Vattenfall’s Sustainable Procurement Cuts Carbon Emissions

In the south of Sweden, in Bruzaholm, Vattenfall is erecting a 21-turbine onshore wind farm. From autumn 2025, it will deliver an annual output of 460 GWh of fossil-free power, an important contribution to the electricity supply in southern Sweden.

What makes the project so distinctive is its meticulous effort dedicated to minimising the carbon footprint at every step of the construction process.

Arthur Besse, Head of Onshore Wind Procurement, says: "At Vattenfall we are committed to become climate neutral across our value chain until 2040 and we have the ambition to halve our greenhouse gas emissions from purchased goods and services by 2030.

"The Bruzaholm project is a concrete example of actions we are making to reduce the climate impact when we build our windfarms."

Concrete commitment to lowering carbon

With this project, Vattenfall is showcasing its work in minimising the carbon footprint in the supply chain, a vital component of Vattenfall's road to decarbonisation.

A highlight of this commitment is found in the concrete. In Bruzaholm, the carbon emissions from the concrete are the lowest possible, even lower than what is typically classified as eco-concrete.

"The concrete we use in Bruzaholm has a CO2 footprint of 211 kg CO2 equivalents per cubic metre, this is 12 per cent lower than our own internal target for Eco-Concrete," adds Arthur.

"The extra price premium is less than 2%. As we will need some 7,500 cubic metres for the 21 foundations, it will make a significant difference to the CO2 impact of the project but minimal impact to the budget."

Vattenfall says that, according to the supplier, the concrete is achieving a 40% lower CO2 footprint when compared to the industry benchmark for conventional concrete. The comparison is based on carbon emissions data, using a reference value provided by the Swedish Concrete Association, Svensk Betong.

The use of low-carbon concrete is vital to the wind supply chain in its goal to reach its net-zero target. It is being used for the foundations in the Swedish Bruzaholm project.

Sustainability integrated in the procurement processes

While the low-carbon concrete is key to the net-zero targets of the wind supply chain, for Vattenfall it is just one of the measurements when planning for the Bruzaholm wind farm. Equally important was how the contractor for the groundworks was selected.

Often, suppliers are facing a difficult choice – either submit the cheapest possible tender or include sustainable measures which, inevitably, increase costs.

For this Vattenfall project, suppliers were asked to submit CO2 emissions reduction ideas with independent pricing, which could be implemented as part of the project. This allowed suppliers to present the lowest possible base price, while separately offering a list of options to lower emissions.

Sustainable measures were a key criterion in the scoring and selection process. The contract was awarded to Kanonaden Entreprenad and a number of their proposals were included in the final contract.

Arthur adds: "Kanonaden Entreprenad, was the perfect match for us.

"To use this extra CO2 lean concrete was actually their suggestion and they also brought a good deal of other ideas, from using bio diesel for all site machinery, to the use of recycled plastic pipe for conduits and site signage and planning the groundworks​ to avoid unnecessary transportation of rock masses to and from site.

"This model for procuring goods and services has proved to be really efficient and successful for all parties and will now be used as a blueprint for coming projects."

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