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GOLDBECK

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GOLDBECK

I PROFILE

92 Inside sustainability

GOLDBECK is a successful construction company offering a range of building services including warehouses and factories, office and school buildings, multi-storey car parks and residential buildings. With factories, offices and subsidiaries spread across Europe, Goldbeck’s next step is to do all it can to be the best-in-class for sustainability. Hannah Barnett spoke to Dr Michael Six, MD of GOLDBECK Germany & Chief Sustainability Officer, to find out more.

ith an illustrious history, and over 12,000 projects under its belt, GOLDBECK is now making a mark

in the sustainable construction field. But the company has always done things differently. “From the start, our founder Ortwin Goldbeck wanted to build in a way that was unlike the conventional construction industry,” MD of GOLDBECK Germany & Chief Sustainability Officer Dr Michael Six explained. “He saw buildings as products: this was a totally different approach, so he invented a system which is essentially like Lego for adults. We have prefabricated systemised components to build with. Each building is individual, but it is organised by those Lego components.” When Ortwin Goldbeck started the company in 1969, he had just seven employees. By 2007, in the hands of the next generation, the number was 1,600. Today, the company has 12,000 staff, completes more than 500 projects each year and has a total turnover of almost €7 billion, making it one of Europe’s leading commercial construction companies.

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GOLDBECK

I PROFILE

Sustainability, step one

The company began its new strategy with

2021 was a key turning point for GOLDBECK,

a thorough material analysis. From there,

when the management board and family

it developed its sustainability compass.

declared that, though already important,

The compass groups eight material ESG

sustainability was to become a central

topics into focus areas twice over: at cor-

goal of the company. “A year later, we

porate level and at product and project

appointed the first CSO of the company:

level. The environmental segment, for

me,” said Dr Six “My task now is to reach

example, consists of four focus areas:

the ambitious goal to be the best-in-class

climate, biodiversity, resource efficiency

for sustainability. We have set the target

and the circular economy.

to achieve that by 2028, but the earlier the better.”

“Resource efficiency is something that we’re really good at, because we build with Lego components,” Dr Six explained. “Standardised components are truly optimised; there’s not one more gram of concrete or steel used than necessary. This is not only economical, but also sustainable. And this is only possible because we are building with a system and not reinventing the wheel every time.

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“There are many ventures in the world that are highlight projects - building a wooden

tower for example. It’s good to have, don’t

get me wrong. But it doesn’t help us in the longer term. We must bring sustainability to all of our construction projects, so at GOLDBECK we focus on scalable solutions. And then if those solutions are also economical, we have a breakthrough. otherwise, we will be limited to highlight projects.”

It pays to plan

early-stage lifecycle analysis, which will

GOLDBECK has also produced a thorough

become standard within GOLDBECK,”

and informative sustainability report for

Dr Six said. “We will measure the carbon

2022/23, developing a roadmap along

footprint of each project and provide

with numerous KPIs and long-term goals.

options to reduce it. The midterm goal

On the corporate level, the company is

is to have 75 per cent of projects with

striving to reduce its carbon footprint, with

a carbon footprint analysis. Last year,

a clear, long term, decarbonisation strategy

we handed over 573 buildings to our

set for 2045 at the latest. And it will offset

customers in Europe, so there are a lot

emissions that cannot be avoided, as

of opportunities. And the big challenge

well as advancing the electrification of

is that there are different regulations in

the company fleet and shifting to green

each country.

electricity sources in offices and plants.

“We look at the whole lifecycle of the

“On the product and project level, we

building, and then the customer can decide,

want to provide our customers with an

is this a good investment?’ Maybe this will

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GOLDBECK

I PROFILE

have the responsibility to offer options Copyright Goldbeck

and solutions, with all the information about costs and benefits.”

Innovation and investment Simultaneously, GOLDBECK is investing heavily into R&D, with an innovation department that is 100-people strong. The company also has an innovation hub in Menlo Park, Silicon Valley, which MD of GOLDBECK Germany & Chief Sustainability Officer, Dr Michael Six

is looking into further solutions around digitalisation and the circular economy.

be through a photovoltaic power plant on

The company has partnered with German

the roof, which means more grey energy in

startup Sonocrete, which has developed

the building as embodied carbon, but which

a premixing system that accelerates the

will pay back in a couple of years because

activation of cement through the use of

it delivers clean energy. This is our concept

high-power ultrasound. “Through Sonocrete,

to systemise sustainability.

we’re able to reduce the amount of cement

“But in the end, it’s very important that

in our prefabricated components,” Dr Six

our customers decide for themselves,

explained, “so we can not only reduce,

because we can’t force them. But we do

but we can also make use of CO2 efficient

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cement. And initial tests revealed up to 30

per cent, and by binding CO 2 from the

per cent less CO 2 in our concrete compo-

atmosphere into the concrete, we also

nents, which is a really huge step forward.”

have the chance to be climate neutral

GOLDBECK is currently building a large

with concrete,” Dr Six said. “It’s not pos-

campus in Erlangen near Nürnberg, for

sible to eliminate it in the built world. We

Siemens Real Estate. The company is

all need schools, residential buildings

using Sonocrete technology as part of the

and so on. And we can’t do everything

sustainable construction brief. “We have

from wood. There is not enough wood in

really high benchmarks we must meet in

the world!”

our contract,” Mr Six said. “The project is

For Dr Six, it is this chance to make a true,

for three office buildings and one multi -

tangible difference that most appeals

storey carpark. And it’s huge; 50,000

about his job. “What we are doing is not

square metres of office building and

just for us, it is to give something back for

1,000 car spaces.”

future generations,” he concluded. “We

GOLDBECK also runs its own impact investment department, supporting star-

have a big responsibility. “I’m intrinsically motivated to deliver solu-

tups working on sustainable construction

tions that can bind sustainability into the

technology. One is the UK-based

built world: and it is very challenging, but

Concrete4Change which is trying to find

very interesting, and even quite fun from

the best way to bind CO 2 within concrete.

time-to-time. I come from a research back-

“If we combine the technologies offered

ground; my PhD is in concrete construction.

by Sonocrete and Concrete4Change, first

So, it’s really exciting to work on things that

of all we will reduce cement use by 30

we don’t know the solutions for yet.”

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