Bouygues Construction came top of the league table of construction firms in the Novethic Barometer of environmental reporting in the property development sector, published today.

The Barometer, which evaluates and highlights best environmental reporting practice, included construction firms for the first time. The Group was distinguished for the quality of its communication on its environmental policy and for the exemplary nature of its headquarters buildings. It is also the only construction firm to boast labels (BREEAM^®, LEED^®, HQE^®) certifying its products' compliance with international standards.

"Coming first in the ranking of construction firms rewards the sustainable development policy implemented by Bouygues Construction since 2007 and our communication on these issues. We are constantly working to improve our environmental performance and our measurement of that performance through indicators which are meaningful for all our stakeholders", said Christine Grèzes, Group Vice President for Sustainable Development.

The Group has also won the Stakeholders prize at the France GBC Awards, which distinguish best practice in extra-financial reporting and the quality of companies' sustainable development actions. France GBC is the French member of the World Green Building Council, a global network bringing together sustainable construction professionals in over 96 countries.

"Bouygues Construction has been singled out for the quality of its reporting on its capacity to involve all the players in sustainable construction. The jury was particularly impressed by the precise description of practical actions taken in this sphere", commented Méka Brunel, president of France GBC.

"We are very proud to have won this prize, which rewards a key aspect of our sustainable development policy, namely giving consideration to the needs of all the stakeholders concerned by our projects and getting them involved in order to find solutions which address their concerns and reduce the environmental impact of our worksites", said Philippe Bonnave, Deputy CEO of Bouygues Construction.

For Bouygues Construction, the award honours its policy of openness and partnership with an ecosystem which spans customers, employees, industrial partners, small businesses and start-ups, research laboratories, local authorities and civil society (associations, NGOs, local residents). Bouygues Construction aims to offer solutions adapted to its customers in order to meet their performance objectives in the technical, environmental and social spheres.

In research, for example, Bouygues Construction works hand-in-hand with industrial partners on insulating concretes, the insulating quality of glazing and the development of tunnel boring machines. In 2010, the Group created a research chair in Sustainable Building and Innovation with École Centrale Paris, École des Ponts et Chaussées, Supélec and CSTB (the French building technology research centre).

Bouygues Construction has also created the Sustainable Construction Club, a forum with over 300 members where its customers and partners can meet to discuss strategic issues relating to sustainable construction. In 2012, in partnership with Noé Conservation, a non-profit body, it set up Biositiv, an advisory structure which offers a full range of biodiversity services for infrastructure projects.

Bouygues Construction is engaged in many initiatives to foster self-fulfilment among its employees and to improve workplace health and safety. For example, the company has introduced warm-up exercises for site workers, hired ergonomists and rolled out travelling interactive workshops as part of the "Ergotour".

The Group is open to its environment and seeks direct involvement with local people in the places where it operates, through community actions initiated by subsidiaries or by its corporate foundation,  Terre Plurielle. In 2012, over 470 partnerships were forged with local charities to favour access to education and employment.