| Global biodiversity starts locally - Holcim Group Support |
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Description Addressing biodiversity issues at our operations has a long-standing precedent in the Group. Look no further than Holcim Group Support (HGRS) headquarters at Holderbank, Switzerland, and you will find more than 20 years' dedication to a landscaping vision with biodiversity at its heart. |
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Objective The aim was threefold: not only for the ecosystem at the site to flourish, but to reduce maintenance costs (now less than a fifth of the previous system) as well as create social ambience for employees on-site. A win across the triple bottom line has thus been created from the simple base of thinking globally, acting locally. |
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ActivitiesEfforts to enhance local biodiversity at the office complex began in the early 1980s. At a time when the term biodiversity was not commonly used, the team at HGRS applied this eco-efficient concept to their new approach to site management when more natural landscaping of the grounds was introduced. The monoculture of manicured lawns and flower gardens was replaced with natural meadows, only cut two to three times a year by a local farmer. In this way, meadow flowers are left to go to seed, naturally - an important food resource in autumn and winter for chaffinches and goldfinches. At several places on the site, gravelly sandy patches were installed. These included rootstocks as well as erratic boulders to simulate glacial river bed deposits. Steps and small slopes with varying exposure to sun and wind provide a range of microclimates. This type of terrain is critical to the re-introduction of pioneer species whose biodiversity has declined worldwide due to increasing urbanization and disappearing natural habitats. Pioneers literally prepare the ground for more highly developed plants and animals that cannot endure such extreme conditions. By increasing the nutrient content of stony soil through germinating, growing, reproducing, and dying, the cycle steadily reduces open gravel and sand areas. Pioneers thus provide a better balanced microclimate by moderating fluctuations in temperature and water supply to support later colonization by other plants and animals. |
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Results Taking this concept to the quarry - a pioneer plant's ideal manmade habitat - it is clear that our mining operations have a role to play in sustaining and enriching the biodiversity of these species. Even in active quarries, there are always areas that are untouched by excavation and transport. Such quiet zones can serve as 'wandering biotopes' - ideal spots for supporting the biodiversity of pioneer plants and animals. Holcim's Raw Materials Management (RMM) approach, a standard procedure since 1999 within the Group, enables us to support a dynamic and biodiverse quarry habitat. The main planning elements of RMM ensure that environmental factors are taken into account at each stage of the process. This includes actively promoting rehabilitation in the initial planning stage - that is, even before quarrying begins. The planning tools contain various environmental options for encouraging pioneer species, such as limiting or modifying the size of the mined area, retaining some slopes intact, and even fully protecting several zones, so that the final rehabilitated site is as natural as possible. |
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