Our partnerships with cities and other public sector customers enable us to give back to the community. Initiatives have included efforts to engage people from local communities through a range of training and employment schemes. Programs are helping people who have been homeless, long-term unemployed or vulnerable for other reasons.
Women- and minority-owned businesses
In the USA, many public and private-sector customers require a certain proportion of construction contracts to be awarded to women- or minority-owned businesses. In 2006, we established the Construction Management Building Blocks Training Program (CMBB) to promote this field. The program introduces potential partners and provides training, knowledge-sharing forums and assistance to small companies to spur their development. After many years of Skanska engagement with small and diverse US businesses, more than 800 companies have graduated from the program and gone on to win contracts representing over USD 250 M.
Measurable social impact
There is a lack of sector consensus on definitions for and tools to measure, quantify and compare social impact. Even so, international certification schemes for buildings and infrastructure are increasingly adding social topics to their social impact disclosures. WELL has a strong focus on tenant health and well-being, and LEED has introduced social equity pilot credits designed to reduce disparities by recognizing projects that extend the benefits of green building to communities. CEEQUAL and Envision are certification tools for infrastructure projects, recognizing projects that engage in activities and programs to expand the project’s positive social impact on the community.