How GO CIRCULAR embodies the Holcim Spirit
The Holcim Spirit, with Purpose, People and Performance at the core, is the driving force behind our NextGen Growth 2030 strategy and how we continue to be the leading partner for sustainable construction. We’re embedding these “3 P’s” into our performance-driven culture and how we develop and celebrate our people across everything we do.
As Team Holcim-PRB makes waves at The Ocean Race Europe 2025 with the GO CIRCULAR campaign, check out how they’re bringing the Holcim Spirit and the 3 P’s to life at sea.
Sailing with a Purpose to advance ocean science and revitalize marine ecosystems
At Holcim, we are driven by a clear Purpose to build progress, with sustainability and innovation at the core. As part of our GO CIRCULAR campaign, Team Holcim-PRB has a long track record of contributing to climate and ocean science. During the races, our team collects water and air samples from edges of the world where people rarely go.
We then share this data with scientific and research organizations to advance climate and marine science, as well as global weather forecasting. For The Ocean Race Europe 2025, the team once again has an OceanPack onboard, and this time also deployed a drifter buoy in the Bay of Biscay, which provides scientists valuable data on ocean circulation, pollutant dispersion, and the movement of marine life.
Beyond this citizen science initiative, Holcim committed to donating an artificial reef if the skipper of Team Holcim-PRB, Nicolas Lunven, successfully completed his first Vendée Globe solo round-the-world race. When it was time to decide where to donate the reef Kiel was the obvious choice, both as the starting point of the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe and as a city that is committed to revitalizing a former post-war marine munition dumpsite into a thriving marine ecosystem.
Covering 24m2 of seabed, the reef was installed in June 2025, and integrates a number of Holcim’s innovative coastal protection and biodiversity-boosting solutions. In addition to the 3D-printed fish hotels, 400 CO2-reduced Xstone blocks made using bioactive concrete, which include several pilot blocks made with biochar, make up the reef, which will restore and boost the marine ecosystem in the Bay of Kiel Bight.
For Kiel's Environmental Officer, Alke Voß, the artificial reef is an important initiative to promote biodiversity and protect the marine environment. “Such innovative projects demonstrate how sustainable coastal protection and nature conservation can go hand in hand – it's an important step for the preservation of our marine habitats,” she says.
Unstoppable team spirit with People at the core
People are at the center of everything we do. This is why we’re continuously striving to create the best workplace for people, where talent is nurtured, diversity is celebrated, employees are engaged and Health and Safety is top priority.
Much like the construction industry, the world of offshore sailing has traditionally been male dominated. While Holcim is working towards changing the status quo on land by growing a pipeline of female leaders, Rosalin Kuiper, skipper of Team Holcim-PRB, is flying the flag as the only female skipper in The Ocean Race Europe 2025.
“My goal for The Ocean Race Europe 2025 was to build a high-performing, international, and inclusive team where everyone can thrive. And we’ve definitely succeeded in this. Our strength is our diversity, with each crew member fully committed to our collective success.”
Studying human performance in extreme offshore racing
Holcim’s deeply embedded Performance-driven culture is a key pillar of our NextGen Growth 2030 strategy.
Ahead of the race, Team Holcim-PRB partnered with Hatch Systems, Inc. to study the physical and mental effects of offshore ocean racing (one of the most demanding and grueling sports) to understand how sailors can optimize and reach peak performance.
To support Team Holcim-PRB in the lead up to and during The Ocean Race Europe 2025, the partnership focuses on monitoring and analyzing both physiological and psychological responses throughout training and competition. The project builds on previous research conducted during the Vendée Globe 2024-2025, which revealed groundbreaking insights.
Using wearable sensors and advanced monitoring equipment installed aboard the IMOCA, the study tracks key metrics such as heart rate, heart rate variability, body temperature, blood oxygen, activity levels and sleep patterns, as well as environmental stressors like temperature, vibration, and onboard noise.
This partnership with Hatch Systems, Inc. not only reinforces our commitment to the 3 P’s, it charts a pioneering path for the future of ocean racing. By combining elite athleticism with cutting-edge science, the team is setting new standards for performance, safety and care in one of the toughest sports on the planet.
“During the Vendée Globe, we conducted a study with 15 sailors. The results were eye-opening. On several parameters, the physical state of sailors after the race was nearly identical to astronauts returning from space. This demonstrates the extreme nature of offshore racing. By continuing this research, we aim to raise awareness of the sport’s demands while helping each sailor optimize performance, recovery, and long-term health,”
“This initiative perfectly aligns with our mission. We’re here to push boundaries, but we’re committed to doing so in a responsible and sustainable way. Understanding how these races impact our crew’s bodies and minds helps us train smarter, race safer, and perform at our peak.”
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