Sustainability management

Sustainability as part of YIT's strategy

Our new strategy for 2022–2025 will be executed through three strategic priority areas: Focus, Productivity, and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance).

Our updated ESG strategy will set new standards for the industry. YIT is the first Finnish construction company to commit to reducing emissions from both its own operations and its value chain in accordance with the Science Based Targets Initiative. With this commitment, we strengthen our previous climate work and update our current climate targets to be more comprehensive, which will also reduce our customers' emissions.

On the Environmental criteria, we commit to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.
On the Social criteria, we continue to develop and build better living environments for the society. Furthermore, our ultimate goal is a zero-harm work community. We develop proactive measures for improving occupational safety with a target of continuously decreasing accident frequency.
On the Governance criteria, we will continue its strict approach on gray economy. Furthermore, we have zero tolerance in corruption, as well as in labor exploitation and discrimination.

YIT has also established a Green Finance Framework to support investments promoting the transition towards a low-carbon circular economy. The Green Finance Framework will enable YIT to issue green bonds and other green financial instruments to finance projects with environmental benefits. The Framework will be one of the tools to support YIT to reach its climate and sustainability targets.

Our sustainability practices

We guide our sustainability in many ways. You can explore the most important topics below.

Targets and performance indicatorsTargets and performance indicators

A look ahead: Sustainability targets and performance indicators at YIT

Targets guide our operations. Each year, we set targets and KPI’s for each of the material sustainability theme and report on their implementation. We will report annually on our progress towards these goals.

In November 2021, we committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Sustainability targets. measures and progress in 2022

Theme

Target

Actions and progress in 2022

1. We enable a sustainable
lifestyle for our customers

target 11-40.png target 13-40.PNG

We offer sustainable, EU taxonomy-aligned projects with high-level
environmental certifications to our customers

Increase the amount of geothermal heating in residential projects

1 building completed with LEED Gold certification or better

4 buildings completed with four star RTS environmental rating

177 M€ EU taxonomy aligned revenue

11 residential projects with geothermal heating
started in 2022

2. Reducing environmental
impact of own operations

target e 13-40.png

Update climate targets

CO2 emissions from own operations (Scope 1 and 2): net zero by 2030

Sorting rate of construction waste % > 80

Updated climate targets and carbon neutrality roadmap published

Scope 1 and 2 emissions -9% vs 2021

Emission intensity 13,8 tCO2e / revenue MEUR (13,5)

CO2 emissions per sqm of self-developed projects: 8 kgCO2e/m2/a (9)

Sorting rate in Finland 75% in 2022 (77%)

No mixed waste construction site pilots 12 pcs

3. Occupational safety

Managemement walks and talks 12 pcs / director / year

Successful COVID-19-Exit

Safe working environment, combined lost time accident frequency cLTIF <10,5

Management walks and talks > 100%

Construction sites operating as usual, smooth transition to hybrid work

Combined lost time accident frequency cLTIF 13,3

4. Good governance and
preventing corruption and
grey economy

All YIT employees complete YIT Code of Conduct e-learnin

Improving accessibility of YIT Ethics Channel.

Code of Conduct III training completed by 80 % of personnel

YIT Sustainability policy updated

37 reported suspected cases of misconduct, of which 3 led to measures

Harmonisation of whistleblowing channel accessibility across all operating countries

5. Safeguarding biodiversity

Safeguarding biodiversity through both project-specific measures and group-wide actions

Safeguarding biodiversity elevated as one of YIT’s material sustainability themes

6. Promoting competence
development of our
personnel

Leadership competence secured: at least 200 employees in supervisory positions trained

Introductory briefings: new employees’ attendance 75%

Young people: 600 trainees

Working environment: trainee feedback (recommendation index) > 80%

184 supervisors trained

New employees’ attendance in introductory briefings 58%

822 trainees

Trainee feedback (recommendation index) 99%

7. Respecting human rights

Regular assessment of human rights impacts and development actions based on assessment results

Increase awareness to recognise the signs of work-related exploitation and what to do if you suspect you have encountered work-related exploitation

Human rights impact assessment and development of due diligence procedures accordingly

Information distributed on the signs of work-related exploitation, YIT Ethics Channel and other support services as a poster at construction sites in Finland

Survey of foreign workers carried out

8. Responsible
subcontracting and
procurement

Transition to low-carbon construction materials. Scope 3 emissions -30% by 2030 compared to year 2019

Improve transparency in the supply chain

>99% of inspected workers outside EU, EEA or Switzerland have a valid residence
and work permit

Decision to take low-carbon hollow-core
concrete slabs into use in residential projects in
Helsinki metropolitan area and Uusimaa region

Number of supplier audits 50

Audits related to the contractor’s obligations
were conducted on 102 projects in Finland,
which included reviewing 6852 subcontracting
agreements

749 work permit inspections for non-EU, EEA
or Switzerland nationals completed, thereof 21
deviations with appropriate actions taken

Previous sustainability targets

Material themes and management of the themesMaterial themes and management of the themes

The foundation for our sustainability

What impact does YIT's business have on people, environment and society? And what do our stakeholders expect from us?

In 2022, we updated our key sustainability themes based on the results of a stakeholder survey conducted in 2021. In selecting the material themes, we focused on the relevance of the theme to our stakeholders and the materiality of the sustainability impacts considering specificities of the construction sector. In August 2022, YIT's Management Team confirmed the sustainability themes that are relevant to YIT's business and guide our sustainability work. We set annual targets and indicators for each theme. Our material sustainability themes are also described in the materiality matrix. The process of defining our sustainability material themes was last carried out in 2018.

The results of the materiality assessment serve as the guideline for our sustainability work.

Material themes

We enable sustainable lifestyle for our customers
Reducing environmental impact of own operations
Occupational safety
Good governance and preventing corruption and gray economy
Safeguarding biodiversity
Promoting competence development of our personnel
Respecting human rights
Responsible subcontracting and procurement

MANAGING MATERIAL THEMES

Code of Conduct, policies and principlesCode of Conduct, policies and principles

YIT's Code of Conduct

Our mission, vision and values are the foundation of our operations and ways of working. YIT's Code of Conduct are a concrete expression of what compliance with our values means in our work with different stakeholders. For already years we have also been using a reporting channel maintained by a third party, allowing our employees to report confidentially, and, if necessary, anonymously any suspected misconduct.

Policies and principles

Below you can find YIT's policies and principles regarding sustainability, human resources, quality, occupational safety and environment.

YIT and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)YIT and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are part the UN’s Agenda 2030, which is aimed at eliminating poverty and giving equal consideration to the environment, economic prosperity and people. The Goals are universal and concern states, organisations and corporations.

We are committed to supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The most significant of the Sustainable Development Goals with respect to our operations are: 11. Sustainable cities and communities; 12. Responsible consumption and production; 13. Climate action; 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions; and 8. Decent work and economic growth.

We want to do our part to help build a more sustainable and equal future.

How we promote the goals

Value creationValue creation

We create value for our stakeholders in many ways. The Value Creation Model illustrates how we leverage resources and the impacts our operations have.

Our resources

Our most important resource is our professional staff in all of our operating countries whose expertise we invest in. With strong financial capital, we are able to carry out diverse projects and services for our customers and society. In addition, the building environment requires a variety of building materials, such as soil, concrete and steel, which we use in our operations. Relationships with our thousands of partners and satisfied customers are essential resources for our excellence. YIT's brand as a leading urban developer, corporate culture and our diverse product and service concepts complement our prerequisites for creating the highest possible value.

Our business

We operate in four business areas: housing, business premises, infrastructure and property development.

Our residential construction in Finland and CEE countries mainly focuses on the development and construction of residential and residential development projects. We sell apartments to consumers and investors, rent them and offer and develop a variety of housing concepts and services for our clients.

It covers the construction of business premises and other public facilities, project development and property management. The projects are both self-developed and contracted, and in addition to new construction, the segment is implementing renovation projects. Finland is our main market area, but there are also operations in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia.

We carry out diverse and demanding infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, metro stations and water utilities. We also mine tunnels and mines and provide road maintenance services in Finland. Most of our projects are contracted, but we are also developing customised wind turbine foundations and providing related services and maintenance. In addition to Finland, our infrastructure construction operations extend to Sweden and Norway.

Our property development business focuses on property ownership. We gain from the assets we own as rental income and gain in value.

Our business model is based on a continuous stream of development projects, designing, construction, investing and providing services. We have an exceptional ability to develop projects with design responsibilities, and close internal co-operation between our various operations improves the productivity of the implementation phase. Our other sources of growth and profitability are the non-cyclical partnership properties and service business. The income stream from property ownership guarantees us long-term returns, while developing our diverse service offering aims to extend our value chain and return on our products. Our presence in the life cycle of the building guarantees better and more sustainable services to our customers.

Output and our impacts

Value for people

Happy employees are one of the cornerstones of our success and we invest in the well-being and competence of our employees. Occupational safety is the starting point for all our activities, and we are constantly striving to improve the safety of our employees and partners. Our business aims to create a safe working and living environment for all parties.

Customers are another stakeholder at the heart of our business. We create value for our customers by implementing different living spaces and areas - creating better living environments. Better living environments include safe and comfortable homes, a variety of office and public spaces, and smooth and low-emission infrastructure such as public transport and renewable energy sources. In addition, by offering a variety of services, we make our customers' lives easier and more sustainable.

We are a reliable customer to our financiers. As a responsible corporate citizen, we pay our income tax in accordance with current tax practices.

Strategic partnerships create added value for us and our partners. They can be used to develop the business of both parties together towards new, innovative solutions.

We have over 40,000 shareholders. We create economic value for our owners by focusing on improving our profitability and maintaining financial stability.

Value for society

We create value for society by developing sustainable urban environments. Transportation, housing and living in sustainable cities has been done in an environmentally friendly way. They also provide safe and comfortable living and the economic attractiveness of the area due to its compactness and versatility. As a responsible corporate citisen, we also innovate visions of urban and regional development on our own initiative to achieve a better living environment for all of us.

In addition, since 2012, we have been running a 100 Good Deeds responsibility program where we do small good deeds. In the program, our own employees and those who receive sponsorship money do good deeds for third parties in accordance with our values.

Value for the environment

The environmental impact of construction and the built environment is notable. However, with our sustainable products and practices, we can significantly influence the environmental load of our customers. Design and construction choices, lifetime services, and efficient construction enable the lifecycle emissions of our products to be minimised.

Therefore, we are aiming to halve the CO2 emissions of both our energy consumption and our own projects by 2030 compared to 2019. In addition, our goal is to enable our customers to have a carbon neutral use of buildings.

Construction also produces waste and momentary impacts such as noise, dust and vibration. We are actively working to mitigate these negative impacts by developing reporting and more efficient practices at our sites.

Value from our material sustainability themes

Collaboration in society Collaboration in society

Memberships in associations

Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT

Helsinki Metropolitan Smart & Clean Foundation

Stakeholder collaboration

This is how we meet the expectations of our customers, personnel, shareholders, partners, public administration and civil society, and how we communicate with the shareholders.

Stakeholder collaboration.pdf (70KB)

Responsibility programme 100+ good deeds

Our 100 Good Deeds campaign was a gift to a 100-year-old Finland, however we still continue the good deeds. Through good deeds we share joy around us.

Sponsoring

We spread common good via our 100 Good Deeds programme. Read more about our sponsoring practices.

SPONSORING

More Life in Yards -concept and The Park of the Future

In the Finland 100 centenary year, we wanted to bring more life to sustainable cities and make yards an environment where everyone feels more at ease. We examined future of increasingly comfortable and functional yard areas with the help of workshops where experts from different fields will be challenged to come up with new ideas and solutions for yards. The work resulted in the More life in yards -concept, which is also tool for designing yards.

As part of the Finland 100 gift, YIT renovated a park in accordance with the the More life in yards -concept. The site to be renovated was Sähköttäjänpuisto park, and it was selected together with the City of Helsinki.

Get MORE LIFE IN YARDS -whitepaper