Holcim joins World Ocean Council to scale up action for sustainable marine ecosystems
• Joins World Ocean Council for sustainable ocean stewardship
• Global deployment of bioactive concrete for marine ecosystem restoration
• Driving coastline protection and sustainable ports in over 30 international projects
In celebration of World Ocean Day, Holcim joins the World Ocean Council (WOC), a global, cross-sectoral industry alliance committed to sustainable ocean stewardship. This membership builds on Holcim’s long-standing commitment to reviving marine ecosystems.
Magali Anderson, Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer: “I am extremely proud to formalize our commitment to sustainable ocean stewardship by joining the World Ocean Council. Working with the Council’s members, we expect to scale up our actions to preserve our oceans.”
Paul Holtus, CEO of the WOC: “We are very pleased and honored to welcome Holcim as a member of the World Ocean Council along with other visionary organizations concerned with the health of the global ocean. Holcim’s focus on driving sustainability with innovation will make a great contribution to the work of the WOC.”
Holcim has innovated to promote sustainable oceans for decades. A recent example is the global deployment of its bioactive patented bilayer concrete that helps rehabilitate coastal ecosystems. This bioactive concrete has been in place for over three years in the Parc des Calanques near Marseilles (FR), where it contributed to a four-fold increase in marine species. Building on this success, bioactive solutions are being installed in other coastal environments in the Pacific, Caribbean and the Persian Gulf in partnership with EGIS/Seaboost. This work was recently recognized by the Solar Impulse Foundation, which awarded Holcim’s bioactive concrete its ‘Efficient Solution’ label.
Holcim plays a key role in developing coastal protection solutions. For example, the company is contributing to the renovation of the Afsluitdijk in the Netherlands, a 32-kilometer long dyke that is key to the country's sea defense infrastructure. Specially developed precast blocks will cover around 700,000 m2 of the dyke, protecting it from strong waves and rising water levels. In addition Holcim is part of over 30 international sustainable port infrastructure projects in over 25 countries including Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Madagascar, France and the UK.
Holcim is also actively engaged in preventing marine litter from reaching the oceans, notably through its waste management company, Geocycle. Geocycle India has recently installed the Bubble Barrier in the Yamuna River in the city of Agra. This non-invasive technology removes plastic waste from rivers, which are the source of most of the plastic that reaches the oceans.
About Holcim
Holcim builds progress for people and the planet. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, Holcim is enabling greener cities, smarter infrastructure and improving living standards around the world. With sustainability at the core of its strategy Holcim is becoming a net zero company, with its people and communities at the heart of its success. The company is driving the circular economy as a world leader in recycling to build more with less. Holcim is the company behind some of the world’s most trusted brands in the building sector including ACC, Aggregate Industries, Ambuja Cement, Disensa, Firestone Building Products, Geocycle, Holcim and Lafarge. Holcim is 70,000 people around the world who are passionate about building progress for people and the planet through four business segments: Cement, Ready-Mix Concrete, Aggregates and Solutions & Products.
More information is available on www.holcim.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.
