Skanska UK Pledges Zero Emissions by 2045, Leads Construction Industry in Climate Commitments
Today, one of the top construction firms in the United Kingdom, Skanska UK, pledged to make its entire business carbon neutral by 2045. The company will eliminate emissions from both its direct operations and its supply chain, including materials like steel and cement. This pledge goes above and beyond the commitment made by its parent company, Skanska AB (SKSBF), to be carbon neutral by 2050, and sets a new bar for global corporate sustainability and climate action.
“This is a game changer for the climate crisis and for the construction industry,” said Mighty Earth Campaign Director Margaret Hansbrough. “This is an example of real leadership in a sector that has been slow to move. But now Skanska UK has set the wheels in motion, and there is no going back. We hope that the rest of the company – Skanska AB and all its affiliates – and the broader industry will follow this example quickly.”
Materials for the construction industry account for 11 percent of all emissions and, by 2050, are projected to account for 49 percent of all building sector emissions, nearly equivalent to those from operational use of buildings. Steel as a whole, accounts for 7-9 percent of all global emissions.
In 2018, Mighty Earth launched a campaign asking Skanska and its competitors to make commitments to decarbonize their materials supply chain, starting with steel suppliers. The commitment by Skanska UK is the most expansive in the construction sector to date. Skanska is viewed as one of the most sustainable construction companies in the world and ranks in the top 10 in the global market.
“We need green building leaders here in the U.S. and around the world to follow the lead of their colleagues in the U.K.,” said Hansbrough. “Now is the time to make public commitments and set implementation plans toward deep decarbonization in the construction sector. This pledge from Skanska UK demonstrates that there are clear pathways to achieving zero emissions in the construction sector and, by proxy, in the heavy industrial sector. The climate crisis has never been more urgent, and we need more companies to step up and face the crisis head-on as Skanska UK has begun to do.”
