Bilfinger SE today published its Annual Report for 2023. The report is now available in both German and English at www.bilfinger.com. It also contains the non-financial Group declaration 2023, where Bilfinger reports comprehensively on its sustainability activities.
In financial year 2023, Bilfinger achieved substantial increases in orders received, revenue and EBITA, thus maintaining its sustainably profitable growth trajectory. With the implementation of the revised strategy, all targets were achieved or exceeded. Bilfinger presented the preliminary figures for financial year 2023 already on February 14, 2024.
Sustainability at Bilfinger: Making constant progress
Sustainability is a key component of Bilfinger’s corporate strategy. The goal of the company is to be number 1 when it comes to enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of its customers. With its service portfolio, Bilfinger helps customers increase efficiency at all stages of the value chain while also addressing the upcoming decarbonization of energy-intensive production, transport and manufacturing processes. Low-carbon energy generation and the reduction of energy consumption and emissions are key in this regard. Bilfinger has organized its service range accordingly in classes from A to D, similar to the way energy efficiency classes for household appliances are organized. The share of services with the greatest contribution to enhancing customer efficiency and sustainability increased to €739 million in financial year 2023 (previous year: €713 million) and this figure is expected to increase further in the future.
Bilfinger supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number 4 Quality education, 7 Affordable and clean energy,8 Decent work and economic growth and 9Industry, innovation and infrastructure. In the reporting year, the Group continued to pursue its self-defined goals in the three sustainability categories environment, social and governance. These goals include the reduction of self-generated carbon emissions with the aim of achieving climate neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol by 2030. In 2023, there was already a significant 9 percent reduction in these emissions (market-based) from 50 to 45 ktCO2 – despite the growth in revenue. Scope 3 emissions were also reported upstream for the first time in 2023. These include carbon emissions that are generated by activities in the upstream value chain at Group suppliers. Scope 3 emissions downstream, which are generated by services or the use of Bilfinger’s products in the downstream value chain at customers, will be reported from 2024.
Bilfinger wants to achieve net zero status in GHG Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050. By April 2025 at the latest, the company plans to submit the targeted reduction path for GHG emissions to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius to the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for review.
Bilfinger has also set the goal of further improving occupational safety, increasing investment in employee training and development to a total of 0.5 percent of revenue from the 2024 financial year and conducting at least 600 internal supplier audits in 2024 to ensure compliance with due diligence obligations in the supply chain. This figure was significantly exceeded in the reporting year with a total of 1,167 audits.
The Bilfinger Group’s sustainability targets are explained in detail in the current non-financial Group declaration and on the Group website.
