Strategy

PORR’s Group strategy is based on its vision PORR – Home of Construction. To Build a Better World. At PORR, construction is right at home. That’s why PORR is the home of knowhow and home to the best people. With its comprehensive service portfolio, it covers the entire construction value chain and puts its core competency into focus – building for a better world.

The future of construction in Europe is characterised by four megatrends: Deglobalisation, decarbonisation, digitalisation and demographic change – in short: The four Ds. These are the key framework conditions in which PORR operates. With selective, sustainable growth on its seven home markets and a focus on circular construction, partnership-based project management and lean processes, the overarching Group strategy remains unchanged: Intelligent Growth with Green and Lean.

In the construction industry, the four Ds – deglobalisation, digitalisation, decarbonisation and demographic change – are the key framework conditions driving both demand and construction processes. This is why PORR’s long-term Group strategy is also aligned with them.

Deglobalisation

• Regionalisation reduces international dependency. Geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties have caused lasting damage to confidence in an efficient global economy. That’s why more and more companies are turning to nearshoring and reshoring, i.e. bringing supply and production chains to their own country or a neighbouring country.
• Local supply networks increase resilience. They result in shorter delivery times, fewer currency fluctuations, greater sustainability and faster response times. This requires modern transport infrastructure and reliable digital infrastructure. Local company sites are established by building production, research and storage facilities.

Decarbonisation

• The EU has pledged to achieve climate neutrality. To this end, it has earmarked substantial investments totalling EUR 1.0 trillion in new technologies and production processes. This is resulting in comprehensive renovation strategies for existing buildings and requirements for new buildings – which must be emission-free from 2030. Energy generation from renewable energy sources is to be expanded at the same time.
• The rise in temperature should remain below 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is the aim of the Paris Agreement, to which around 200 countries have signed up. The focus is on national climate contributions, which include measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to promote resilience to climate change. These open up significant opportunities for the construction industry.

Digitalisation

• Technology and research are driving artificial intelligence. As part of its Horizon Europe programme, the EU is supporting digitalisation with investments of EUR 180 bn. In addition to robotics, this also includes basic research into artificial intelligence (AI). This requires extensive resources for buildings in the areas of data centres and chip production, where clean rooms are particularly in demand.
• Digitalisation in construction has arrived. Highly sensitive sensors on massive pieces of construction equipment, robots that can handle routine tasks, and drones have long been a familiar sight on construction sites. In addition, BIM enables efficient coordination with all project participants thanks to the digital twin. 3D printers, virtual reality and artificial intelligence are the next steps towards a digital construction site.

Demographic change

• Around 80% of Europeans will soon live in cities. This leads to numerous challenges. For example, sustainable infrastructure and a reliable public transport system – think smart mobility – are essential for life in urban centres. Sufficient affordable housing also needs to be made available.
• The average age in Europe is rising by 4.5 years. This is the result of low birth rates and higher life expectancy. This development not only has an impact on the healthcare sector and the amount of labour available, but also necessitates changes in urban planning, housing requirements and public transport.

PORR’s Group strategy remains clear: Intelligent Growth with Green and Lean. The focus is on expanding the strong market position on the seven home markets. PORR wants to be the market leader in resource-conscious, circular construction. To achieve this, PORR relies on partnership-based cooperation, a lean organisation and efficient processes in order to secure long-term profitability while creating sustainable added value for all stakeholders and society.

The Group strategy is based on 16 action fields, which are organised into four central pillars: Company, Employees, LEAN and ESG. New, measurable goals are formulated for each action field as part of a comprehensive strategy process. The Group-wide sustainability strategy remains firmly anchored in the areas of Employees and ESG.

Company

Inspiring customers. PORR’s ambition is not to be one of the biggest, but one of the best. The continuous development of the business model takes centre stage. Through innovative products and new technologies, PORR wants to achieve intelligent growth and safeguard its market share on every home market. The goal is to be among the top 3 construction companies. There is a clear focus on the bottom line in order to ensure sustainable profitability with an EBIT margin above 3.5%. At the same time, the company is striving for an adequate equity ratio to ensure financial stability.

Employees

Building on PORRians. PORR lives by its five principles and implements them together with its customers, partners and stakeholders. Occupational safety is a top priority. PORR strives to be a “Best Place to Work” – one of the best employers. To this end, it invests in training of its employees and workers, promotes leadership, diversity and inclusion, and is particularly committed to promoting women. The focus is on a performance-oriented approach to work, complemented by comprehensive occupational health management (OHM).

LEAN

Creating value without waste. PORR works according to LEAN principles, whereby LEAN Construction on the building site is combined with LEAN Administration in the organisation to ensure a lean, flexible and cost-efficient structure. Through perfectly harmonised processes – from costing all the way to warranties – PORR sets itself minimum quality standards for costs, deadlines and execution. In the process, it builds as much as possible itself and relies on in-house teamwork. PORR is also driving forward digitalisation, automation and connections in order to increase its competitiveness. The aim is to create a dynamic, flexible and responsive value creation network, that communicates in real time.

ESG

Uniting economy, ecology and society. With its commitment to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), PORR has underlined its focus on environmentally friendly construction. It proactively promotes the responsible use of resources and energy, both within the company and among its customers. These factors are crucial for a sustainable circular economy. Ethics, fairness and compliance are a matter of course for PORR – corruption is not tolerated under any circumstances.

Climate change and digitalisation are two of the most important challenges of this decade. For us as a company and for us as a society. Climate change is an existential risk, but it, together with digitalisation, also offers huge opportunities for our generation. In the EU (Green Deal), in the USA (Climate Plan), in China (14th Five-Year-Plan) and globally (Paris Agreement), an economic realignment towards ecological targets has already been laid out. And we want to proactively shape this transformation as one of Europe’s leading construction companies. Because we are building change.

PORR has been around for more than 150 years and innovation and diversity have always been the building blocks of our success. And that will remain the case in future. We have developed the new strategy “Green and Lean” by applying our experience, the enormous knowledge base in the Group and the challenges of our time. It means the next step into the future.

What these three words “Green and Lean” – and yes, all three of them – mean in concrete terms:

• We will change the way people build.
• We will apply a holistic mindset and strive for a circular economy.
• We will promote partnering models.
• And we will be agile – with our lean management approach and in our operations with LEAN Design and Construction.

Green. means one thing first and foremost: responsibility. After all, we are not building for today and tomorrow, but for the day after that as well. We want to be the market leader for resource-efficient construction that fits within a circular economy. Our goal is to integrate construction processes into closed material cycles wherever possible. We want to increase the percentage of sustainable projects and strive for climate neutrality. This does not only relate to absorbing a significant part of the emissions already generated, but also using technologies of the future to reduce them.

That is why, from design and planning, in the construction process and in operations, as well as for renovations, we apply solutions that deliver a climate-neutral future. This is not uncharted territory for PORR. We have long focused on conserving resources and on environmental awareness. With clear success: in July, the renowned ratings agency ISS awarded us a best-in-class ESG rating. With a C+, we have achieved Prime Status, simultaneously becoming number 1 in the industry on our home markets. This is also what distinguishes PORR: being a visionary and combining this foresight with outstanding skill in implementation.

And. means more than the link between Green and Lean. After all, change can only occur when we join forces. That’s why we engage in partnering models in the construction industry. This facilitates integration into the various stages of the construction value creation cycle and utilises the leveraging effect: Good and meaningful aspects multiply. The project is assessed over its entire lifecycle (design, construction, operations and renovations) and then everything is offered as a one-stop shop.

The benefits are plain to see: maximum risk mitigation coupled with high security in terms of quality, deadlines and costs. We intend to strengthen this approach in future and apply it even more broadly. That’s our “And”: partnerships between everyone involved in a project, with common goals.

Lean. relates to the way our organisation is structured. Lean is seen in our management approaches and is applied in practice in our construction process with the help of LEAN Design and Construction. Lean may sound abstract, but it is already our reality at PORR – we have implemented a streamlined organisation with short decision-making chains this year. This includes digital efficiency and smart innovation. They are instruments we are using to expand our position as technology leaders. Digitalising value chains is more topical than ever before.

And LEAN Design and Construction are our future for operational construction processes. This approach should be understood as an integrated, continuous process. Projects like BMW Freimann clearly demonstrate this – the new BMW complex is genuinely a collaborative achievement. The client as well as PORR and our subcontractor partners worked closely together in the form of a partnering model from the design right through to the turnkey realisation.

As this shows: Green and Lean is more than a strategy, it is a milestone on the path to the future. It is the foundation of our future success and the basis on which we embrace our responsibility towards society as a big company. After all, intelligent building not only connects people, it also shapes our future.

Since its very beginnings, development and innovation have played a key role at PORR: at the start of the 20th century, the inventions of our founder Arthur Porr led to a significant breakthrough in concrete construction methods and formed the foundation for many prestigious buildings.

This passion for innovation has driven us ever since and is an omnipresent feature at PORR. Every PORRian makes a significant difference to PORR's future fitness through his or her ideas and creative concepts. The central point for further development is the "Technology Management and Innovation" department. It offers advice and support to our employees from the operating units. 

Our goal is to optimise the value chain by adopting a customised approach to innovative technologies: from project acquisition to design, calculation and construction, right through to the start-up and maintenance of a property. Here all of our measures have been implemented in such a way that they bring marked benefits for customers and end users.

One of PORR's greatest strengths lies in its pioneering spirit. As a powerhouse of the construction industry, we work with state-of-the-art methods and constantly apply new developments. LEAN Design, LEAN Construction and BIM have made us more creative, faster and more productive throughout the entire value chain. We are not working on the future, we are already working with the future. Go to "Services" for more information on LEAN Design, Construction and BIM.

In addition, PORR is involved in multiple committees in order to develop mandatory standards for the industry. We are determined to be proactive and make the most of every opportunity in this changing competitive environment, while cementing our role as trailblazers in driving the European construction industry forward.