LafargeHolcim sustainability plan embraces EPD, EMS, life cycle data, recycling metrics

Sources: LafargeHolcim Ltd., Jona, Switzerland; CP staff

Looking beyond rationalized cement capacity and integrated concrete and aggregate production assets, LafargeHolcim aims to make its mark in the global construction supply chain as part of a new sustainability initiative, The 2030 Plan.

“The sector has a role to play in providing collective solutions, from materials manufacturing processes and product development to building design and construction methods,” management notes. “As the building materials industry leader, LafargeHolcim has a responsibility, the scale and the geographic footprint to enable widespread, positive, global and local change in construction.”

The producer has mapped a 15-year schedule of operating benchmarks, metrics and other goals for its cement, concrete and aggregate businesses across the globe:

Deploying integrated, certified Environmental Management Systems;
Transparently disclosing products’ carbon dioxide footprint through Environmental Product Declarations;
Offering innovative product and project delivery solutions through which building or infrastructure customers avoid 10 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually;
Optimizing product engineering and performance whereby material required for concrete structures can be reduced while achieving the same functionality as conventional designs;
Improving transportation fleet performance and using low-carbon shipping modes, especially water and rail, where economically and technically feasible;
Increasing by four-fold the volume of aggregates, presently around 7 million tons/year, recycled from construction, demolition and reclaimed asphalt; and
Boosting by 20 percent or more the volume of waste-derived fuels in cement production, presently about 60 million tons/year.

“The 2030 Plan is the new sustainability vision of LafargeHolcim,” notes Head of Sustainable Development Bernard Mathieu in a video brief. “We want to lead in sustainability and set new standards[;] help transform the way the whole construction industry works[;] and encourage the whole sector in addressing environmental and social challenges. We will not only focus on our business activities, but go beyond the fence line over the entire construction value chain. The 2030 Plan encompasses our commitment along four focus areas: Climate, Circular Economy, Water and Nature, People and Communities. At LafargeHolcim, we want to build for tomorrow.”