Environmental

Together we protect

We’re creating a decarbonised UK through energy transition solutions alongside increased biodiversity and a cleaner environment. Creating a sustainable future is simply part of who we are. We are tackling the twin crises of climate and nature together, not only in how we deliver but also by integrating these considerations into the solutions provided to our clients. 

We’re focused on creating a more sustainable world by ensuring our projects and programmes deliver sustainable infrastructure through low carbon engineering, efficient use of resources, circular economy principles and by incorporating resilience to climate change. We promote nature-based solutions and measure and set biodiversity net gain targets across all our projects. 

Costain’s environmental management system is certified to ISO 14001, which sets the standard for environmental performance, minimising our impact on the environment and ensuring continual improvement. We’re committed to minimising the impacts of delivery of large-scale complex infrastructure and contributing to a net positive future (net zero emissions and nature positive). 

Find out more about our sustainable outputs we delivered as part of the delivery of the Eastern section of the Thames Tideway Tunnel. 

Climate change

Costain’s decarbonisation and climate resilience strategy is centred on our climate change action plan, which details our journey to net zero emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3, and is delivered within projects through our updated PAS 2080:2023 (carbon management in infrastructure) verified processes.   

To meet our environmental ambition, we work with our value chain to influence and accelerate change. We continue to improve processes towards the adoption of the ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement principles to ensure we deliver value for our customers and address mutual sustainability-related challenges.   

Resource efficiency

Our production thinking processes encourage consideration of whole life impacts during the design and pre-construction process, ensuring we deliver sustainable solutions that adopt circular economy principles. By taking this approach we minimise environmental impacts, eliminate waste and maximise efficiencies. 

Find out more about reducing materials through our production thinking processes, and how we delivered a 21% reduction in CO2 emissions on the A30 project.

Nature and biodiversity

We’re committed to contributing to nature positive by 2023 by following the Science Based Targets for Nature framework and contributing to a nature-based recovery. We started by setting biodiversity net-gain targets and are actively working on our nature positive strategy, which will account for indirect impacts and the promotion and education of nature-based solutions.  

Learn more about the biodiversity benefits delivered for Cornwall Council.