Holcim

Holcim has a clear 2050 net-zero target across operations and value chain, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. The 2025 Sustainability Statement states that Holcim’s 2030 and 2050 net-zero targets are aligned with the 1.5°C framework and were restated in 2025 after the spin-off of the North American business, without weakening the commitment to reach net-zero GHG emissions across operations and the value chain by 2050. External Holcim climate pages also confirm that the company has SBTi-validated 2050 Scope 1, 2 and 3 targets.

SBTi-validated 1.5°C net-zero by 2050 across Scope 1, 2 and 3.

Holcim’s main 2030 target is to reduce gross Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 24.95% per tonne of cementitious materials by 2030 versus a 2020 baseline, equivalent to a 21% absolute reduction. It also targets a 25.1% reduction in gross Scope 3 emissions per tonne of purchased clinker and cement and a 25.1% reduction in gross Scope 3 emissions from investments per tonne of cementitious materials by 2030. The operational Scope 1 target is expressed more simply elsewhere in the report as below 400 kg net CO₂ per tonne of cementitious materials by 2030, a 30% reduction versus the 2020 baseline.

21% absolute & 30% intensity reduction targets by 2030 vs 2020.

Holcim reports Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions. In 2025, Scope 1 accounted for 57.1% of the company’s carbon footprint, Scope 2 for 3.0%, and Scope 3 for 39.8%. Key disclosed 2025 emissions include 32.6 MtCO₂e from raw material calcination in cement production, 15.7 MtCO₂e from fuel combustion in cement production, 4.2 MtCO₂e from power generation, aggregates and ready-mix operations, and 2.8 MtCO₂e from purchased electricity. Scope 3 categories include purchased goods and services 5.8 MtCO₂e, fuel- and energy-related activities 3.3 MtCO₂e, upstream transportation 3.1 MtCO₂e, downstream transportation 1.3 MtCO₂e, and investments / joint ventures 21.3 MtCO₂e.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 with detailed category breakdown.

Holcim’s responsible extraction evidence is strongest through its Nature Policy, Quarry Rehabilitation and Biodiversity Directive, and circular construction strategy. The Quarry Rehabilitation and Biodiversity Directive applies to all extraction sites worldwide, including active, closed and newly acquired sites. It requires rehabilitation plans for all quarries, biodiversity management plans for sites of high biodiversity importance, financial provisions for rehabilitation costs, and environmental and social impact studies before developing new sites. This is highly relevant to a marine / extractive benchmark because Holcim’s aggregates and cement raw-material model depends on quarrying and natural resource extraction.

Quarry Rehabilitation & Biodiversity Directive applied globally.

Holcim reports a cement-sector operational carbon intensity metric. In 2025, Scope 1 emissions were 502 kg net CO₂ per tonne of cementitious materials, down from 515 kg in 2024 and representing an 11% reduction versus the 2020 baseline. This is the most comparable intensity metric for an extractive / construction-materials benchmark, because quarrying and aggregates emissions are only a smaller part of the total footprint, while cement production dominates Holcim’s Scope 1 emissions.

502 kg CO2/t cementitious; -11% vs 2020 baseline.

Holcim’s 2025 Scope 1 emissions intensity was 502 kg net CO₂/t cementitious materials, compared with 564 kg in the restated 2020 baseline, giving an 11% reduction. The report also states that 2025 CO₂ per tonne of cementitious materials fell by 3% versus 2024. For absolute emissions, the report frames the 2030 Scope 1 and 2 target as equivalent to a 21% absolute reduction versus 2020, but the headline progress metric is primarily intensity-based rather than a single absolute-emissions progress figure.

Intensity progress strong; absolute progress less prominently framed.

Holcim reports water intensity rather than a simple headline total withdrawal figure in the early sustainability summary. In 2025, freshwater withdrawal was 179 litres per tonne of cementitious materials, down from 191 l/t in 2024 and representing a 25% reduction versus the 2020 baseline. The 2030 target is a 33% reduction in freshwater withdrawal versus the 2020 baseline. The company also states that it has science-based freshwater reduction targets and is a signatory of the CEO Water Mandate and WASH Pledge.

179 l/t cementitious; -25% vs 2020; SBT freshwater target in place.

Holcim’s water evidence is linked to reducing freshwater withdrawal, protecting water-related ecosystems, and applying science-based freshwater targets. The company states that it actively manages water use to lower consumption, reduce pollution and protect water-related ecosystems. It also says its Nature Policy and SBTN framework are used to identify suppliers whose operations heavily impact water-scarce areas, and that Holcim partners with them to deploy water-management practices that protect shared freshwater resources. This is useful for marine / extractive benchmarking, but the reviewed sections do not provide a simple consolidated effluent-quality table or permit exceedance count.

SBTN framework; policy strong; consolidated effluent table not disclosed.

Holcim has strong biodiversity evidence. The company commits to making a measurable positive impact on biodiversity by 2030, using science-based indicators for active and non-active quarries. In 2025, 252 quarries were identified as having biodiversity importance, and 98% of these had a biodiversity management plan in place. The four remaining sites had partially implemented plans and are expected to complete them in 2026. Holcim also uses the Biodiversity Indicator and Reporting System (BIRS), developed with support from IUCN, to measure habitat condition and biodiversity progress.

252 quarries identified; 98% with biodiversity management plans.

For Holcim, the relevant impact is quarry land-use and habitat disturbance, rather than seabed disturbance. Holcim’s Quarry Rehabilitation and Biodiversity Directive applies to extraction sites globally and requires BIRS monitoring, ESIA for new sites, and regular plan reviews. An external mining-sector summary of the same 2025 disclosure reports that Holcim’s raw-material extraction operations disturbed 19,673 hectares of land across 408 quarries in 2025. This external figure should be treated as useful supplementary evidence, while the core report evidence is that all quarries are governed by rehabilitation and biodiversity planning requirements.

19,673 ha disturbed across 408 quarries (external 2025 disclosure).

Holcim provides strong quarry rehabilitation evidence. In 2025, 100% of Holcim quarries had a quarry rehabilitation plan in place, and the company had rehabilitated a total area of 7,658 hectares by year-end. The Quarry Rehabilitation and Biodiversity Directive requires all extraction sites to have rehabilitation plans, sites of high biodiversity importance to have biodiversity management plans, financial provisions for rehabilitation costs, and formal plan reviews at least every five years. External Holcim UK evidence also shows site-level implementation: the company completed the restoration of Newbold Quarry, transforming a former aggregates extraction site into a habitat for local wildlife.

100% quarries with rehab plans; 7,658 ha rehabilitated.

Holcim is not a tailings-heavy mining company like Anglo American or ICL, so tailings / TSF evidence is not central. The closest equivalent is quarry overburden, raw-material extraction residues, and construction demolition materials used as alternative raw materials. Holcim’s circular construction model substitutes primary raw materials with construction demolition materials, including use in low-carbon cement formulations, recycled aggregates, ready-mix concrete, precast, mortars and road construction. This should be recorded as mineral-resource substitution / quarry-residue-adjacent evidence, not as formal tailings management.

Not a tailings-heavy miner; CDM substitution & low-carbon cement evidence.

Holcim is very strong on circular resource use. In 2025, it recycled 8 million tonnes of construction demolition materials, up from 6.5 million tonnes in 2024, a 23.5% increase. Its 2030 ambition is to recycle more than 20 million tonnes of CDM. The company has over 100 local circular construction hubs, and ECOCycle technology is available in 12 countries. ECOCycle-labelled solutions contain at least 10% and up to 100% recycled construction demolition materials. Geocycle also recycled 12.6 million tonnes of waste and byproducts for use as energy or raw materials in 2025.

8 Mt CDM recycled in 2025; 12.6 Mt via Geocycle; 2030 ambition >20 Mt.

Holcim’s report provides governance and environmental-management evidence, including ISO / EMS-related assurance items, quarry rehabilitation plans, ESIA requirements for new sites, biodiversity management plans for sensitive quarries and BIRS monitoring. The assurance appendix lists environmental management and compliance indicators, including cement sites with ISO 14001 certification and air-emissions monitoring. However, the reviewed sections do not disclose a single headline figure for environmental fines, permit breaches or major environmental incidents. Benchmark wording should therefore be: strong environmental management and quarry planning evidence; headline environmental incident / fine count not clearly identified in reviewed sections.

Strong EMS; headline incident/fine count not clearly identified.

Holcim has strong supplier sustainability evidence. Its sustainable procurement approach is based on the UN Global Compact, OECD Guidelines, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and ILO principles. Relevant policies include the Supplier Code of Business Conduct / Code of Ethics, Climate Policy, Nature Policy, Sustainable Procurement Directive and Workers in the Value Chain Directive. The report states that supplier due diligence is embedded into corporate governance to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse ESG impacts in operations and the value chain. It also states that procurement and logistics teams integrate CO₂ performance into sourcing decisions, and that Holcim engages key extractive-material suppliers through on-site assessments and tailored development programmes to improve mining practices

Sustainable Procurement Directive; on-site supplier assessments embedded.