Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Heidelberg Materials takes both supportive and oppositional positions on science-aligned climate policy, with strategic engagement. The company retains influential positions in several industry associations which are strategically engaged on climate policy, including Cembureau and the Federation of German Industries (BDI).
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Heidelberg Materials broadly supports climate action in its top-line messaging on climate policy, with some exceptions. In its 2024 Climate Advocacy and Association Review, published in February 2025, the company strongly supported the Paris Agreement and advocated for GHG emissions reductions in line with the 1.5°C target. Heidelberg Materials seems to be supportive of the need for climate change regulation, with some exceptions. The company promoted carbon pricing in its 2024 Annual and Sustainability Report, published in March 2025, and supported the implementation of EU Green Deal policies in a submission to the German Lobby Register in June 2024. However, the CEO of Heidelberg Materials Europe, Jon Morrish, signed the Antwerp Declaration in February 2024 which advocated against prescriptive regulations following the EU Green Deal targets and emphasized the impacts on international competitiveness of climate policy.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: Heidelberg Materials engages on climate-related policies with broadly supportive positions. The company supported the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) in a submission to the German Lobby Register in June 2024, by advocating to use ETS revenues from the cement sector for projects aimed at decarbonizing cement production. However, in another submission to the German Lobby Register in March 2025, Heidelberg Materials took an ambiguous position on the ETS, as the company stated that the scheme’s price signals were insufficient to guide investment decisions. The company has consistently stated broad support for the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), including in its 2024 Climate Advocacy and Association Review, published in February 2025.
Heidelberg Materials has repeatedly supported GHG emissions legislation by promoting binding policies to incentivize procurement of low-carbon cement and by supporting standards for low-carbon cement, including in its February 2025 Climate Advocacy and Association Review and a March 2025 submission to the German Lobby Register.
**Positioning on Circular Economy Policy: Heidelberg Materials seems to support circular economy-related policies with some exceptions and ambiguities. For example, it supported the German Circular Economy Strategy with exceptions in a July 2024 submission to the German Lobby Register, in which it emphasized the lack of economic and technical feasibility of some measures such as a proposed target to reduce primary raw material consumption by 2045, and advocated for less stringent end-of-waste criteria. The company repeatedly supported policy measures to incentivize the procurement of “circular products”, including in its February 2025 Climate Advocacy and Association Review, however without clearly supporting policies in line with the waste hierarchy.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Heidelberg Materials engages on the energy transition with broadly supportive positions, albeit with some ambiguities. The company repeatedly supported the use of carbon capture and storage to address residual emissions from clinker production in the cement production process, including in its February 2025 Climate Advocacy and Association Review. In its 2024 Annual and Sustainability Report, published in March 2025, the company also supported the use of non-recyclable waste as an alternative fuel to replace fossil fuels in cement production, while referencing the need for stringent sustainability criteria for such alternatives. However, Heidelberg Materials is a signatory of the June 2024 Oslo Declaration, in which entities advocated for a technology-neutral approach to decarbonizing the energy mix, and did not clearly support a reduction in fossil gas use in line with IPCC guidance.
In the U.S., Heidelberg Materials opposed the rollback of an Inflation Reduction Act tax credit that incentivized CO2 storage through carbon capture use and storage (CCUS), in a January 2025 joint letter to U.S. policymakers. However, the signatories of the letter did not clearly communicate the role of CCUS in the energy transition in line with IPCC guidance.
Industry Association Governance: Heidelberg Materials published a review of its alignment with industry associations in February 2025, but did not disclose all the memberships it retains, such as the Spanish Business Federation (CEOE), the Federation of German Industries (BDI), or the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), all of which are actively engaged on climate policy. The company retains positions on the boards of several influential industry associations which are strategically engaged on climate policy, including CEMBUREAU and the Federation of German Industries (BDI).
A detailed assessment of the company's industry association review can be found on our CA100+ webpage here.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.