Biodiversity

GRI:
  • 103-1 (304)
  • 103-2 (304)
  • 103-3 (304)

As part of the implementation of the Unibep Group’s environmental strategy, ways and rules of conduct have been defined for four key areas:

  1. soil and water environment
  2. air
  3. biodiversity
  4. climate

The principles we follow as a general contractor in order to limit our impact on the natural environment during the organisation of construction sites, temporary facilities and technological routes include, but are not limited to:

  • we limit the area allocated for the construction site and temporary facilities to the necessary minimum,
  • we organise the construction site outside the following areas: protected areas, bird nesting areas, river valleys and wetlands. We try to locate them in developed and anthropogenically transformed areas, away from residential developments if possible,
  • we mark out storage yards and access roads away from tree crowns,
  • we transport building materials primarily using existing transport routes,
  • we seal the surface of parking areas for machinery and transport vehicles,
  • we prepare the construction site and temporary facilities for unforeseen emergencies and provide them with the necessary equipment in case of contamination,
  • we take care to restore the site to its pre-construction condition,
  • we reuse humus, namely the top, fertile layer of soil.
  • for mature, valuable specimens, a Tree Protection Zone is defined and marked, an area equal to at least the crown projection,
  • we do not store chemical or construction materials or waste within Tree Protection Zones,
  • we use tree trunk guards in the form of boarding, straw matting or jute guards,
  • in summer, we protect the root systems from drying out during earthworks.
  • we carry out tree felling, compensatory planting and replanting in accordance with the decision on environmental conditions or the decision authorising tree or shrub felling,
  • we cut down the greenery interfering with the project only where it is necessary, outside the nesting season, which lasts from 1 March to 15 October
  • for compensatory planting, we use correctly produced tree nursery stock – properly formed, with a developed crown and straight trunk and a proportionate root ball.
  • if protected animal species are identified, we relocate them from the construction site,
  • we regularly inspect excavations and ditches to check that no small animals have entered the construction site. If they are found, they are caught and relocated from the construction site,
  • we carry out dredging and silting works in riverbeds so that they do not interfere with the spawning and migration periods of fish,
  • we protect amphibian habitats with herpetological fences.

The rules introduced in the four areas (land and water environment, air, biodiversity and climate) make up the Environmental Protection Standards, the observance of which ensures that construction work and ancillary processes are carried out in an environmentally sound manner.

The Environmental Protection Standards apply to all employees of the Unibep Group and the Contractors involved in the implementation of the project and other stakeholders.

The Unibep Group cares for sustainable development and environmental protection, also engaging in numerous pro-environmental initiatives and activities, the most important of which include forest cleaning, tree planting and bird feeding campaigns; educational events for the residents of the projects; the Cleaner Production Academy, where insect hotels, feeders, nesting boxes, hedgehog houses, etc. are built and put up.

Every construction site has an environmental first aid kit to deal with potential chemical spills. Contractors are required to report all environmental failures and take corrective and preventive action.

  • 304-2

Our day-to-day activities can have direct and indirect impacts on the environment, including biodiversity. Potentially the greatest impact occurs during construction works and constitutes a direct impact, resulting primarily from the transformation of existing habitat conditions for the purposes of building foundation or construction of associated infrastructure.

  • temporary or permanent degradation of natural habitats, transformation of existing habitat conditions resulting from the construction of access roads, storage yards, temporary facilities, buildings and infrastructure;
  • removal of biologically active areas including flora and natural habitats and animal habitats in connection with the appearance of the planned building;
  • land transformation, including soils and relief, affecting the ground and related natural components (the impact is reversible, and restoration of near-natural landscape values occurs e.g. as a result of subsequent demolition);
  • transformations of current habitat conditions may create barriers for migrating animals, limit their living conditions, affecting the animal population both directly (e.g. injuries, fatalities of birds, bats, reptiles) as well as indirectly, e.g. by causing changes in the distribution and behaviour of local populations in comparison to the existing state (barrier effect);
  • removal of the vegetation layer and impact on the ground and related natural components (the process is reversible, restoration of near-natural landscape values occurs e.g. as a result of subsequent humus management);
  • dust emissions associated with the removal of topsoil and soil, dependent on the degree of moisture in the ground; wind and water erosion;
  • emissions during the storage of soil masses until they are transported away from the project site, dependent on weather conditions and the degree of humidity of the soil;
  • emissions to air resulting from the operation of construction machinery and equipment during demolition (e.g. asbestos dust);
  • noise resulting from the operation of construction machinery and equipment (particularly onerous during nighttime);
  • emissions from fuel combustion in machinery (SO2, NOx, CO2), especially when machinery is concentrated in one place, e.g. during loading;
  • emissions from vehicle traffic on site access roads (dust), particularly if the access roads are field or forest roads;
  • risk of damage to vegetation, including crowns, trunks or roots of trees or shrubs;
  • waste generation;
  • noise and vibration resulting from the operation of construction machinery and equipment during demolition;
  • transformation of watercourses and reservoirs, distortion of water flow conditions;
  • discharge of water drained from excavations.

Environmental pollution may occur following an accident, e.g. fire, explosion, chemical contamination.

Direct pollution of surface water may occur, for example, as a result of: siltation of water during construction; leaching of hazardous compounds from materials used in construction; discharge of large quantities of suspended solids from construction sites into surface water; leakage of petroleum products from machinery and transport vehicles into water.

Uncontrolled leakage of fuel and operating fluids from machinery and equipment (direct release into the environment) or leakage during the use of chemicals (e.g. adhesives, paints) carries the risk of deterioration of soil and water quality.

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