Sustainability in India: Holcim's Plan | ft. Martin Kriegner & Gayatri Chauhan

Thank you. Looking forward.

Very good question. Thoughts and we believe in building for progress for the people and for the planet. Our vision, our main strategy is to be the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions. We have a very comprehensive sustainability framework which goes from green products and solutions to the circular economy, to the built environment, digitalization, but also the capture and utilization of carbon. And as part of that, it's also very much embedded that we want to aim at advancing the society and uplifting the communities. You may have seen that we have committed very ambitious targets to carbon reduction with our 2030 commitments, which are science-based targets. So it's not something which is just a commitment, it's science-based, it's a roadmap. And even beyond 2030, we are working now on science-based targets for a net zero environment for 2050. In India, we have two companies as you know, ACC and Ambuja, and they have also developed their own sustainability ambitions. And I have to say they can match with the global standards and it's very much aligned with our Holcim approach. In terms of sustainability strategy, it's all embedded in all facets of our business, including customers, supply chain, and our production sites. So it's a very holistic, comprehensive, future-oriented framework.

It's at the heart of our business strategy, the sustainability. And as I said, we want to be the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, which is the basis for all our strategy and for our roadmap. We want to be also in the forefront of this development in sustainable construction. We want to be the leader, we want to set the standards, we want to be part of the solution when it comes to sustainability. I just want to highlight that this topic is very important to be looked at from the customer perspective because we want to help our customers to reduce their carbon footprint not only during the construction of a building but during the whole life cycle of the building. Because as you know, the carbon footprint of the usage phase of the building is much higher than the carbon footprint of the construction phase. And here we are offering green products already which have a very high green performance because they are compared to conventional products, cements and concretes, already 30% less CO2 intense than the conventional solutions. And we are monitoring our progress very well. We monitor this with KPIs, so we have sustainability KPIs where we monitor the progress of our implementation of the strategy on a regular basis.

I agree with you. I think innovation is key to solve this challenge. And we don't have all the answers yet to be net zero in 2050, so there will be a huge innovation journey from now until then. And I give you a few examples. We are focusing on many areas. For us it goes from the customer back to our operations and even to the suppliers. One example are our low carbon cements and concrete which are already available. I mentioned it briefly. It's really exciting. It's a global range of Ecobact and EcoPlanet. It's available already in many markets, and this is a significant step in the reduction. This goes beyond the efficiency of the plants as you said because it's the performance of the product with the customer which is reducing the CO2 by 30% and more. Another innovative example more linked to the circular economy: we have launched a Circular Explorer, which is driven by renewable energy, and this sailing ocean vessel can also sail big rivers and collects plastic. We all know that plastic pollution in the water is a big problem. The plastic is collected from the sea, sorted, and then either recycled or we use it for co-incineration in our cement plants in a very efficient manner. Another innovative idea at global level: we recently showcased the Striatus so-called bridge in Venice at the Biennale, which is a 3D printed bridge. It shows the role of 3D printing in the innovation journey. It uses concrete at its best because concrete is slightly printed and used where strengths are needed. Concrete is a beautiful product with high versatility. With modular construction and 3D printing, we can explore new avenues of innovation. On the digital side, we are progressing with our Plants of Tomorrow, which is an Industry 4.0 concept. We want to make our plants with robotics, AI, predictive maintenance, data-driven decisions, machine learning to make our operations much more effective. Regarding India, the Ecobact concrete has already been launched in India very successfully, so India is already a market for green products. On the circular side, we have implemented the bubble barrier technology in Agra. It works by putting air at the bottom of the river, bumping it up, and all the plastic floats to the surface and can be easily collected. This cleans up the river and we reuse the plastic. We have also done the transport analytics center in India, which measures the efficiency of our transportation and scope 3 emissions. Another innovation is biodiesel in shipping. We are one of the first to use biodiesel very successfully. Our green building centers in India are small city centers in rural markets where we work with local entrepreneurs to market and produce local green products. These are just some examples of a vast range of innovation we are following.

Sure, sure. I think it's good to give you the overview, probably a bit more specific. Yes, when we can start.

So just going back to... I cannot move. Yeah, now it works.

Yeah, it works. So you can see here that the sustainability is at the heart of our business vision and strategy. We're making the cities greener in all kinds of applications in buildings, from the foundations to the roof, with low carbon solutions. This is key. Life will be concentrated more and more in cities. It's on one hand a challenge, on the other hand also very efficient. And there can be solutions where cities can become very efficient when it comes to sustainability. We are also empowering the society with smarter infrastructure. Here, the green mobility topic comes in, but also renewable energy is extremely important. With all this, we want to improve the living standards of people and improve the conditions of our planet with affordable and sustainable solutions. The key levels we see here are green building solutions, innovation, digitalization from the quarry to the customer, net zero pledge, circular economy, and for the people and communities. ACC and Ambuja in India have also given a net zero pledge on science-based targets just a few weeks ago, so they are a front runner. What is globally possible is also possible in India. Concrete itself is a beautiful product for circular economy because it can be recycled and used again. Concrete has good insulation properties, and at the end of life it can be recycled into fresh concrete. So concrete will play a very positive and key role in the future of sustainability.

For the time being, I think we are... I mean, maybe with the waste heat recovery we will be between 20 and 30 percent. But it's still a long way to go. But on the energy side, I see it's really possible to become green if we continue our path here because there are great levers and the economics are working.

I fully agree with you. I see three or four ways of using CO2 as a raw material. One is to feed plants, and we have a pilot project in Spain experimenting with captured CO2 to grow plants. Another option is to make fuel for aviation, with a pilot in Germany. Another way is to use captured CO2 as feedstock for the chemical industry, to avoid virgin plastic production. And the last exciting thing is to re-carbonate concrete. During the life cycle of a building, concrete absorbs CO2 through carbonation. The latest climate report recognized that this carbonation effect should be considered for CO2 reduction. That could be a game changer.

I fully agree. Then the next is EcoPlanet, which uses construction demolition waste from old buildings. That's a perfect example of circular economy. The demolition waste is upcycled into EcoPlanet cement with low CO2 footprint, no compromise on performance. We are preparing to launch EcoPlanet in India and other markets. We also want to expand the bubble barrier to other cities like Varanasi, next door plans in Ambuja Nagar, etc., because it has been very successful.

I see in some areas we are well placed, especially in the addition of byproducts to lower the clinker factor. We are also catching up with renewable energy. The Ecobact product has real demand. But there are some roadblocks. One is no incentive for green products, no carbon tax or price, and regulations are loose. This is important to finance innovation. Second, India is behind in recycling construction demolition waste. In Switzerland and the US, they have regulations that ban dumping and allow using demolition waste in cement. In India, the BIS does not allow this, so we need regulatory changes. For example, we cannot use the cement with limestone added in India, even though it works well in other markets. So historic regulations need to change.

You're right. The topic is to build new results without compromising performance. Using demolition waste saves virgin resources. The trigger points are regulations: first, you are not allowed to dump the waste; second, standards need to change so that cement can include demolition waste. In Switzerland, they changed the norms. India needs similar changes. For instance, the BIS would need to allow the use of limestone in cement. So regulation is key to enable innovation.

Yeah, there is one caveat to that. With the growing awareness on climate change and sustainability, steel manufacturers and others with fly ash as a byproduct will reduce its quantity. Fly ash is a depleting commodity from fossil fuel power generation, and normally it should disappear. I fully agree.

There's one aspect to fly ash gathering: a lot of fly ash has ended up in landfilling, red fly ash dams. Huge amounts in India. These dams need to be cleaned up, and the ash can be used in cement after treatment. We are investing in treatment equipment.

That's why construction demolition waste is important. We are also working on kaolin clay as a mineral filler for cement, which has a very low CO2 footprint and is available in many areas, even as a byproduct in our quarries. But norms need to evolve for its use as filler.

My last point, Gayatri, is that substitution is holding us back. We are not replacing traditional fuels enough. In other countries, we use almost 100% alternative fuel, but in India we have a long way. Landfilling is still allowed; in Europe it's banned, forcing recycling. Stopping landfilling encourages circular economy. Government interventions can enable these synergies.

Different agencies are responsible for waste regulations and cement norms. We need a broader lobbying and advocacy approach. It's happening, but as you said, time is running, so we need to activate it.

It will be a combination of levers. The most important is reducing clinker by using more non-carbonated products like limestone, construction demolition waste, and kaolin clay. These green products like EcoPlanet are already available and in reach. On electricity, we are advanced with solar, wind, hydro, and waste heat recovery. On fuel, using alternative fuels in clinker production reduces carbon footprint. The remaining process emission from calcination will require carbon capture technologies, which are emerging. But the economics depend on demand for green products; without that, investment is hard to justify. Captured carbon should be used as feedstock for other products.

That's an interesting point. First, there are cements that don't require water for curing. We are bringing those to India. Second, we have engineers in the field advising customers on construction techniques, including efficient curing. We go beyond selling products; we provide solutions. Our green building centers in rural markets, run by local entrepreneurs, empower communities and produce green products like low-CO2 bricks and sanitation systems.

We had a program called Health, Cost, and Cash. The most important was health of our people, families, communities, and channel partners. We followed government protocols and went beyond, driving vaccination. Many of our cement plants have attached hospitals, so we could provide direct medical support. We switched seamlessly to digital working. The existing infrastructure around our plants helped us support communities further.

We had strong infrastructure already in place to support communities; we just leveraged it further.

Good question. On nano materials, we are working on high-performance concrete with different binder compositions. We launched a high-tech product in France, though not yet for mass market. We have a product called Ductal, a fiber-reinforced concrete without steel reinforcement, already on the market. We are also developing smart concrete with sensors to measure performance over its lifetime. On smog-eating concrete, we have products with photocatalytic additives available and have demonstrated them in our research centers.

Customers ask about performance, not composition. If performance is guaranteed, there is no pushback. It's like eating a cake: you don't ask what's inside if it tastes good.

We manage our mines scientifically. Dust control starts with blasting technology and water sprinklers to keep mines wet. This is basic best practice.

One encouraging example: When regulations for using alternative fuels were framed, the Indian government looked at global best practices. In some countries, over 90% of fuel is alternative. They understood the environmental benefits and changed Indian laws to align with European standards, allowing co-incineration of waste in cement plants. This was a huge enabler. We still need to work on construction demolition waste standards and cement filler materials. We need to convince regulators by copying global examples, including carbon pricing.

That's important. At Holcim globally and in India (ACC and Ambuja), sustainability is a strategic topic in board discussions. There are sustainability committees that follow KPIs. Part of my compensation is linked to sustainability targets, which shows real commitment.

We have set 2050 as net zero. We have a science-based roadmap with a combination of measures. Net zero by 2050 is definitely possible.

Thank you for having me.