How Scheldebouw builds a greener facade construction industry with the CO₂ Performance Ladder

By far the majority of Scheldebouw's CO₂ emissions occur during the production of the materials they buy to make their facades. Therefore, the facade builder started working on sustainability with value chain partners using the CO₂ Performance Ladder -with success. The first major project with sustainably produced aluminium resulted in huge CO₂ savings. Partly as a result, the company has been certified at level 4. ‘The Ladder has triggered a much broader movement with us.’  

Anyone who visits a major European city from time to time has undoubtedly seen their work. Throughout Europe, facade builder Scheldebouw has embellished the skylines of cities with iconic buildings. Think of the Shard, the tallest building in London, or the 310-metre-high Varso Tower in Warsaw . Although Scheldebouw - part of Italy's Permasteelisa Group - is based in the Netherlands, the company is mainly active abroad, says sustainability manager Janneke Verkerk. ‘We do most of our projects in London. We also work in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. In the Netherlands, we have helped build, among others, De Rotterdam, the Booking.com office close to Amsterdam CS and the Hoftoren in The Hague.’

Materials with high CO₂ emissions

Making facades for large buildings also means using a lot of materials. And then a high CO₂ footprint is inevitable, says Verkerk. ‘We use a lot of glass and aluminium. These are materials whose production causes a lot of CO₂ emissions. But we didn't have a good understanding of how big these emissions are per project. This is because we make unique project-specific designs and work with different suppliers for each project. In our factory and on the building site, we then process this into the final product. To get a better handles on our emissions, we started making life cycle analyses (LCA) of our products a few years ago.’

Practical approach, little paperwork

It was then a matter of converting these insights into concrete goals so that Scheldebouw could reduce its footprint, continues Verkerk. ‘We were looking for tools to set and measure these goals. To do this, we looked at various initiatives and eventually arrived at the CO₂ Performance Ladder. What particularly appealed to us was the practical approach. Using tips and the actions in the measures list , you can take steps towards your goals in a very structured way without drowning in paperwork with all kinds of administrative burdens. We also really like the fact that the Ladder is aligned with EU regulations and that you are audited by an external auditor.’

Good tool for gaining insight

The latter can also benefit Scheldebouw abroad, says Verkerk's colleague Remco Riemens. ‘Some clients make it a condition that you are actively working on CO₂ reduction. You can demonstrate that with a certificate. We have not yet received an award advantage related to the Ladder in tenders. The main motivation to start working with the Ladder is to gain insight into how we can work on reducing CO₂ emissions and to show the outside world that we are on the right track. It is also a great marketing tool that really says something about sustainability. Customers now know: for a sustainable facade I have to work with Scheldebouw.’

Level 4 certification most logical

Scheldebouw started working on the CO₂ Performance Ladder in 2022. Riemens: ‘We first read up on the Ladder using the Practical Guide . Then we started looking at which level would make the most sense for our certification. With two office buildings, a production site and our travel movements, we naturally have impacts in scope 1 and 2, but these are very limited when you look at the whole. By far the most emissions are in the production of materials. So that is also where the most profit can be made. That is why we have set level 4 as our target. Which is not to say that we do nothing about scope 1 and 2. Among other things, we have installed solar panels, installed charging stations and encourage the use of bicycles and public transport.’

Sustainably produced aluminium

One of the biggest contributors to CO₂ emissions in scope 3 at Scheldebouw is the mining and smelting of bauxite, the raw material for aluminium. That is why the company looked into more sustainable options together with suppliers. Verkerk: ‘Think about using renewable energy sources in the smelting process, such as electricity generated by hydropower. The industry has already taken many steps in that direction in recent years. The material remains the same, just with a different energy source. Another option is reusing aluminium, so that you need to extract less bauxite. This can be a bit more challenging, as recycling is more likely to have contaminants. So this requires some more checks. After all, we do want to be able to guarantee high-quality to our customers.’

Huge savings in CO₂ emissions

Last year, Scheldebouw carried out a project for the first time using aluminium produced exclusively with sustainably generated energy. This resulted in huge savings, according to Verkerk. ‘By using sustainably produced aluminium alone, we saved no less than 773 tonnes of CO₂, which amounts to a CO₂ saving of 20 percent for a typical facade element. This dwarfs all our emissions in scope 1 and 2. This project, 2 Aldermanbury Square in London, was also the first where we calculated the environmental impact of material production and made it transparent to the client. We now do this as standard in our projects. The calculation provides a nice starting point for a discussion with the client and the architect.’

Looking at building design

In that discussion, the parties look at, for example, whether the design can be smarter, continues Verkerk. ‘Sometimes elements on the outside of a building are visually beautiful, but not functional. Are they really necessary? Because they do cost extra material. Couldn't we replace aluminium with wood in certain places? Then, we map out how much CO₂ emissions that would save. At the same time: iconic buildings often stay standing longer than boring grey structures. That is also a form of sustainability. Then you just have to make sure that you can replace certain parts, such as glass, in a smart way so that you don't affect other parts.’

Reduction relative to turnover

In 2023, Scheldebouw received an official certificate for level 4 on the CO₂ Performance Ladder after the auditor's visit - an achievement the company is very proud of. Riemens: ‘We are now busy with this year's recertification. However, it is difficult to compare reductions in scope 3, because we are of course heavily dependent on the size of a project and the number of façade elements we install on an annual basis. In the past financial year, for example, our turnover increased sharply, so that in absolute numbers we did not achieve the CO₂ reduction we had envisaged. To still make a good comparison, we look at the reduction relative to our turnover.’

Initiating wider movement

Scheldebouw hopes to inspire other companies within the Permasteelisa Group with its CO₂ reduction and CO₂ Performance Ladder certification measures, Verkerk says. ‘We are also discussing this among ourselves. It helps enormously that SKAO is now working to roll out the CO₂ Performance Ladder in other countries as well. We are also working with industry peers and other trade associations on sustainability, for example in a project called Circulaire Geveleconomie (Circular Economy of Facades ). This is a follow-up to PerpetuAL, in which we were also involved. So, the Ladder has not only caused us to start working on reducing our carbon footprint, but has initiated a much broader movement. We are keen to continue that.’