Fast Company ranks Holcim one of “best in business” for innovation
- Recognizes Holcim’s Open Innovation Hub partnering with hundreds of startups
- Celebrates Europe‘s first low-carbon calcined clay operations
- Fast Company writers and editors select firms reshaping industries and culture
Fast Company has named Holcim as one of the world’s ‘Most Innovative Companies’ in 2024, highlighting its “reimagined” global research center that incubates innovation and a “first-of-its-kind” plant to produce low-carbon calcined clay-based cement, among the company’s many innovations.
For the second consecutive year, Holcim scored highly in the prestigious list, which Fast Company created by ranking groundbreaking businesses across 58 industries around the world that demonstrate innovation with genuine impact – from the largest companies to small-scale startups.
Nollaig Forrest, Chief Sustainability Officer at Holcim: “This is such an exciting time for our sector, with breakthrough innovations unlocking sustainable building solutions at scale. This accolade from Fast Company is a great encouragement for our teams to keep on advancing our low-carbon technologies and open innovation ecosystem – to build a world that works for people and the planet.”
Brendan Vaughn, Editor-in-Chief, Fast Company, said of Holcim and the other top-ranked companies: “We saw extraordinary innovation across the board in 2023, but we also saw a handful of clear patterns: the growing footprint and impact of AI, the triumphant return of live events, and great leaps forward in climate tech. We face daunting challenges on many fronts, but the solutions we celebrate give me plenty of hope about the future.”
Holcim took the No. 2 spot in Manufacturing, with Fast Company recognizing its first-of-its-kind advanced production line in Saint-Pierre-la-Cour, France. The plant’s sustainable operations are powered with 100% biomass-based alternative fuels and waste-heat-recovery system, to produce Europe’s first low-carbon calcined clay-based cement with a 50% lower carbon footprint versus traditional cement.
Since 2021, 90% of Holcim’s new patent applications have supported its sustainability goals, and Fast Company recognized the company’s investment in R&D to support sustainability, as well as the company’s new co-creation Innovation Hub. The hub showcases innovative and sustainable building solutions, while fostering open innovation with co-creation spaces for startups and think tanks to accelerate impact.
Check out Fast Company’s full list of the world’s Most Innovative Companies 2024 in Manufacturing here.
About Holcim
Holcim is a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions with net sales of CHF 27.0 billion in 2023. Driven by our purpose to build progress for people and the planet, our 63,448 employees are on a mission to decarbonize building, while improving living standards for all. We empower our customers across all regions to build better with less, with a broad range of low-carbon and circular solutions, from ECOPact and ECOPlanet to our circular technology platform ECOCycle®. Through innovative systems, from Elevate roofing to PRB insulation, Holcim makes buildings more sustainable in use, driving energy efficiency and green retrofitting. With sustainability at the core of our strategy, we are on the way to becoming a net-zero company with 1.5°C targets validated by SBTi.
Learn more about Holcim on Holcim.com, and by following us on LinkedIn.
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About Fast Company
Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at Fastcompany.com.
Important disclaimer – forward-looking statements:
This document contains forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements do not constitute forecasts regarding results or any other performance indicator, but rather trends or targets, as the case may be, including with respect to plans, initiatives, events, products, solutions and services, their development and potential. Although Holcim believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions as at the time of publishing this document, investors are cautioned that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Holcim, including but not limited to the risks described in the Holcim's annual report available on its website (www.holcim.com) and uncertainties related to the market conditions and the implementation of our plans. Accordingly, we caution you against relying on forward-looking statements. Holcim does not undertake to provide updates of these forward-looking statements.
