The Board of Holcim New Zealand recognised this when the company was invited and decided to join the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD) in 1999. Holcim New Zealand’s parent company Holcim Ltd has demonstrated commitment to sustainable development when they signed the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Business Charter for Sustainable Development in 1992. Their membership of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) was formalized in 1999.

As a member of the NZBCSD we are fully committed to the business case for sustainable development and believe that if we are to continue to meet the expectations of our shareholders and other key stakeholders we need to measure, improve and publicly report our performance on the basis of environmental, social and economic aspects of our operations. In 2002 we produced our first report to move us towards this goal.

The Mission of the NZBCSD is to provide business leadership as a catalyst for change toward sustainable development, and to promote eco-efficiency, innovation and responsible entrepreneurship.

Holcim New Zealand is actively participating in two projects that are presently being sponsored by members of the NZBCSD. The success of both projects is important if New Zealand is to move along a path of sustainable development.

Youth Employment Project
This project involves the NZBCSD working alongside “The Mayor’s Taskforce for Jobs” to focus on catalysing projects that will see no young person out of work or training by 2005.

The Mayor's Task force is a coalition of 31 NZ mayors and has the following goals: By 2005, no young person under 25 years will be out of work or training in our communities; By 2009, all people in our communities will have the opportunity to be in work or training.

The NZBCSD members feel that this is an area where they can contribute because they have a large number of members who employ a great many people. This is a win/win project that will result in well-trained, fine young employees for our companies, and jobs for the kids.

Climate Change Project:
The issues related to the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases are complicated and cooperation between all sectors of society is needed to reach solutions. Holcim New Zealand supports this view and has been happy to work with the NZBCSD to provide business leadership, to inform the debate and influence policy development on climate change.

Holcim New Zealand's past commitment and reaction to assisting the New Zealand Government with its response to climate change is also discussed under the voluntary agreements case study.

WBCSD Cement Sustainability Initiative:
Readers who are interested in the how the cement industry and in particular Holcim are participating in the move to sustainable development are referred to the Holcim website.