Sustainability
Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction promotes sustainable responses to the technological, environmental, socioeconomic and cultural issues affecting building and construction at the national, regional and global levels.
To encourage innovative approaches to sustainable construction, the foundation conducts activities including: Holcim Awards competition, Holcim Forum symposium, Holcim Grants seed funding for building initiatives and grants for research projects.
What is sustainable construction?
Sustainable construction aims to meet present day needs for housing, working environments and infrastructure without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs in times to come. It incorporates elements of economic efficiency, environmental performance and social responsibility – and contributes to the greatest extent when architectural quality, technical innovation and transferability are included.
Aims of the Holcim Foundation
The primary objective of the Holcim Foundation, which is based in Switzerland, is the non-commercial promotion and development of sustainable construction both locally and internationally. Utilizing the global reach of the Holcim Group, the Holcim Foundation accelerates progress towards sustainable construction, encouraging initiatives in support of sustainable approaches to the provision of housing and infrastructure in developing and industrialized nations alike.
The Holcim Foundation's objectives are being implemented by:
- supporting sustainable construction in the scientific field, among experts in the construction sector, business and society
read more about the Holcim Foundation - awarding innovative, future-oriented and tangible sustainable construction projects from around the globe
read more about the Holcim Awards competition - organizing seminars or symposiums on the topic of sustainable construction at the professional/academic level
read more about the Holcim Forum - providing appropriate financial support to enable the realization of outstanding construction projects, particularly for the benefit of disadvantaged communities.
Pictured above: Winners of the Global Holcim Awards Silver 2012 for “Urban remediation and civic infrastructure hub, São Paulo, Brazil” (l-r): Hubert Klumpner and Alfredo Brillembourg, Urban Think Tank, Brazil.
Partner and associated universities
The Holcim Foundation’s activities are conducted in partnership with some of the world’s leading technical universities:
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) – which also leads the Technical Competence Center of the Holcim Foundation
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA
- Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) in Mexico City, Mexico
- l’École Supérieure d’Architecture de Casablanca (EAC) in Morocco
- Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay) in Mumbai, India
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Brazil
- University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa
- Tongji University (TJU) in Shanghai, China
More information
Banner image: Winner of the Global Holcim Awards Silver 2012 for “Urban remediation and civic infrastructure hub, São Paulo, Brazil”.
Contact
Global Holcim Awards 2012
Integrated solutions in Burkina Faso, Brazil and Germany win top awards in USD 2 million sustainable construction competition.
media release
