Building a Circular Future: Holcim's Impactful Week at Davos

Circularity is everyone’s business.

With our world’s growing population and urbanization, the built environment is one of the most powerful engines of the circular economy and the deployment of circular construction solutions is essential. Recent research also suggests that circularity could abate 75% of the built sector’s upfront carbon emissions. The evidence is clear: implementing circularity models is a strategic imperative for sustainable and innovative construction practices, and the industry’s transition to net zero.

Unlocking circular synergy: Holcim's collaboration efforts at Davos

For me personally, the only way we can achieve a truly circular built environment and scale up our impact is by accelerating collaboration among circularity thought leaders.

That is exactly what 拉法基 set out to accomplish at the World Economic Forum this week. And what a week it was for circular initiatives, partnerships, collaborations, recognitions and discussions!

Because the built environment is resource-intensive and is already established as a key contributor to climate solutions, it provides a system perspective to the circular economy.

Recognizing the leading role of public authorities, it is crucial for cities and businesses to team up to overcome the challenges on the way to circular construction. Once again, together with our trusted partner Goals House , we gathered the movers and doers driving circular construction in cities. The discussion focused on how we can encourage effective partnerships between industries, architects, and cities to promote circular construction practices and address the challenges associated with this transition. Working together hand in hand, in a transparent way, to build the cities our citizens deserve to live in is also one of the ways we’re engaging with this year’s theme at Davos – “Rebuilding Trust”.

We also spoke about what is needed to ensure that circularity is embedded in the whole lifecycle of buildings, and what strategies can be implemented to promote the repurposing and recycling of materials within the built environment. We touched upon tailoring policies to support and accelerate the adoption of circular principles in diverse urban contexts and foster green demand. And that is just a brief snapshot of the topics we explored.

Holcim's proprietary technology earns prestigious recognition?

Last but certainly not least, Holcim’s proprietary ECOCycle? circular technology was named a “Circularity Lighthouse in the Built Environment”, in a new joint initiative between McKinsey & Company. and the World Economic Forum. The Lighthouses were awarded to industry-leading solutions propelling the shift towards circularity, serving as aspirational models and inspiring others to follow suit. What makes me even more proud of this incredible recognition is that Holcim was one of just three companies in the built environment to be awarded a Circularity Lighthouse, a designation recognizing pioneering solutions that demonstrate a novel, distinctive circularity approach, proven substantial impact and value, and the maturity of scaling significantly beyond pilot projects.?

My team and I are coming back from Davos more inspired than ever to continue building on the momentum, to keep driving circular construction across all metropolitan areas where we operate. This will unlock economic growth in a way that is climate-friendly, nature-positive and socially-inclusive.?

As always, I extend an invitation to each and every single one of you – whether you’re an architect, government official, real estate developer, investor, like-minded company or simply a concerned citizen – to join us in building not only monuments of beauty and functionality, but also monuments of sustainability and circularity.