Boskalis_CSR_report__2016

CSR 2016 – boskalis 5

and fourteen at Offshore Energy. This was a difficult decision, particularly for the 650 colleagues affected. In close consultation with the Works Council we carefully completed the advisory process and agreed on a fair social plan.

An increasingly important part of our projects incorporate innovative solutions for protecting biodiversity and preserving natural environments. One of the results of our focus on the environment is our successful Building with Nature program, which adopts the natural system as a basic design principle. Partly on the strength of the knowledge gained from this, we were commissioned by the Dutch Society for the Preservation of Nature (Stichting Natuurmonumenten) to execute one of the largest nature restoration projects in Western Europe: the Marker Wadden. The Marker Wadden is a group of artificial islands that will ensure the ecological restoration and transformation of the Markermeer lake into a dynamic area with a rich animal and plant life. Climate change and the consequences thereof, such as rising sea levels, are increasingly important topics for our sector and for society. With much of the country below sea level, the Netherlands has had to battle to fend off the ravages of the sea for centuries. The Dutch expertise and skills in the field of delta technology and hydraulic engineering are highly rated throughout the world. Boskalis’ core business enables it to provide innovative adaptive and mitigating solutions to combat the impact of climate change. In the past year we started work on reinforcing the Wadden Sea dike on the island of Texel as well as the dike between Eemshaven and Delfzijl in order to protect the Dutch coast against flooding. The reinforcement of the 33-kilometer long Markermeer dike and the 25-kilometer Houtrib dike and our projects in the context of the Room for the River program will also contribute to flood prevention in the Netherlands. Boskalis had a very busy year in offshore wind with the installation of foundations for the Wikinger and Veja Mate projects. We furthermore strengthened our market position through the acquisition of the offshore wind activities of VolkerWessels. As a group, we continue to seek opportunities and innovative ways to reduce our emissions. Together with our joint venture partner Keppel we announced the investment in two innovative LNG dual-fuel harbor tugs in Singapore. Last year we also took our biofuel program one step further. This pilot project is aimed at developing a drop-in biofuel that meets the most stringent sustainability standards and can result in a sharp reduction in emissions. Last summer our cutter suction dredger Edax achieved good results with this type of fuel on the Marker Wadden project. Impact of climate change

Safety and Quality

Since the launch of our No Injuries No Accidents (NINA) safety program in 2010, our Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) has fallen significantly from 0.67 in 2010 to 0.08 in 2016. In our sixth NINA year we once again made important progress expanding the rollout of this global safety program. In addition, we introduced the Mooring and Safe Mind workboxes containing practical training methods and tools. Great strides were also made with the development of our new quality system, the Boskalis Way of Working. Aimed at harmonizing various business processes and support systems, the Boskalis Way of Working quality system will be introduced in the course of 2017. We expect the current market environment to persist in the coming years. In order to respond to this outlook and to prepare ourselves for the period that follows we have been working hard on our 2017-2019 Corporate Business Plan, the main points of which can be found in our annual report. With the right focus and optimization of our existing business portfolio we can successfully steer the company through this difficult period. Results will be lower than in extremely profitable previous years but our financial position is very strong and healthy with nearly EUR 1 billion in cash at the end of 2016. We will continue to generate a strong cash flow in the coming years which, in turn, will provide opportunities. The CSR business case will remain a key part of our operations in this respect. On behalf of the Board of Management I want to thank all our colleagues for their commitment and great efforts in 2016, as well as our clients, partners and shareholders for the trust and confidence they place in us. Preparing for the future

Adapting to the new reality

All the hard work and many new projects acquired during the year could, however, not prevent more and more gaps from appearing in our fleet schedules. Considering the prospects going forward, we came to the inevitable conclusion that we have to align the size of the fleet with the market. After a comprehensive study we decided to take 24 vessels out of service: ten at Dredging

Peter Berdowski