Our strategy
At Colas, we are paving the way for a more responsible future by supporting the sustainable development of our regions.
Our development strategy
Our ambition: to be a trusted partner for mobility infrastructure and sustainable development projects. Our development strategy is based on three axes:
- Valuing our industrial activities
- Strengthening our positions in construction activities
- Developing innovative and responsible products and service offerings
Strengthening our positions in construction activities
We are a committed local player, a true partner in the sustainable development of territories. Throughout its history, Colas has demonstrated its great ability to integrate companies of all sizes, in many regions of the world and for all its activities.
In territories where we are already present, we are developing through local acquisitions or diversification into activities close to our traditional businesses such as the circular economy, pollution control, ecological engineering, or landscaping.
In territories where we have little or no presence, strengthening ourselves means pursuing our targeted geographical development. In our sights? High-potential areas such as Northern Europe, the United States, Germany and Australia.
Enhancing the value of our industrial activities
The integrated model of Colas is unique and is our strength. We are able to cover the entire value chain, from the production of building materials, through construction and sustainable development works, to service offerings.
Our assets? A strong position in the purchase, storage and distribution of bitumen, an extensive network of quarries and circular economy platforms.
The aim is to better control the availability and quality of supplies, but not only that: it's also to ensure that we meet our commitments, particularly in terms of safety and environmental preservation, and to improve our competitiveness.
Developing innovative and responsible products and services
In a context of accelerated ecological and energy transition, Colas has long been imagining and investing in solutions tailored to society's current expectations and challenges:
- To make infrastructures more environmentally friendly, we design products and processes with reduced carbon footprints, including low-temperature or cold mixes, bio-sourced mixes or the development of in-place pavement recycling techniques. We are also working on nature-based solutions: the aim is to preserve and restore ecosystems, for example by creating islands of coolness, infiltrating rainwater, improving the living environment...
- To optimize infrastructures over their entire lifecycle, we offer adapted sustainable products, and asset management solutions, i.e. solutions to maintain and sustain infrastructures with performance objectives.
Our strengths and assets
Colas has solid assets to be, all over the world, the trusted partner of territories in sustainable mobility and responsible development.
Recognized collective expertise
TheColas brand, founded nearly 100 years ago, is recognized worldwide.
Colas relies on proven technical expertise and the commitment of 64,000 employees, bearers of a common culture and shared values.
Colas is today an international reference in the field of transport infrastructure and sustainable development.
Long-term local roots
With a dense network of 2,000 local entities, often established for several decades, Colas acts as close as possible to the territories.
Public and private customers can count on local contacts, a detailed knowledge of local contexts, and teams committed over the long term.
Innovation geared to the regions
At Colas, innovation means providing answers to territories, listening to their needs, offering concrete, sustainable and high-performance solutions.
Our innovation approach is based on an active Research & Development policy, academic and industrial partnerships, as well as the involvement of teams in the field.
This ambition is driven by the CORE Center, our research center based in France, which steers the Group's Research & Development efforts in close collaboration with field teams, our subsidiaries around the world, and our academic and industrial partners.
Innovation at Colas revolves around four major priorities:
Sustainable products and techniques with a lower carbon footprint
- Bio-based raw materials with low carbon footprint
- Lower temperature manufacturing
- Integration of recycled materials
- Material savings
Climate-resilient infrastructure
- Sustainable solutions to reduce urban overheating
- Integrated stormwater management (infiltration, storage, reclamation)
- Integrating nature and biodiversity in the city
Overall long-term infrastructure performance
- Artificial intelligence diagnostics with Infracare
- Long-term maintenance contracts with performance criteria
Operational excellence and safety
- Securing and optimizing production, construction and maintenance operations
- Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) to anticipate and optimize the design, construction and maintenance of structures