Circular operations

We are working in a number of critical areas along the entire value chain to decouple our growth from our use of natural resources.

85

%

Cement products including up to 85% recycled materials

100

%

Some operations substituting close to 100% of their energy needs by alternative sources

54

Mt

of waste treated in 2021

While the global economy is only 8.6% circular, our cement already has on average 24% recycled content. We have cement operations with products including up to 85% recycled materials and substituting close to 100% of their energy needs by alternative sources. We are working in a number of critical areas along the entire value chain to decouple our growth from our use of natural resources.

56075 holcim infographic production process st3 v2

Following the waste hierarchy, we treated 54 Mt in 2021:

We recycled construction and demolition waste into new building products,
We recycled industrial by-products into low-emission raw materials,
We powered our sites with energy drawn from materials at the end of their lifecycle.

Our actions today focus on the following activities:

Alternative materials:

We recycle waste and by-products from other industries to replace natural materials needs, significantly reducing CO2 emissions from cement production. Also, we manufacture new building products from construction and demolition waste.

Alternative fuels:

We currently source 21% of our energy from low-carbon fuels and biomass. In some of our operations, we’ve met 100% of our energy requirements with alternative fuels. These alternative energy sources not only help reduce our CO₂ emissions, they also divert waste from landfill and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

Energy recycling:

We recycle the thermal energy not used in our production to provide our communities with municipal heating and have invested in waste heat recovery units that use the waste thermal energy from the clinker production to produce decarbonized electricity.

Recycling CO2 into our products:

Taking our circularity to the next level, we are piloting the recycling of our CO₂ into new products, such as Solidia and the recarbonation technology.