At a recent press conference to present its Corporate Sustainable Development Report 2009, Holcim CEO Markus Akermann confirmed that the group has “met its targets on schedule and in the case of the reduction in CO2 emissions even earlier than planned”.

Taking 1990 as reference year, Holcim’s original target was a 20 per cent reduction in net CO2 emissions per tonne of cement by the end of 2010. As presented in the Corporate Sustainable Development Report, these emissions were already reduced by 21 per cent by the end of 2009 (excluding the Group’s own power generation).

The Group has set itself the new target of reducing CO2 emissions by 2015 to a level of 25 per cent below the 1990 baseline.

As part of its contribution to the current UN Year of Biodiversity, Holcim is making a major effort to promote biodiversity in the vicinity of its raw material quarries. It also works in close cooperation with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Holcim’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility has also been recognised by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.