Sustainability

Safety at work
Occupational safety and environmental protection are subject to fundamentally different conditions in our industry from those in stationary manufacturing industries. The measures to be taken have to be adapted to the changing conditions of our temporary worksites.

In line with our decentralized organizational structure, compliance with standards for the safety of our employees at work is the responsibility of the operating units. They are supported by comprehensive training programs. Staff and management are required to apply the knowledge gained from training in practice, and are also required to urge their colleagues to act safely. On the basis of a standardized global reporting system, the Executive Board regularly deals with aspects of safety at work and uses statistical analyses to identify any deficits and take action as necessary.

Environmental protection
Effective measures for environmental protection play an important role in the design and execution of our worksites. Already in the stages of planning and work preparation, specific precautions are taken to reduce noise, vibrations, dust and exhaust emissions. We apply environmentally friendly methods and technology throughout all project phases. Waste is effectively separated in order to recycle the maximum possible proportion.We take the utmost precautions with polluting substances in order to protect soil and water.

We see our responsibilities with regard to environmental protection both in avoiding environmental damage in advance an in successfully remediating damage from the past. This includes the professional decontamination of waste-disposal sites, buildings and polluted areas. Our broad spectrum of services ranges from the thermal treatment of soil and mineral waste to the collection and special treatment of gases and seepage water. For example, the remediation of a former lubricant factory in northern Germany includes the dismantling of buildings containing asbestos, the collection of contaminated groundwater with a drainage system encircling the site, and finally the localization and removal of highly contaminated underground hot-spots. In performing such work, high safety standards must be fulfilled with regard to the environment as well as our own personnel. For example, during the remediation, the concentration of pollutants in the air close to residential buildings was constantly monitored with the aid of special measuring techniques, our demolition equipment was fitted with active carbon filters and pressurized cabins, and breathing apparatus was used in areas with particularly high concentrations of easily vaporized pollutants.

These examples show that for us, sustainability, climate protection and the conservation of resources are not just a matter of conviction, but are integral elements of our daily business.