How to make green building happen at scale | Holcim @ Climate Week 2022

We need radical collaboration to reach net-zero.?

That’s why I was so excited to attend New York Climate Week, where I had the opportunity to meet with people who are just as focused on climate as we are at Holcim – like-minded organizations of all scales, from startups to city planners to the United Nations. It will take all of us to achieve our world’s transition to net-zero.

The construction sector can make a huge difference. Why? Because decarbonizing it means eliminating 40% of the world’s carbon emissions. At Holcim we’re on a mission to make this a reality. But how?

• It starts with decarbonizing our own operations. We are turning Holcim into a net-zero company with green energy: from renewables to power our sites, all the way to waste heat recovery systems that turn heat from our processes into electricity, and alternative fuels, such as biomass, replacing fossil fuels. With green formulations, including low-carbon raw materials such as calcined clay and construction & demolition waste for instance. Our mobility is also shifting towards electric and biogas vehicles, from our quarry to our cities. And finally, we have over 30 carbon capture projects around the world to develop next generation technologies as part of the solution.
• To build better with less we are working to decarbonize the construction phase of buildings, with a focus on smart design and low-carbon materials, such as the world’s broadest ranges of green concrete, ECOPact and green cement, ECOPlanet. Both offer 100% performance with up to 90% less CO2. These materials are making green construction possible at scale, from Zurich to NY and Mexico to Manila, enabling green building certifications from LEED to BREEAM.
• We are continuously expanding our portfolio of solutions to make buildings more sustainable in use from energy efficiency to green retrofitting. This is where the majority of a building’s emissions come representing 70% of the construction sector’s footprint. We are on the case with our green, cool and solar enabling roofs all the way to bio-based insulation systems. Using these products, especially for green retrofitting, goes a long way in improving the durability and sustainability of existing buildings.
• Finally, at the end of a building’s life cycle, we are driving circular construction. Today we recycle over six million tons of construction and demolition waste into new products, a figure we’re aiming to nearly double by 2025. All in all, we’re a global? leader in recycling, with 50 million tons of materials recycled across our business on our way to 100 million tons by 2030 as part of our net-zero journey. Across our business we recycle materials such as plastics and rubber into new building solutions, from concrete to roofing shingles.

Our leading position in innovative and sustainable building solutions tells us that green building is possible today. Why isn’t it happening faster? Simply because no single organization can get to net-zero alone. To make it happen at scale we need radical collaboration between:

• Government authorities, who can evolve building norms and stimulate green demand to specify more low carbon & energy efficient solutions;
• Real estate & infrastructure developers to specify greener systems in their building standards & procurement strategies;?
• Architects & engineers to embed low carbon, circular & energy efficient solutions in their designs;?
• And, ultimately, the public at large to accelerate green demand.

We are taking a rigorous science-driven approach on this journey. At New York Climate Week, we launched our sector’s first science-based 1.5℃ aligned framework to decarbonize cement, developed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). As a first mover, we have already submitted our revised 2030 targets to be validated by SBTi. I invite all my peers to join us in deploying this new 1.5℃-aligned framework at scale. We need more collaboration to accelerate our world’s shift to net-zero by 2050.

Join us to build a net zero future together!

Kai-Uwe Bergmann, FAIA , William McDonough , Lauren Sorkin Jamie Gentoso, P.E. , MBA , Resilient Cities Network SBTI Climate Group #ClimateWeekNYC #CircularConstruction #CircularCities #Sustainability #BuildingProgress