Becoming a net zero company: Our pledge in numbers

• Level playing field: where carbon prices are in place, a level playing field on carbon costs between domestic producers and importers is necessary to ensure that low-carbon solutions remain competitive.
• Reliable carbon prices: carbon prices must be reliable to sustain the business case and investments in low-carbon technologies. In Europe, we expect CO₂  prices to stay above the EUR 20/t CO₂ range.
• Encompassing consumption: carbon costs must progressively be absorbed in products and solutions in order to render carbon-efficient solutions more competitive.

What are we doing to drive forward this enabler?

• We are working with governments and stakeholders to develop forward-looking regulatory frameworks on carbon pricing (e.g. establishment of carbon border adjustment mechanisms).
• We collaborate with relevant international coalitions who are driving the international carbon pricing agenda. For example:
  • The Leadership Group for Industry Transition: Gathers countries and companies that are committed to achieving the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.
  • The Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition: LafargeHolcim is on the steering committee of this international coalition of governments, NGOs and private sector companies that are united in their commitment to drive forward the carbon pricing agenda at an international level. We played a leading role in its work on carbon pricing and the construction value chain.

LafargeHolcim is committed to leading the transition towards low-carbon and circular construction by developing and introducing green products and solutions worldwide. From its ECOPact Green Concrete all the way to ORIS, the industry’s first digital platform for sustainable road construction, developed with IBM, LafargeHolcim will accelerate the transition to green building with cutting edge innovation. To further this effort requires regulatory environments and building standards that incentivize greater and faster market uptake of low-carbon products. It also requires the mobilization of actors across the construction value chain in order to integrate lifecycle carbon performance and circularity principles in business models and in all decision-making processes.

What are we doing to drive forward this enabler?

• We work with customers, regulators, decision-makers and actors from across the construction value chain to foster the development of an enabling regulatory framework that will incentivize the demand for low-carbon materials and solutions.
• We are actively taking part in the work of international initiatives and coalitions that drive this agenda forward. For example:
  • The Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction: This international initiative brings together governments, the private sector and civil society to collaborate on the transition towards a zero-emission, efficient and resilient building and construction sector. LafargeHolcim co-chairs the group that focuses on market transformation.
  • Concrete Sustainability Council: LafargeHolcim is a founding member and co-chair of the Concrete Sustainability Council (CSC). The CSC promotes and demonstrates concrete as a sustainable building material and is creating a certification system for responsibly-sourced concrete.
  • Chair of Sustainable Construction at ETH Zurich: LafargeHolcim initiated this Chair through its Foundation for Sustainable Construction in 2006 and financially supports its significant teaching and research since then. The Chair brings together scientists, engineers and architects who aim to ground sustainability in all disciplines involved in the built environment, with a focus on Life Cycle Assessment, urban metabolism and material science. The Chair is engaged with the Group as a member of the Academic Committee of the LafargeHolcim Foundation.

Large-scale deployment of CCUS technologies is much broader than the technical challenges faced by individual sectors. It is an economy-wide endeavor that requires large-scale investment in CO₂ transportation and storage networks, social acceptance of permanent storage technologies, large-scale demand for captured CO₂ and an advanced regulatory framework.

What are we doing to drive forward this enabler?

• LafargeHolcim is currently spearheading over twenty CCUS pilot projects in the US, Canada and Europe to develop a menu of solutions that can be combined in different ways since no single solution will be perfectly scalable as different environments present different conditions, from local partners to geological conditions for storage.
• The pilot projects are evaluated in terms of cost, technical feasibility, compatibility with CO₂ usage opportunities, and other aspects of viability and scalability, including the regulatory framework.

• The low-carbon transition and the use of associated technologies (e.g. CCUS) will significantly increase the energy needs of industry. This requires abundant and competitively priced renewable energy.
• In parallel, the substitution of fossil energy by non-fossil alternatives must be incentivized. This includes an increased use of non-recyclable waste-derived fuels. Legislative frameworks must therefore recognize the advantages of using non-recyclable and biomass waste.

What are we doing to drive forward this enabler?

• We are working with governments across different jurisdictions to develop regulatory frameworks relating to waste-derived fuels.
• We are partnering with international organizations to develop recognized best practices in the development of waste co-processing solutions (e.g. CPCB in India, GIZ in Germany, ADEME in France, SINTEF and UNEP).