Let’s talk about sustainable cities at WEF 2026

“A spirit of dialogue.” The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 theme emphasized building trust and cooperation through listening and exchange. For us at Holcim, this involves advocating for the future of sustainable construction as we build progress for people and the planet.

Switzerland our lighthouse market
 

Of course, Switzerland is a special place for Holcim. It’s where our company was founded, where we are listed and have our headquarters. It is also a pioneering market for us. As Holcim shapes the future of sustainable construction, we often do so using Swiss innovations.

Take circular construction, which Holcim is expanding to recycle over 20 million tons of construction demolition materials (CDM) into high-value building solutions by 2030. This enables us to build new from old, reducing our use of primary materials and minimizing waste.

We pioneered the world's first circular cement, Susteno, in Switzerland in 2018. In 2025 we went further, launching a new ECOPlanet cement here using our ECOCycle® technology with 20% recycled materials - giving a 39% lower carbon footprint vs CEM I and 28% lower vs CEM IIa.

Everywhere I travel – both in Switzerland and worldwide – I’m proud to see such innovative, advanced solutions in action: iconic industry, infrastructure and buildings with “Holcim Inside” as we work to create superior value across the built environment.

Here’s just one local example. Holcim is supplying 300,000 tons of durable, high-performance cement for the Second Gotthard Road Tunnel. Once finished in 2030 this will strengthen a vital transport axis, connecting people and supporting economic growth in Switzerland and Europe.

As I told Peter Vanham, Convener, Compass for Europe, at the House of Switzerland in Davos, Holcim is committed to building sustainable, resilient infrastructure and setting the foundations for the future. Indeed, sustainability driving profitable growth is central to our NextGen Growth 2030 strategy, as we deploy initiatives to reduce CO₂ and enhance circularity in our business. Because it makes good business sense, and because it’s the right thing to do.

Strengthening trust for climate action
 

We want to operate in an atmosphere of trust, something that is often lacking in today’s world where there is more data than ever but less certainty. In Davos, we joined The Ocean Race to explore “The Power of Trust” and how we can build steadfast organizations and trusted brands.

At Holcim we’re walking the talk as a trusted partner, as one of the first companies worldwide to have our 2030 and 2050 CO₂ reduction targets validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). We’ve made strong progress towards our 2030 targets, in line with SBTI’s revised 1.5°C framework.

Alongside energy and carbon capture, formulation is central to our sustainability roadmap, and here innovation plays a crucial role as we develop sustainable building solutions for the NextGen cities of tomorrow, today.

You can see the progress we’re making by looking at our portfolio, as we scale our sustainable offering with solutions such as ECOPact and ECOPlanet – which are a growing percentage of our net sales in concrete and cement respectively – to meet our partners’ most ambitious goals.

At the same time, Holcim is building a nature-positive future with solutions to bring nature into cities while reducing freshwater withdrawals. We offer Hydromedia for rainwater management, ZinCo green roofs for biodiversity, bioactive concrete to revitalize marine ecosystems and more.

Partnership is the new leadership
 

Holcim is only able to offer such a broad product portfolio, powered by premium brands, because of our deep multi-year partnerships with city leaders, engineers, architects and customers, who put their trust in us and specify our solutions for iconic projects worldwide.

Partnership is the new leadership, and it’s through these strong partnerships that we’ll be able to continue shaping the sustainable cities of tomorrow throughout 2026 and beyond. I left Davos enthused by the energy, ideas and will I saw to make this happen.

At Holcim, our 45 000 people are committed to this goal – united by our vision to be the leading partner for sustainable construction. Together let’s scale the solutions we need to build the NextGen cities of tomorrow, today.