SWECO AB Transforming society together
Sweco Annual and Sustainability Report 2023
Sweco's operations 19 Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
Sweco operates at the centre of the green transition. With our 22,000 architects, engineers and other experts, we work with our clients to design solutions to major societal challenges.
Our work method enables us to offer our clients a combination of global expertise and local presence and understanding, adapted to their business and reality. Sweco's ambition is to be our clients' most relevant and committed partner.
Sweco is where experts come together. From the big picture to the smallest details, we combine our skills and perspectives to learn from each other and grow as one team. At Sweco, everyone is empowered to utilise their expertise - because we believe that we create the best results when we work together.
Sweco - Transforming society together
Sweco's operations 19 Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
Interactive, clickable annual report This is an interactive version of Sweco's Annual and Sustainability Report. You can easily navigate between the various sections using the menu in the left-hand column.
Market and external environment 9
Strategy 11
Sweco as an investment 17
Targets and results 18
Sweco's operations
Sweco's offering 20
Buildings and urban areas 21
Water, energy and industry 23
Transportation infrastructure 25
Architecture 27
Support to Ukraine 29
Financial Calendar
16 May 2024 | Interim report January-March 2024 |
16 July 2024 | Interim report January-June 2024 |
30 October 2024 | Interim report January-September 2024 |
7 February 2025 | Year-end report 2024 |
Board of Directors' Report and risk management
Board of Directors' Report 31
Corporate Governance Report 37
Board of Directors and auditors 44
Executive Team 46
Risks and risk management 48
Sustainability Report
About the Sustainability Report 53
Sustainability at Sweco 54
Sweco and Agenda 2030 57
Materiality and stakeholder dialogue 58
Climate and environment 62
Employees 72
Business conduct 81
Urban Insight 86
Sustainability notes 87
Auditor's report 92
Sustainability Report
Sweco's Sustainability Report is presented on pages 52-92 and comprises Sweco's statutory Sustainability Report in accordance with the Swedish Annual Accounts Act. The Sustainability Report has been prepared with inspiration from the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative.
Financial Reports
Consolidated accounts 94
Parent Company accounts 98
Notes 102
Signatures of the Board of directors 136
Auditor's report 137
Other information
Sensitivity analysis 141
The Sweco share 142
Five-year overview 146
GRI Index, TCFD 147
Definitions 151
Annual General Meeting 153
Digital news
Visitswecogroup.com/irto subscribe to press releases and reports from Sweco. Select the information you want to receive and it will be sent to your email address on the date of publication. Fast, easy and eco-friendly.
Transforming society together
Contents 3
As Europe's leading architecture and engineering consultancy, Sweco's specialists are driving the green transition together with their clients. Below are some examples of Sweco's work in various client projects and what it's like to work at Sweco.
Meet our experts 16
Norway's largest hospital takes shape 22
Transmission capacity
- key to the green transition 24
Redeveloped ring road will ease traffic
in Belgium 26
Multidisciplinary consulting creates
new opportunities 28
Cover image
Skeppsbron in Gothenburg, Sweden is an urban development project designed to connect the city with the Göta River and create a vibrant meeting place that improves Gothenburg's urban fabric and accessibility. With its multidisciplinary expertise, Sweco has contributed with, for example, preliminary studies to detailed design work, tram line expansion and the design of public spaces such as Skeppsbroplatsen and Stenpiren.
Sweco's operations 19 Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
This is Sweco
Sweco is Europe's leading architecture and engineering consultancy, where more than 22,000 experts work on over 150,000 projects each year. Sweco offers multidisciplinary services in the following segments: buildings and urban areas; water, energy and industry; and transportation infrastructure. Sweco's architecture operations are integrated into all segments. Sweco's experts help private and pub-lic clients analyse, evaluate, plan and design solutions that create tomorrow's sustainable cities and communities.
The business is operated in eight geographical business areas covering around 15 markets in Europe. Sweco also conducts project exports to many countries throughout the world. Sweco's strategy is to grow through a combination of acqui-sitions and organic growth. Sweco has completed more than 160 acquisitions in the past 20 years.
Sweco's decentralised organisation is the cornerstone of the business, with around 1,700 local teams responsible for client relationships, projects and employ-ees. This is a client-focused, efficient working method that has been crucial to Sweco's success over the years.
Net sales by segment in 2023, %
Net sales by client category in 2023, %
Sweco in brief
Net sales by business area in 2023, %
Buildings and urban areas, 37 (37)
Water, energy and industry, 34 (33)
Transportation infrastructure, 29 (30)Public sector, 38 (38)Other private sector
companies, 24 (21)
Industrial companies, 21 (20)Housing, real estate and
construction, 17 (21)
Sweco Sweden, 29 (32)
Sweco Belgium, 13 (10)
Sweco Finland, 13 (13)
Sweco Norway, 12 (13)
Sweco Denmark, 10 (9)
Sweco Netherlands, 10 (9)
Sweco Germany and
Central Europe, 8 (8)
Sweco UK, 5 (6)
Sweco's operations 19 Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
The year in brief
Robust growth
Increased net sales and stable demand, despite some market challenges and a recession in Europe.
Strong earnings improvement
Improvement in earnings before depreciation and impairment, despite cost increases. Fee increases and a greater number of employees were instrumental to the improvement.
High level of acquisition activity
Acquisitions to strengthen Sweco's market presence and expertise in key areas and expand the company's geographic footprint were completed.
Strengthened order book
Sweco has won more and more major projects that support the green transition in Europe.
More employees
An increased number of employees with a strong focus on integrating new expertise into the company.
Increased focus
The green transition in the energy sector, industry, transportation infrastructure and urban communities are focus areas for Sweco.
Net sales 2023 28.5 SEK billion (24.3) | EBITA 2023 2.5 SEK billion (2.2) |
EBITA margin 2023 8.9% (9.2) | Percentage of women in the Group 35% (35) |
CO2 emissions per full-time equivalent 3.3 tonnes (3.3) | Number of acquisitions completed 10 (12) |
The year in brief
Sweco's operations 19
Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
Sweco is growing in pace with Europe's green transition
What were the most distinctive features of the past year?
For us, 2023 was a testament to Sweco's strength and innovative power. The year was characterised by acceleration of the green tran-sition due to the geopolitical situation, with Europe wanting greater control over supply, energy and value chains while a weaker economy impacted parts of our market. Political priorities and the climate tran-sition have increased the willingness to invest in the industrial and energy sectors, and Sweco has successfully navigated this land-scape. We have won major projects in the infrastructure, water, envi-ronment and energy, and have demonstrated our adaptability by shift-ing resources and expertise from areas with lower demand, such as residential and commercial property, to other sectors. I am proud to note that, with our 22,000 employees, we are consolidating our posi-tion as Europe's largest architecture and engineering consultancy.
How important is the green transition for Sweco's business, and what areas are you focusing on?
As a leading urban developer, I can say that the green transition affects our entire business and goes hand in hand with our sus-tainability strategy. In addition to our own goals and measures, we closely monitor areas where major investments are being made, in both the public and private sectors. We have identified four main areas that we see are driving the market in Europe and that we are focusing on: theenergy transition, the transport transition, the industrial transition and the urban transition. Digitalisation, now spearheaded by AI, con-tinues to be a catalyst for efficiency and innovation in this work.
Sweco has many projects that arise directly from the trends you mention above. Which ones do you think stand out?
I would say nearly all of them. In the energy transition, we are active in production, transmission and storage. We are mapping energy sys-tems for clients such as Svenska Kraftnät in Sweden and Statnett in Norway, and are working on projects involving hydrogen production and battery storage. We are involved in designing new transport sys-tems and expanding railway track capacity for clients such as Deutsche Bahn in Germany. Sweco plays an important role when industrial cli-ents introduce new hydrogen technology, which reduces their climate footprint. We are also growing strongly in the health sector and were awarded several major, complex hospital projects during the year.
Sweco's 2023 profit increased to SEK 1,667 million.
What is the main contributing factor for this increase?
The fact that we continued to pursue our strategy and, by doing so, are delivering profitable growth. Our sales increased 17 per cent to SEK 28.5 billion and EBITA increased 18 per cent to SEK 2.5 billion after adjustment for calendar effects. The EBITA increase was due mainly to our ability to secure higher fees, to our increased number
Sweco's operations 19
Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
of employees, and to contributions via our acquisitions. Belgium, Germany & Central Europe, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway all posted higher EBITA levels, while the UK and Finland reported lower results. Cost increases, negative project adjustments and a lower billing ratio had a negative impact on profit.
Sweco completed 10 acquisitions in 2023.
What is your strategy moving forward?
The acquisitions are part of our growth strategy and support our con-tinued expansion and development in different areas of expertise, with the aim of strengthening our position in Europe. During 2023 we conducted ten acquisitions that added SEK 1.8 billion in revenue and more than 1,200 new experts, and expanded our expertise and scope. Our largest acquisitions were of VK architects+engineers in Belgium and OJ Rådgivende Ingeniører in Denmark. The former strengthens our position in the health sector and in Belgium, and the latter dou-bles our size in Denmark's construction sector. With the acquisition of Medins Havs och Vattenkonsulter in Sweden we gain expertise in aquatic environments, which is essential in the green transition. Our financial strength allows us to continue to capitalise on market opportunities.
Competition for engineers is fierce. How are you dealing with this?
The ability to attract, develop and retain employees is crucial to our ability to grow in size as well as expertise, and consequently remain relevant to our clients. There is a major shortage of engineers in Europe. Competition is fierce for experts in areas such as energy and environmental technology, and we are working proactively with our employer brand to be an attractive employer and meet our short- and long-term needs. It is gratifying that in 2023 we were ranked as one of the industry's most attractive employers in the Nordics in various surveys of university students, and that we are seeing positive results in our annual employee survey.
What do you do to develop your employees?
We invest in training programmes and mentorships not only to attract talent and expertise, but also to retain and develop these qualities.
In 2023 we directed more focus towards supporting and developing our managers. Ensuring the development of our team managers is an essential factor for Sweco's business. Architects, engineers and experts at Sweco do not work individually and isolated but in collabo-rative, often multidisciplinary, teams to create sustainable solutions for urban development.
What can you tell us about the market development and competition for Sweco's services?
Geopolitical instability continued to impact the economy as a whole, and Sweco's markets were affected by higher inflation, higher interest rates and energy supply risks. Although some of Sweco's market seg-ments have been negatively affected, most business areas experi-enced good demand for Sweco's services within the infrastructure, water, environment, and industry in 2023. Demand for services in parts of the construction and real estate segments continued to weaken, however, with a negative impact seen mainly in residential buildings.
Although competition in the market is intense, we have a unique advantage with our broad and diversified portfolio. We have a good balance between private and public clients and a broad geographical presence, which gives us stability and the capacity to adapt to differ-ent market conditions. The urban planning sector is local in nature, but in recent years we have seen a consolidation trend and an increase in the number of major projects in which our combined international expertise is in demand. I am pleased to note that we are not only the largest engineering consultancy in Europe, but that we also hold a top-three position in five of our eight markets and are the world's fourth largest architecture business.
»In an increasingly complex and interconnected world, our business model is more relevant than it has ever been.«
What are your views on future developments for Sweco and your clients?
It is essential for us to know how our clients are doing, and our strat-egy is to stay close to them so that we can be flexible in response to trends and market conditions. In an increasingly complex and inter-connected world, our business model is more relevant than it has ever been. We will continue to attract and develop the right expertise and ensure that we are at the forefront of technological innovation and sustainability integration in our projects. As we grow as a company we will also have to put extra focus on increased efficiency. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients, partners and all Sweco employees for their excellent contributions during 2023. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to all of our new colleagues. We are on a fantastic journey together.
Stockholm, March 2024
Åsa Bergman President and CEO
Market and external environment 9
Strategy 11
Sweco as an investment 17
Targets and results 18
Sweco's operations 19 Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
Strategy and value creation
»Market and external environment 9
Strategy 11
Sweco as an investment 17
Targets and results 18
Sweco's operations 19 Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
Trends that drive demand for Sweco's services
The green transition, digitalisation and resilience are the overarching trends that impact Sweco's clients and drive Sweco's business. Sweco's expertise is in demand in areas such as resource-efficient industrial solutions, modern transportation infrastructure, reliable energy solutions and climate-smart urban plan-ning. All of these areas are crucial for the sustainable development of society.
Challenges accelerate the need for planning
Europe is facing major challenges. With inflation as its highest level in decades, key interest rates have increased, economic activity has weakened and the short-term economic outlook is flat. With the high degree of geopolitical uncertainty, there is a risk that the ongoing energy crisis may be intensified. There are also longer-term chal-lenges. Climate change and loss of biodiversity may have serious consequences for societies and ecosystems throughout the world.
Many European cities and societies are in need of action plans and concrete measures to ensure water, energy and materials supply in the event of crisis or war. Climate changes, with increased rainfall, higher temperatures and rising sea levels, also place demands on urban planning for new and existing areas.
Focus on energy transition
Reducing climate impact while meeting society's growing need for energy involves creating a secure and efficient supply, distribution and consumption of energy for industry and society at large, while accelerating the transition to fossil-free energy sources. This is a high-priority issue and at the UN's annual climate change conference, COP28, the world's countries agreed to triple the expansion of renew-able energy and double the rate of energy optimisation by 2030. Jobs and interesting business opportunities are being created as a range
Sweco has been selected by biotech company Ecohelix to design a modern production facility for renewable wood-based polymer products. The facility will be built entirely from wood, which is still an unusual choice of material for industrial buildings. Sweco has successfully demonstrated the differences in carbon emissions and costs for tradi-tional concrete frames versus wooden frames, with wood being the clear winner.
»Market and external environment 9
Strategy 11
Sweco as an investment 17
Targets and results 18
Sweco's operations 19 Board of Directors' Report and
risk management 30
Sustainability Report 52
Financial Reports 93
Other information 140
of sectors collaborate on the development and implementation of new technologies and systems solutions.
Digitalisation as a facilitator
The digitalisation of society is well underway. The development curve is exponential, and advanced IT solutions that link everything together are playing an increasingly important role in shaping tomor-row's sustainable cities and communities. With new digital tools
Growth segments in the green transition
enabling more distance-based work, changes in consumer behaviour with the rapid growth of e-commerce, and housing shortages in many areas, the overall attractiveness of city centres has declined and the development of urban-like areas near but outside typical metropolitan regions is accelerating. A new type of urban planning is emerging, and with it a need for improvements to vital societal functions and infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, energy, water, heating, waste management and public transport. There has
10
never been greater opportunity to steer development towards a sus-tainable future through digital solutions, combined with circularity and the green economy. This rapid evolution means that today's architects and engineers need to have a comprehensive perspective, mastering all the advanced technologies that are emerging and understanding how these can be applied to actively support sustain-able development.
Energy transition
EUR 300 billion
REPowerEU investment package
Sweco's offering
Leading-edge expertise in energy systems and electricity grids:
• Transmission and distribution
• Wind and solar power
• Hydrogen and energy storage
Transportation transition
Doubling of Europe's high-speed rail infrastructure by 2030
Industry transition
EUR 40 billion in available capital from the EU Innovation Fund over the next decade
EUR 680 billion of EU's budget will be allocated for climate-relevant measures during the 2021-2027 periodLeading European railway consultancy, with 6,000 experts. Multidisciplinary expertise in:
• Mobility and active travel
• Electrification and fossil-free fuels
• Traffic safety
• Climate adaptation of infrastructureTrusted advisor to some of Europe's most ambitious large-scale industrial projects:
• Carbon emissions reduction (phase-out of fossil fuels) incl. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
• Industrial circularity
• Energy supply and efficiency
• Battery technology
Urban transition
World's fourth largest architecture company, with over 1,500 architects:
• Built environment planning, design, construction and circularity
• Resilient urban infrastructure
• Nature-based solutions
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SWECO AB published this content on 26 March 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 March 2024 06:41:27 UTC.
