2011 Jan Jonker, Professor of Sustainability at Radboud University Nijmegen, presented the book our Common Future 2.0 to former prime minister of the Netherlands Ruud Lubbers. This book, with its vision on sustainability, can be considered to be the Dutch successor to the Brundtland report of twenty- five years ago. Four hundred volunteers worked on the book, which covers waste and energy, spirituality and food, water and housing. Ballast Nedam has committed to the initiative and facilitated the housing theme. Some of our employees have participated in a number of themes, and our CEo Theo Bruijninckx is one of the ambassadors. The project has led to considerable dialogue between stakeholders of various types and has produced much inspiration and exchange of knowledge. Ballast Nedam gave all visitors to the Innovation Day a copy of the book as a source of inspiration.

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Objectives for 2012

To implement in 2012 three sustainable innovations through cooperation on innovation with chain partners.

There is a lively discussion of ideas and issues on tok!, but inevitably it is impossible to develop all of them into successful innovations. We are obliged to make clear choices in this process. We think it makes sense to make these choices together with our stakeholders, and we will take the first steps towards open innovation in 2012.

- We will engage in dialogue with our stakeholders, as we also did in 2011.

- Starting in March 2012 we will open the tok! system to our stakeholders to facilitate cooperation in our ideas management environment.

- We are starting with tok! innovation panels, where we render the digital in physical form and discuss specific subjects with multiple stakeholders simultaneously.

6.5.1. Community relations management