Eleventh edition of annual report on sustainability focuses on climate protection and reduction of CO2 emissions
THIS week, HeidelbergCement published their Sustainability Report for the 2019 financial year. On almost 100 pages, the company’s 11th Sustainability Report informs about a range of topics including the current status of emission reduction and the research on technologies that enable CO2 savings on a large scale.
‘Sustainable business in harmony with the environment and the careful use of natural resources are an integral part of HeidelbergCement’s strategy,’ said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.
‘We have declared our express commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In particular, we will continue to intensify our commitment to climate protection in the coming years.’
HeidelbergCement have set themselves the goal of reducing their specific CO2 emissions per tonne of cement by 30% compared with 1990. This goal has been recognized by the Science Based Targets initiative. By 2019, HeidelbergCement had already achieved a reduction of 22%.
HeidelbergCement want to realize their vision of a CO2-neutral concrete by 2050 at the latest. For its performance in the area of climate protection, the company was ranked on the ‘Climate Change A List’, achieving the top grade A in the CDP sustainability rating (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) during the reporting year.
Besides the topic of climate protection, the report documents the company’s activities regarding human rights and compliance as well as occupational health and safety.
In 2019, targeted measures were implemented in all Group countries to optimize technical and organizational safety standards, and numerous training sessions were held to increase employees’ awareness of occupational safety.
Other key topics of the report are social responsibility and the intense exchange with different stakeholders in areas such as supply chain and supplier management, research and development, biodiversity, as well as sustainable land use and water management.
‘We can only shape the future of our company through dialogue – with our employees, our neighbours, our customers, suppliers and shareholders,’ said Dr von Achten.
The report complies with the established standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and has been validated in accordance with the GRI Standards ‘Core’ option. It also underlines the Group’s commitment to the principles of the UN Global Compact (UN GC) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SGDs).
A copy of the Sustainability Report 2019 can be downloaded below.
