World Health Day: Bouygues E&S Remains Committed to Improving the Health and Wellbeing of our Staff and Communities.

This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) is celebrating the 75^th anniversary of its annual World Health Day. To mark the day, the WHO is celebrating the public health successes that have improved people’s quality of life across the globe for the past 75 years and taking the opportunity to encourage action to tackle the health challenges of the future. At Bouygues Energies & Services (Bouygues E&S), we wholeheartedly support this mission of bettering health outcomes for our staff and the communities in which we work and are dedicated to putting it into action.

We understand that air pollution can be a severe threat to public health, particularly in our capital, where over 9,400 premature deaths a year are attributed to air pollution (London Councils, 2023). Air pollutants from transport significantly contribute to this, being linked to a number of serious illnesses including asthma, pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and even reduced brain function. At Bouygues E&S, we’re doing what we can to tackle this public health crisis by transitioning our fleet to electric vehicles. This includes reaching the milestone of 25% of our fleet being electric or hybrid, and the successful rollout of e-cargo bikes across our healthcare sites to replace diesel vans. By decarbonising our fleet, we’re not only delivering on our sustainability ambitions, but playing our part to reduce the threat of air pollution across our sites and the communities in which we work.

Our commitment to clean transport doesn’t stop there. We’re encouraging as many people as possible to embrace cycling as a way to get around, through our cycle loan scheme. Bouygues E&S’ cycle loan scheme offers an interest-free bike purchase loan for employees to purchase a bike and associated safety equipment to travel to work, removing the upfront financial barrier which may prevent employees from adopting cycling. As part of the wider cause, Bouygues E&S established the Recirculate Scheme in partnership with InfraRed Capital Partners Ltd and Vercity in 2021, which upcycles donated bikes to gift to key workers and has recently donated 106 bikes to frontline staff. As a result, Recirculate has made cycling accessible for many while embracing the principles of a more sustainable circular economy.

Given that travelling by car or bus significantly contributes to an individual’s exposure to transport-related air pollution, alongside the well-documented health benefits of regular exercise, cycling represents a safer and healthier way of getting about. The improved health outcomes extend beyond an individual level: as cycling is a non-polluting mode of transport, every cyclist represents a reduction in air pollution and thus better health outcomes for everybody. Through these projects helping employees and the public access bikes and cycling as a way of life, Bouygues E&S is helping to deliver tangible health benefits, one wheel at a time.

Lewis Chenery, Head of Environment and Sustainability, said: “Transport remains one of our largest source of Scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions, and we’re dedicated to changing that. To achieve our carbon reduction ambitions, our number one priority is reducing our use of fossil fuels. The decarbonisation of our fleet, our cycle loan scheme, and our Recirculate project are all vital steps to achieve that. We’re proud to be leading the industry in the movement to tackle air pollution and to be the first FM company to incorporate e-cargo bikes directly into our fleet.”

In addition to our efforts to promote clean transport, we’re also supporting our employees’ wellbeing when they arrive at the office through our ongoing partnership with Fruitful Office. Employees can enjoy fresh fruit from a basket delivered weekly, with Fruitful Office guaranteeing an environmentally friendly service with no air-freighted, locally sourced fruit alongside social value initiatives of donating surplus fruit to local charities and planting a tree for each basket ordered. These trees are grown by schools, households, and farms in Malawi, with Malawian families benefiting from the trees’ fruit and firewood both directly and as a source of income. Since 2020, Bouygues E&S has helped plant over 188 trees. For Malawi, where road transport remains the major mode of transportation, reforestation initiatives such as these are vital to help absorb carbon dioxide and other noxious gases released by road traffic, as well as mitigating the impacts of climate change. As a result, our partnership with the Fruitful Office delivers benefits both to the dietary health of our employees but also public health and sustainability in Malawi.

Alex James Johnson, Operations Manager at Bouygues E&S, concluded: "Our collaboration with Fruitful Office and the delivery of a fresh fruit basket every Wednesday has been a great success with everybody here at Peterborough Schools. It's been welcomed by staff, with employees commending the campaign for helping them eat healthier while mitigating the effects of deforestation in Malawi.”