ACS Group

Sustainability strategy and accountability
ACS Group carried out a revision in 2021 of 2018 materiality analysis; the company discloses its process to identify and prioritize material topics, as well as the outcomes of the analysis. The company reports consistently against all its targets. The remuneration committee has set that 33,33% of executive directors’ remuneration is linked to non-financial targets.

Stakeholder engagement
ACS Group discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Water
ACS Group discloses the proportion of water withdrawals from water-stressed areas (3,231,638 m3 in 2021).

Solid and air pollution
ACS Group discloses the proportion of hazardous waste treated to reduce pollution compared to total waste, the hazardous waste diverted from disposal and the waste directed to disposal.

GHG emissions
ACS Group has a time-bound target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions against which it reports, and it effectively reduced its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 compared to 2020.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
ACS Group’s Human rights policy is based on the UN General Assembly Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
While ACS Group discloses some sustainability targets, no evidence that the company has group wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain based on the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool could be found in the public domain. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
While ACS Group discloses the stakeholders with which it interacts, the communication channels and the main commitments of the ACS group, it doesn’t provide information regarding the issues raised during the stakeholder engagement activities.

Lobbying
ACS Group does not report on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, nor whether these activities align with its sustainability strategy.

Impact and dependencies assessment
ACS Group has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
ACS Group does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
No evidence was found regarding ACS Group’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

Resource exploitation and circularity
No evidence was found regarding ACS Group’s efforts to work towards a circular economy or which organisms it exploits. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
ACS Group’s total water withdrawn has increased in 2021 (12,632,963 m3) compared to 2020 (9,867,471 m3). The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. Cimic, one of the group’s subsidiaries and responsible for 85% of the group’s water consumption, has a series of control measures in place to minimize water consumption and the impact on water quality. The company discloses its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
ACS Group increased the production of hazardous waste in 2021 (400,895 t) compared to 2020 (358,311 t). No evidence that the company reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
No evidence that ACS Group’s scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found. No evidence that the company reduces its scope 3 emissions was found. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions. No evidence that the company’s scope 3 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found.

Invasive species
ACS Group has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
ACS Group does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
ACS Group does not disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, nor does it describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. No evidence was found that the company requires its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

ACS Group describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships. The company discloses its three phases of its human right risk analysis in which it identify and classify its potential risk of human right violation. Also, it states that it conducts human right score card risk assessment to review the status of implementation of the human rights risk analysis, due diligence system, action plan etc., however, it does not describe its process for assessing its human rights risks and also, does not disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. While the company discloses that it conducts routine human rights risk assessments and that it remediates in locations with the highest risk, no evidence was found that it has a global system to act on all its salient human rights issues. No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found. While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. The company discloses that it has a dialogue mechanisms through which it identifies and manages relevant issues taking into account the expectations of its stakeholders, however, there is no evidence that the company provides at least two examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities (or their legitimate representatives or multi-stakeholder initiatives) in the last two years.

ACS Group has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. The company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage/ that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. No evidence that the company describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers was found. The company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. No evidence that the company describes how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining was found.

ACS Group discloses a global tax strategy. The company takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. The company discloses that it must strictly comply with the applicable regulations and follow the processes in the regions where lobbying is permitted. Also, it states that any transaction that could be interpreted as a gift or donation made to political parties or individual politicians, whether in money or in kind should be avoided, however, it does not provide a publicly available policy statement(s) (or policy(ies) setting out its political engagement approach. The company specifies that it does not make political contributions.