Partnerships to advance the circular economy
At Holcim we drive the circular economy across everything we do, to keep materials in use for as long as possible, giving them a second life – and a third and a fourth – and using only what is needed to preserve nature.
Improving waste collection is fundamental to advancing the circular economy – and to reducing marine litter. To tackle the problem at the roots, Holcim and subsidiary Geocycle have partnered up with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Working with coastal communities
The strategic alliance between Holcim, Geocycle and GIZ focuses on reducing plastic waste and marine litter in India, the Philippines, Mexico and Morocco. Activities include improving waste management services, installing of material recovery facilities, awareness-building campaigns and supporting the participation from the tourism and hotel industry. Projects aim to minimize the social impact of waste management by integrating the informal waste sector into formal sectors, enabling the former to access the legal job market, earning better wages and avail themselves of social protection services. All initiatives aim to engage participating communities in collecting large plastic volumes for recycling or, in the case of plastic at the end of its life, co-processing for energy, leaving zero residue.
Holcim and GIZ write the book on co-processing
The project combines Holcim’s technical knowledge with GIZ’s development and policy expertise to build up professional knowledge and capacity in the private and public sectors.
In 2020, GIZ, Holcim and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) updated the Guidelines on Pre- and Co-processing of Waste in Cement Production, first published in 2006. The Holcim-GIZ guidelines are a reference document for the waste and cement sectors for safe and environmentally sound waste management practices. The main objective of these guidelines is to improve waste management by offering updated and new objective information. Hence they also aim to facilitate close collaboration between the public and private sectors.
By sharing our expertise in this way we can expand our impact, building on our commitment to reach 100 million tons of recycled materials by 2030.
Check out Holcim’s other initiatives to accelerate the circular economy and its journey to protect the ocean.
