Multiplex Europe raises carbon ambitions with 1.5C science-based target

Multiplex Europe, the construction firm behind huge London developments including 100 Bishopsgate, has announced that it has increased its science-based target to account for the 1.5C ambition of the Paris Agreement.


Multiplex Europe raises carbon ambitions with 1.5C science-based target

Multiplex’s Europe employs 920 people across 19 projects

In August 2018, Multiplex Europe committed to reducing carbon emissions by 30% by 2030, which was approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in February 2019 as a goal aligned to the Paris Agreement ambition of limiting global temperature rise to 2C by 2050. Multiplex became one of the first UK contractors to have an approved science-based target, as a result.

However, Multiplex Europe has now increased its ambitions by setting targets in line with the 1.5C trajectory. The company is now targeting a 55% reduction in direct emissions by 2030. In addition, 95% of the company’s suppliers will set a science-based target by 2023.

Multiplex’s Europe employs 920 people across 19 projects and accounted for a supply chain spend of £800m in 2018.

The construction firm is also targeting 100% renewable electricity use in Europe by 2020. In 2018, the company switched 3 million kWh of electricity to renewable sources, saving 600 tonnes of carbon – equivalent to the carbon footprint of 70 UK households. By the end of 2025, Multiplex Construction estimates that more than 19,000 tonnes of carbon emissions will have been avoided by the end of 2025.

Wider targets

The company’s most recent sustainability report also outlines achievements found in other areas of sustainability.

The report notes that 100% of Multiplex projects achieved environmental assessment standards, including six BREEAM ‘Excellent’ ratings. The organisation also became an investor in the London Wildlife Trust.

Regarding the circular economy – a key feature of a low-carbon built environment – more than 200,000 cubic metres of waste was diverted from landfill in 2018 – enough to fill Centre Court at Wimbledon two and a half times over.

In a blog post for edie, the firm’s sustainability manager Pavan Juttla explored how target setting can strengthen relations with the supply chain.

Multiplex’s announcement comes in the same week that the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) issued a new report outlining how companies in the sector can focus on both operational and embodied carbon to reach net-zero emission buildings by 2050, warning the companies ignoring this new approach could be “outpaced by the innovators”.

The WorldGBC’s ‘Bringing embodied carbon upfront’ report outlines the sector’s new vision for how buildings and infrastructure can reduce embodied carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, to assist with the ambition of reaching 100% net-zero emissions buildings by 2050.


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Matt Mace

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