Circularity 

Cities are at the forefront of the shift to a circular economy. With an estimated two billion new urban residents by 2050, our cities need to become more circular to secure a sustainable future.

The Circularity Gap Report 2023, published by Circle Economy, estimates that the world is now only 7.2 per cent circular – meaning that only 7.2 per cent of the materials that we extract and use are being returned to the economy. 

A circular economy means shifting gears from a linear “take-make-waste” approach to a circular “reduce-recycle-regenerate” economy. A global circular economy can enable us to fulfil people's needs while reducing the materials we extract and use – making human activity compatible with the safe limits of the planet.

By reusing construction demolition materials in the production of new building solutions, we can:

  • Close the loop in construction to build new from old
  • Reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill
  • Reduce our dependence on virgin raw material
  • Make a positive impact on biodiversity by extracting fewer natural resources

Products

ECOPact®

With ECOPact®, the carbon intensity can be reduced by at least 30% by replacing the standard cement with alternative materials. These include industrial by-products like fly ash a by-product from coal fired power stations, blast furnace slag a by-product from steel manufacturing or silica fume a by-product from silicon metal manufacturing. 

FutureCast

FutureCast produced by our Humes division offers a minimum of 25% Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM). These include industrial by-products like fly ash a by-product from coal fired power stations, blast furnace slag a by-product from steel manufacturing.

Aggneo

Processed from recycled concrete, Holcim’s cutting-edge Aggneo aggregates guarantee the highest standards of consistency, reliability and performance. Aggneo products can be used in a wide range of civil engineering and building applications, including roads and foundations.

We’re committed to ensuring that resources are not depleted unnecessarily and reducing our reliance on landfill sites.

Solutions

ECOCycle

ECOCycle® is Holcim’s proprietary circular technology platform to recycle construction demolition materials into new building solutions. With ECOCycle® Holcim can recycle 100% of construction demolition materials across a broad range of applications, from decarbonised raw materials in low-carbon cement formulation, all the way to aggregates in concrete and fillers in road construction.

Circular Cities Barometer

Cities are at the forefront of the shift to a circular economy. With an estimated two billion new urban residents by 2050, our cities need to become more circular to secure a sustainable future.

We created the Circular Cities Hub with Bloomberg Media Studios to showcase what the world’s most advanced cities are doing to fast track the shift to circular living and building.

Research & Development

Concrete Recarbonation

Recarbonation is a process that, in effect, recycles carbon dioxide (CO2). We have been achieving some breakthrough innovations at our R&D labs in Lyon, France, to recarbonate recycled old concrete, with CO2 and use it for other building material applications. Our results are game-changing. They open the potential to re-use untreated CO2 at industrial sources, to create higher-performing materials for building.