We draw attention to the fact that the English translation of this independent assurance report according to section 273 UGB (Austrian Company Code) is presented for the convenience of the reader only and that the German wording is the only legally binding version.

Independent Assurance Report

STRABAG SE
Attn. chairman of the Management Board
Triglavstraße 9
9500 Villach

We have performed a limited assurance engagement of the consolidated sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” of STRABAG SE, Villach, for the financial year ended as at 31 December 2024.

Conclusion Based on a Limited Assurance Engagement

Based on the procedures performed and evidence obtained nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the consolidated sustainability reporting included in the management report for the Group in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” does not comply, in all material aspects, with the requirements of Article 29a of the Directive 2013/34/EU, including:

  • compliance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (hereinafter ESRS) including carrying out the process to identify the information to be reported pursuant to ESRS (hereinafter “Materiality Assessment Process“), and its presentation in disclosure “Double Materiality Assessment”, and
  • compliance with the reporting requirements pursuant to Article 8 of the Taxonomy Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (hereinafter EU Taxonomy Regulation).

Basis for Conclusion

We performed our limited assurance engagement in accordance with the legal requirements and the professional standards applicable in Austria with regard to other assurance engagements and additional opinions. The procedures performed in a limited assurance engagement vary in nature and timing from, and are less in extent than for, a reasonable assurance engagement; consequently, the level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is substantially lower than the assurance that would have been obtained had a reasonable assurance engagement been performed.

Our responsibilities under those provisions and standards are further described in the “Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Limited Assurance Engagement of the Consolidated Sustainability Reporting“ section of our report.

We are independent of the Group in accordance with professional requirements and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

Our assurance activities are subject to the requirements of KSW-PRL 2022, which essentially corresponds to the requirements pursuant to ISQM 1, applying an extensive quality management system including documented guidelines and processes to adhere to ethical requirements, professional standards as well as applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

We believe that the assurance evidence we have obtained until the date of the independent assurance report is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion by this date.

Other Matter – Prior-year Disclosures 31 December 2023

Prior-year disclosures were not subject to a comparable assurance engagement.

Other Information

Management is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual and Sustainability Report, but does not include the “Sustainability Report“, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” and our independent assurance report.

Our conclusion on the consolidated sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our limited assurance engagement of the consolidated sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” our responsibility is to read the other information identified above and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the consolidated sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” or our knowledge obtained in the limited assurance engagement, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Responsibilities of Management

Management is responsible for the preparation of the sustainability statement including developing and performing the Materiality Assessment Process pursuant to the applicable requirements and standards. This responsibility includes

  • identifying actual and potential impacts as well as risks and opportunities related to sustainability aspects and assessing the materiality of these impacts, risks and opportunities
  • preparing the sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” complying with the requirements of Article 29a of the Directive 2013/34/EU, including compliance with the ESRS,
  • including disclosures in the sustainability statement in accordance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation as well as
  • designing, implementing and maintaining such internal controls as management determines is relevant to enable the preparation of sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” that is free from material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error, and performing the Materiality Assessment Process pursuant to the requirements of the ESRS.

Furthermore, this responsibility includes the selection and application of appropriate methods regarding sustainability reporting as well as making assumptions and estimates on the individual sustainability disclosures appropriate under the given circumstances.

Inherent Limitations for the Preparation of the Sustainability Reporting

When reporting on future-oriented information, the Company is required to prepare this future-oriented information based on disclosed assumptions about events that may occur in the future as well as possible future actions by the Group. Actual outcomes are likely to be different since anticipated events frequently do not occur as expected.

When determining disclosures pursuant to the EU Taxonomy Regulation, management faces the challenge of interpreting undefined legal terms, in particular in connection with the fulfilment of the DNSH criteria and the execution of the climate risk and vulnerability assessment according to Appendix A of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139. The interpretation of these requirements can vary, especially since the European Commission has not provided a clear stipulation regarding necessity of implementing a robust climate risk assessment in its communications. These uncertainties can lead to different interpretations regarding the legal compliance of the decisions made and therefore present inherent limitations in the preparation of the sustainability report.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Assurance Engagement of the Consolidated Sustainability Reporting

Our responsibility is to plan and perform a limited assurance engagement to obtain limited assurance about whether the consolidated sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” including the comprised Materiality Assessment Process and the reporting pursuant to the EU Taxonomy Regulation is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an independent assurance report that includes our conclusion. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the sustainability statement.

We exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the limited assurance engagement.

Our responsibilities include:

  • performing risk-based procedures comprising obtaining an understanding of internal controls relevant to this engagement in order to identify disclosures where material misstatements are likely to arise, whether due to fraud or error, but not for the purpose of expressing a conclusion on the effectiveness of the Group’s internal controls, and
  • developing and performing procedures regarding disclosures in the sustainability reporting, where material misstatements are likely to arise.

The risks of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

Summary of Performed Work

A limited assurance engagement requires performing procedures to gain evidence on the sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B”. The nature, timing and scope of the selected procedures depend on professional judgement including identifying disclosures in the sustainability reporting where material misstatements are likely to arise, whether due to fraud or error.

In our limited assurance engagement regarding the sustainability reporting in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” we proceed as follows

  • We obtain an understanding on the Materiality Assessment Process, especially through 1)     interviews, to understand the information sources used by management; and 2) reviewing the internal process documentation; and
  • We evaluate whether the Materiality Assessment Process complies with the ESRS requirements and the process presentation in disclosure “Double Materiality Assessment”, based on the evidence obtained from our procedures performed.
  • We evaluate whether all relevant information identified in the Materiality Assessment Process were included in the sustainability statement.
  • We obtain an understanding of the Company’s procedures relevant for the preparation of the sustainability statement.
  • We evaluate whether the structure and presentation of the consolidated sustainability reporting included in the sustainability statement comply with the ESRS.
  • Regarding the linkage with other parts of the corporate reporting and connected information, we compare selected disclosures in the sustainability statement with the corresponding disclosures in the management report for the Group and the other sections of the management report for the Group.
  • We interview relevant employees and perform analytical audit procedures regarding selected disclosures in the sustainability statement.
  • We perform sample-based, result-oriented procedures regarding selected disclosures in the sustainability statement.
  • We obtain evidence on the presented methods regarding the development of estimates and future-oriented information.
  • We obtain an understanding of the procedure to identify taxonomy-eligible and taxonomy-aligned economic activities and of the preparation of the corresponding disclosures in the sustainability statement.

Limited Liability

The limited assurance engagement of the sustainability statement is voluntary. According to the agreement, in the event of liability, any contributory negligence on the part of the company subject to a limited assurance engagement, its legal representatives and vicarious agents must be taken into account. Because our report is prepared solely for and on behalf of the client, it does not constitute a basis for any reliance on its contents by third parties. Therefore, no claims of third parties can be derived from it.

Our independent assurance report is issued based on the engagement letter agreed with the Company and is governed by the General Conditions of Contract for the Public Accounting Professions (AAB 2018) enclosed to this report, which also apply towards third parties.

Deviating from item 7 para. 2 AAB 2018, our liability for gross negligence to the Company is limited to half of the liability limit, thus to EUR 6 million, pursuant to section 275 para. 2 UGB corresponding to the Company’s size criteria based on the size criteria pursuant to section 221 UGB.

Responsible Engagement Partner

Responsible for the proper performance of the limited assurance engagement of the sustainability reporting is Mr. Gabor Krüpl, Austrian Certified Public Accountant.

Vienna
4 April 2025

PwC Wirtschaftsprüfung GmbH
Gabor Krüpl
Austrian Certified Public Accountant

signed

This report is a translation of the original report in German, which is solely valid. Publication and sharing with third parties of the sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” together with our independent assurance report is only allowed if the sustainability reporting included in the sections “Sustainability Report”, “Environment”, “Social”, “Governance” and “Appendix B” is identical with the German audited version. This independent assurance report is only applicable to the German and complete sustainability statement. For deviating versions, the provisions of section 281 para. 2 UGB apply.