Assurance report of the independent auditor


Assurance report of the independent auditor with a limited level of assurance on the sustainability information of Heijmans N.V.

To: the shareholders and Supervisory Board of Heijmans N.V.

Our conclusion

We have reviewed the sustainability information in the annual report for the year 2022 of Heijmans N.V. in Rosmalen. A review is aimed at obtaining a limited level of assurance.

Based on our review, we have no reason to believe that the sustainability information does not present, in all material respects, a reliable and adequate view of:

  • the policy and business operations with regard to corporate social responsibility; and

  • the events and performance on that front for the year 2022

in accordance with the Sustainability Reporting Standards as disclosed in the Reporting Criteria section.

 The sustainability information consists of the following chapters of the annual report:

  • 2. Profile

  • 3. The Executive Board

  • 5. Environmental analysis

  • 6. Strategy

  • 7.1 Value creation model and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • 7.2 Non-financial results

  • 8.4 Conduct and integrity

Basis for our conclusion

We performed our review of the sustainability information in accordance with Dutch law, including Dutch Standard 3810N, Assurance engagements relating to sustainability reports (Assurance-opdrachten inzake maatschappelijke verslagen). We have described our responsibilities under this standard in the section ‘Our responsibilities for the review of the sustainability information’.

We are independent of Heijmans N.V. as required by the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (Verordening inzake de onafhankelijkheid van accountants bij assurance-opdrachten - ViO). Among other things, this means that we do not perform any procedures that could conflict with our independent assurance engagement. In addition, we have complied with the Dutch Professional Code of Ethics for Auditors (Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants - VGBA). We believe that the assurance evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our conclusion.

Reporting criteria

The reporting criteria used for the preparation of the sustainability information are the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI – Core option) and the applied supplemental reporting criteria as disclosed in the appendices 11.6.3, ‘Reporting Methodology’, and 11.6.4, ‘KPI Table’, of the annual report.

The sustainability information has been drawn up with reference to the GRI Standards. The GRI Standards used are included in the GRI Content index as disclosed in the appendices ‘11.6.3 Reporting Methodology’ and ’11.6.5 Global Reporting Initiative’ of the annual report.

The lack of established practices for the evaluation and measurement of sustainability information offers the possibility of using various, acceptable measurement methods. This can have an impact on the comparability of entities and over time. The sustainability information should therefore be read and understood in conjunction with the reporting criteria.

Limitations to the scope of our review

The sustainability information includes forward-looking information, such as ambitions, strategy, plans, expectations, estimates and risk assessments. Inherent in forward-looking information is that the actual future results are uncertain. We do not provide any assurance on the assumptions and achievability of the targets or estimates in forward-looking information in the sustainability information.

The references to external sources or websites in the sustainability information are not part of the sustainability information we reviewed. We do not therefore provide assurance on this information.

These limitations do not affect our conclusion.

Responsibilities of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board for the sustainability information

The Executive Board is responsible for the preparation of the sustainability information in accordance with the reporting criteria as explained in the Reporting criteria section, including the identification of stakeholders and the definition of material aspects. The Executive Board is also responsible for the selection and application of these reporting criteria, and determining that these reporting criteria are sufficient for the justified informational needs of stakeholders, taking into account applicable legal and regulatory requirements for reporting. The choices made by the Executive Board regarding the scope of the sustainability information and the reporting policy are summarised in the appendices 11.6.3, ‘Reporting Methodology’, and 11.6.4, ‘KPI Table’, of the annual report.

The Executive Board is also responsible for such internal controls as the Executive Board deems necessary to enable the preparation of sustainability information that is free from material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error.

The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the reporting process on the sustainability information of Heijmans N.V.

Our responsibilities for the review of the sustainability information

Our responsibility is to plan and perform the assurance engagement with a limited level of assurance in a manner that allows us to obtain sufficient and appropriate assurance evidence for our conclusion.

Procedures performed to obtain a limited level of assurance are aimed at determining the plausibility of information and vary in nature and timing from and are less extensive than for an engagement aimed at obtaining a reasonable level of assurance. The level of assurance obtained in a review is therefore substantially lower than the assurance obtained in an audit.

We apply the Regulations for Quality management systems (Nadere voorschriften kwaliteitssystemen – NVKS). This gives us a cohesive system of quality controls, including documented guidelines and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and other relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

Our review included:

  • performing an analysis of the external environment and obtaining an understanding of relevant social themes and issues, and the characteristics of the company;

  • evaluating the appropriateness of the reporting criteria used, the consistent application of same and related disclosures in the sustainability information. This includes the evaluation of the results of the stakeholders’ dialogue and the reasonableness of estimates made by the Executive Board;

  • gathering information to gain a broad understanding of the internal controls, reporting process and information systems for drawing up sustainability information, without acquiring assurance information on the implementation or testing the effectiveness of the internal control measures;

  • identifying areas of the sustainability information with a higher risk of misleading or unbalanced information or material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error. Designing and performing further assurance procedures aimed at determining the plausibility of the sustainability information responsive to this risk analysis. These additional review procedures included but were not limited to:

    • interviewing members of the management and relevant staff responsible for the sustainability strategy, policy and results;

    • interviewing relevant staff members responsible for providing the information for, the performance of internal control procedures on, and consolidating the data in the sustainability information;

    • obtaining assurance information to the effect that the sustainability information reconciles with the underlying records of the company;

    • reviewing, on a limited test basis, relevant internal and external documentation;

    • performing an analytical review of the data and trends;

  • evaluating the consistency of the sustainability information with the information in the annual report that is not included in the scope of our review;

  • evaluating the overall presentation, structure and content of the sustainability information;

  • weighing whether the sustainability information as a whole, including the disclosures included in same, reflects the purpose of the reporting criteria used.

We communicate with the Supervisory Board regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the review and significant findings that we identify during our review.

Rotterdam, 17 February 2023
Ernst & Young Accountants LLP

R.T.H. Wortelboer RA

Deel dit verhaal