MEET THE SPEAKER

Mr David Perkins - Vice President, Government Affairs and Communications, Heidelberg Materials North America

About you – what perspective do you bring to INTERCEM Americas 2024 from your current role at Heidelberg Materials North America?

I hope to provide a perspective on the work we’ve been doing on our decarbonization strategy over the past few years. We’ve got some substantial goals we’ve set out for ourselves for 2030, as well as our longer-term vision to be net zero by 2050. This has included policy work with the US and Canadian governments to drive full-scale decarbonization both directly from our Heidelberg Materials North America perspective as well as the work we’ve been doing with our trade associations.

Why have you chosen to speak at the conference this year?

It is always a great opportunity to engage with the diverse attendance at this conference, while it is also exciting to share what we’ve been doing to help drive decarbonization of our sector. Of course, being able to meet new contacts as well as to see long-time friends in our industry is always great!

What will our delegates learn from your presentation? / Why should our delegates join your session?

Our sector is working on a number of different fronts to drive decarbonization and I think that this session will help to provide a valuable snapshot on what has been taking place over the past few years. The key is that to achieve net zero by 2050 there are many different and important levers to pull – and many can be implemented (and are being implemented) now. It is probably one of the most exciting times to be part of our industry.

How would you describe the key universal challenges facing your industry that we can help address at INTERCEM Americas 2024?

Driving decarbonization requires focus and effort on the policy front as well as in the overall marketplace. This includes policy supporting investments for large-scale decarbonization as well as the permitting processes needed to allow our industry to improve efficiency and optimization. It includes shifting the prescriptive focus on use of our products to performance-based standards that allow for more innovation in materials and mix designs as well as strengthening the pull in the marketplace for lower carbon cement and concrete. All of these require collective effort on the part of our industry.

Apart from speaking, what else are you looking forward to at the conference?

It’s always great to meet new people and see those I’ve worked with and known for a long time. Looking forward that aspect about this conference, but perhaps more importantly, I am also looking forward to learning. There are always opportunities to take in new perspectives and knowledge and these conferences always deliver!