Sustainable development

Sustainable construction now accounts for 32% of the R&D budget (an increase of 15% compared to the previous year) and occupies roughly 150 in-house specialists, directed and coordinated by an Innovation, R&D and Sustainable Construction department created in 2009. The Group also plays a part in initiatives run by such external partners as the CSTB (the Scientific and Technical Centre for Building), Ademe (the Environment and Energy Management Agency), architects, engineering offices, industry players, etc.



Priority topics under investigation are:

• The energy efficiency of buildings, in both new build and renovation, to optimise the combination of the best products and systems and to incorporate renewable energies. Bouygues Construction has also strengthened its skills in thermodynamic simulations.
• Materials: the health and environmental qualities of materials are analysed and partnerships are set up with suppliers.
• Low carbon solutions, particularly through the development of new building methods (e.g. mixed wood/ concrete structures).
• Measurement and evaluation tools: Projection (sustainable development performance of new homes); Byoasis and Silens (simulation and control of construction site noise); CarbonEco^® (carbon audits of projects); involvement in the CSTB's work on Elodie (life cycle analysis of buildings).
• Services during the operation phase, with the development of tools for measuring use, comfort and consumption during the active life of a building (e.g. Hypervision).
• Eco-friendly districts, through support for local authorities developing eco-friendly districts.