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Our Sustainability Efforts

A row of wind turbines.

Bechtel’s commitment to sustainability extends to all areas of our business. We seek to apply our processes, experiences, and innovations to develop and execute projects with care for the environment and for communities. We strive to use sustainable and efficient technologies, respect local cultures and values, and develop the local workforce by providing the skills and training required to sustain progress. Together, we’re working to leave communities better than we found them, and create an enduring legacy for this generation and those to come.

The Drive to Net Zero

We are committed to addressing one of the most important global challenges facing all of us: reducing the world’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

Bechtel has pledged to achieve net zero for our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2050. To support our net zero commitment, our offices and engineering, procurement, and construction projects are developing and implementing a forma climate action plan for reducing and managing emissions.

We are also implementing a roadmap aimed at reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 for our Bechtel Equipment Operations fleet of construction vehicles and equipment. More than 90% of our Scope 1 and 2 emissions come from fuel combustion, primarily from equipment on construction sites. As part of this effort, Bechtel is testing a range of solutions, including hybrid and solar light plants, hybrid generation technologies coupled with load banks and energy storage, hybrid dozers and excavators, electric trucks and ATVs, and implementing telematics to reduce idling times.

In addition, Bechtel has developed innovative programs to support our customers’ decarbonization targets and to accelerate the development of breakthrough technologies. At the same time, we are also taking action to reduce our own carbon emissions.

CleanBuild™ 2.0

We designed and developed a tool to predict the carbon footprint of our projects, including embodied and operational greenhouse gas emissions. This allows us to better support our customers by providing them with solutions for carbon reduction requirements, helping us advance clean energy together.

Supply Chain

Bechtel is addressing emissions in our supply chain by providing Net Zero training to our Global Supply Chain team, engaging with subcontractors and suppliers to improve data transparency, and evaluating alternative concrete materials and mixes for a variety of applications.

Bechtel Equipment Operations (BEO)

We’re working not only to reduce our fleet’s operational carbon, but to also drive change in the industry by collaborating with equipment manufacturers to expedite development and production of next generation hybrid and electrified equipment.

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Helping Communities Through Impact Infrastructure

We are committed to building sustainable projects that make a lasting impact in the communities that need it the most. This is how we are building a better world.

We created bechtel.org in 2019 because we believe that infrastructure is a force for social good. Bechtel.org delivers sustainable, scalable infrastructure projects to address local challenges through what we call “impact infrastructure.”

Women working in agriculture in Zambia

Impact infrastructure is infrastructure that is tied to the wellbeing of communities. It’s resilient and built at the community level. Importantly, it integrates long-term risks and vulnerability assessments into building flexible, sustainable solutions that reduce the adverse impacts of natural hazards and human-made catastrophes.

Bechtel.org addresses challenges such as electrification and digital connectivity, food security, land regeneration, and climate-resilient housing. This critical work involves proactively identifying issues, designing solutions, and deploying the know-how to engineer and build for the greater good.

Supporting Communities Around the World

Regenerating Canals to Mitigate Extreme Flooding and Purify Polluted Water in Fort Kochi, India

Kochi Canal with boats.

In India, bechtel.org is helping the Fort Kochi government develop a more resilient and sustainable solution to flood mitigation, pollution, and canal restoration. We completed a technical assessment of affected canals and identified a nature-based technology that integrates natural plant species into a gravity-fed water treatment system to recycle and generate clean water. This reduces flooding and regenerates the canal to promote sustainable livelihoods like shrimp farming and eco-tourism. With our partners, we are developing the next phase, which includes piloting this technology in one canal to benefit over a thousand people in Fort Kochi. The goal is to demonstrate this as a viable, scalable, and repeatable solution for all of Kochi's canal restoration projects.

Making an Impact

We engaged 350 households, including around 1,000 affected community members, for design input.

We completed the feasibility study for the wetland and developed the technology required to recycle and clean the wastewater that’s ready to be tested in a 1.2-mile (2-km) canal site.

We combined biodiversity, engineering, and actuarial (insurance) disciplines to develop the innovative nature-based solution.

Bechtel.org project manager Tara Pillai discussing her work in Kochi, India.
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Tara's Story

“

This project will impact around 12,000-13,000 people by cleaning their canal and mitigating flooding during monsoon season…It’s projects like the Kochi Restoration Project which can help the world, the cities, and the communities who live here by giving them a sustainable solution to help protect their livelihood, their property, and their lives.

”
-Tara Pillai Project Manager, bechtel.org

Harvesting Heat to Protect Households from Extreme Frost in the Remote Peruvian Andes Mountains

A group of people, including locals, in the Peruvian Andes mountains in front of a home.

More than 300,000 Indigenous Peruvians living in the remote Andean mountains are affected by “Heladas,” or extreme frost, which has been exacerbated by climate change. Heladas contribute to hundreds of respiratory illnesses and related fatalities each year, especially among children and the elderly.

Bechtel.org and our partners, including the Peruvian government and the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, developed, designed, and tested a first-of-a-kind technology system that captures, stores, and transfers thermal heat from the sun to provide a livable inside temperature in the evening when outside temperatures fall to –10 °C (14 °F). The system provides a comprehensive solution to a long-standing climate, health, and safety problem. Having been successfully tested with prototypes now under production, bechtel.org is turning toward installing the system in new homes across the remote Andean region to help improve the lives of thousands of affected Indigenous families.

Small homes on a hill in the Peruvian Andes mountains.

Making an Impact

We designed and produced 10 thermal capture prototypes in partnership with local manufacturers.

We achieved an inside temperature of 16-18°C (61-64°F) with a -10°C (14°F) outside temperature.

We engaged over 80 households, including around 320 indigenous Peruvians, for design input.

Reducing Food Insecurity in Zambia

A group of people, including locals, in Zambia having a discussion beneath a tree.

Food security is a crucial part of community resilience-building. In Zambia, years of steady price increases, weather-related disasters, and supply-chain disruptions have influenced how the community consumes and grows food. Responding to the post-harvest loss and rising food insecurity in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, bechtel.org announced a project to boost the local production of maize, soybean, sunflower, and groundnuts, which create essential cooking oils in Zambia. In 2023 we deployed a global team of project managers and engineers to join our partners, Empowering Farmers Foundation, AfricaGlobal Schaffer, and USAID’s Africa Trade and Investment initiative, to help deliver the project.

To achieve this, bechtel.org will refurbish community infrastructure and build aggregation and trading centers close to smallholder farmers to boost agricultural output and reduce post-harvest loss. The goal is to push more food inputs into rural markets, strengthen food resilience, and create a replicable, scalable solution across Zambia.

A group of adults and children, including locals, in Zambia.

Making an Impact

We helped deliver over 4,500 metric tons of maize, soybean, sunflower, and groundnuts in trade between farmers and local buyers.

Our efforts included the participation of more than 7,500 farmers and family members across six communities, with a focus on engaging women.

Our efforts also facilitated $1.6M in transactions and engaged more than 60 local small businesses.

Improving Critical Health Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa

Only one-third of health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have access to reliable electricity. To improve this, bechtel.org formed the Health Electrification and Telecommunications Alliance (HETA) to bring reliable electricity to thousands of health facilities through photovoltaic solar connectivity. Doing so will also help address the challenge of maintaining the system’s durability, which is critical for better health outcomes.

Bechtel.org has begun the site selection process and is preparing for installations across sub-Saharan Africa. We’ve started designing a solution to improve the longevity of the overall system, particularly the quality, operations, and maintenance that will be designed to work across multiple countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Guinea, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania.

We also co-founded a new alliance with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to deliver 10,000 healthcare facilities with solar and digital connectivity across sub-Saharan Africa in the next five years.

A group of people working together in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Making an Impact

Through the alliance, targeted 1.8 million beneficiaries and motivated health workers in 2023.

Helped bring clean, reliable solar photovoltaic systems to more than 300 health facilities in Tanzania, Eswatini, and Nigeria.

Evaluated more than 100 local design solutions to electrify health facilities.

Prepared Quality, Safety and Maintenance procedures that were adopted by HETA.

Exploration of innovative concepts in partnership with local communities, business, and entrepreneurs that solve longer term sustainability challenges.

We do the
right thing.

Bechtel hard hat.

As a core value at Bechtel, we are committed to creating a positive legacy through purposeful and sustainable projects.

We place immense value on the growth and development opportunities bechtel.org affords our people. This allows us to continually learn and innovate, and it helps us attract, develop, and retain talent.

A key component of bechtel.org’s work is partnering with social organizations to facilitate co-learning between Bechtel colleagues and local practitioners. We recruit colleagues globally to join a bechtel.org project and reintegrate them back into Bechtel when assignments are complete, allowing them to transfer their knowledge and experience into commercial projects. Their experience contributes to their career growth and trajectory, making our most valuable assets — our people — even stronger.

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