Edmund Piess, Holcim Romania: We can maximize our contribution towards sustainability through partnerships

Following the recent Environmental & Sustainability Summit, where Edmund Piess, Sustainability Director Holcim Romania, was a speaker during Day 1 in the panel dedicated to Sustainable Urban Developments, Business Review sat down with him to gain more insights into the contribution of building material companies can make in order to drive forward a more environmental-friendly living in our communities.

Can you share specific initiatives or projects that your company has undertaken to reduce its environmental footprint and promote sustainability? How have these initiatives contributed to your overall sustainability goals and outcomes?

Holcim’s number one priority and strategy is Accelerating Green Growth. As a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions we are at the forefront of decarbonizing building across its entire lifecycle to build a net-zero future that works for people and the planet, while delivering record performance at the same time. Our decarbonization strategy is supported by facts and results generated over time, both locally and globally. 

We believe in a circular economy, therefore we try to replace as much as possible natural resources with alternative raw materials, by co-processing and recycling mineral components of waste generated from other industries, we use alternative fuels for energy and we are proudly using a Waste Heat Recovery installation transforming heat to electricity. 

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Additionally from changes in our operations, we developed products and solutions with high performance and low CO2 emissions such as green concrete range ECOPact, green cement ECOPlanet and special binders Dorosol and Doroport, in the efforts to promote the transition to green buildings.

In what ways does your company integrate sustainability practices into its core business operations and corporate culture? How do you ensure that sustainability is not just a buzzword but a fundamental part of your organization’s identity and strategy?

We place sustainability at the core of our business with ambitious targets in four pillars – climate, circular economy, nature and people – and our approach to sustainability is rigorous and science based. Thus we have 2030 climate targets validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), in alignment with the aim of limiting the rise of global temperature lower than 1.5 °C. In order to create a net-zero future, we are committed to decarbonizing building starting with our operations, and more specifically with cement manufacturing. At Holcim, we focus on reducing CO2 emissions from low-carbon formulations, to encouraging green building and green cities, to building new from old and use construction demolition materials. Additionally, Holcim Group will be investing 2 billion CHF in Carbon Capture Storage and Utilization projects worldwide by 2030.

Moreover, we care about people and communities, and over the years we significantly contributed to the communities development through our educational, infrastructure and the local projects.

Collaboration and partnerships are often key drivers for achieving sustainability goals. Could you highlight any strategic collaborations your company has engaged in to address environmental and sustainability challenges? How have these partnerships enhanced your ability to make a positive impact on the environment and society?

We can always maximize our contribution towards sustainability through partnerships in order to reach a bigger number of beneficiaries, generating a greater impact. We at Holcim Romania have proudly contributed to a variety of projects aiming to improve climate action, circular economy, nature preservation, as well as developing people and communities.

For instance, into addressing the environmental need, starting 2021, for three years we contributed to growing forests.

Moreover, we partnered with different NGOs in order to create no less than five educational programs for youth in different stages of development (secondary school, highschool, university students), providing internship opportunities, theoretical and practical experience through mentorship and practice within our plants and operations across Romania. We even have a Technical School in Alesd, Oradea, providing free training for almost 20 people, for a period of two years, and after completing the studies they are hired within Holcim.