Elevating Standards: Environmental Verification for JM’s Entire Residential Portfolio

Photo: JM. Sondertull, Sodra, Sweden

JM is one of the leading residential developers in the Nordic region. In the places where we build our new homes and residential areas, we are of great importance for the development of society. It is a fact that our business challenges the planet. We make a big impression, and with that comes great responsibility.

-We see that the climate crisis we are in requires a transformation on a broad front. But we also see that housing and community development can take place with great consideration for sustainability.

-Today, intensive work is underway in all parts of our organization to achieve the sustainability goals we have set. We test and evaluate with the ambition to implement new methods and initiatives throughout the Group.

To go all the way, we are dependent on dialogue and collaboration with, for example, suppliers, county administrative boards and municipalities, researchers and companies both within and outside our own industry.

JM was one of the founders of the Haga Initiative in 2010 and we often take the opportunity to push for tougher requirements, broad collaborations and long-term sustainable rules.

Sustainability from JM’s perspective

The Materials Used

An important part of our sustainability work is to evaluate, select and control/follow up our suppliers.

JM imposes a number of sustainability requirements when we sign agreements with our suppliers. Several of these requirements are also included in the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, which JM has included in all project starts since 2018.

Requirements that materials must not contain chemicals that are hazardous to the environment and health is one such example.

The fact that all timber must be traceable in order to exclude illegal logging in the value chain is another.

Other requirements relate to the quality of the construction process, minimizing the risk of moisture entering the building material and that the ventilation works well.

Our ongoing partnerships with suppliers are regularly followed up through surveys, audits, site visits, and company and individual audits.

The building materials we use cause climate-impacting emissions when they are produced. Materials account for the largest share of JM’s emissions. That is why we must be precise in the volumes that are ordered and the materials we choose.

Setting requirements for purchasing is also an important tool. The material with the greatest challenge is concrete, as the production of the binder cement in the concrete generates large emissions of carbon dioxide.

Since the autumn of 2022, we have been using concrete that has improved the climate by 10 percent. We also test and evaluate concrete, which is even more climate-improved.

Carbon footprint including double materiality (scope 3)

JM is an important player in an industry with a major climate impact. Our climate-impacting emissions occur both when we build our homes and in the stages that come before and after the construction phase.

Part of JM’s climate impact comes from the emissions that arise in our own operations, such as at our construction sites and around our logistics centers.

The majority of our emissions are generated by our suppliers, mainly in the manufacture of the materials we use.

Climate impact also occurs at the user level, i.e. at the residents’ level after they have moved in. We are working to reduce our climate impact from a broad perspective.

JM takes responsibility for reducing emissions both in its own operations and in others with whom we collaborate and do business. We also place great emphasis on designing and building homes where it is easy for people to live well with a low carbon footprint.

Climate target 2030

JM’s climate-impacting emissions will be close to zero by 2030. This means that we will reduce climate-impacting emissions as close to zero as possible.

We believe that by 2030 we can achieve a reduction of 85 percent. Today, our priority is to eliminate as much of our own emissions as possible, along the entire value chain.

On our way to the goal, we work with: – Efforts to reduce the climate impact that arises in the construction process itself – Efforts to ensure that those who move into JM’s residential units have the conditions to live as sustainably as possible in their homes and in society.