Climate Lobbying Overview: Holcim (previously LafargeHolcim) appears to be actively engaged with climate policy, taking positive positions on several key policy strands but retaining some more unsupportive stances, particularly in New Zealand. The company’s top-line messaging on broad climate change policy and the energy transition is predominantly positive, yet it takes a less clearly supportive stance on some key policies relating to the construction sector, such as energy efficiency legislation. Holcim retains membership of several influential associations, such as the American Petroleum Institute, which are negatively lobbying on climate policy.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Holcim is strongly supportive of climate policy in its top-line messaging on climate action. In April 2021, the company signed the Medef French Business Climate Pledge supporting targets set by states such as France to achieve net-zero by 2050, and it signed a joint letter in June 2022 supporting the EU Green Deal. However, in a response to a public consultation in New Zealand in March 2021, the company appeared to stress the risks from unilateral action and the technological feasibility of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Holcim stated support for enabling climate policy frameworks, such as the EU’s Fit for 55 package, in its 2022 Climate Report, published in April 2022, stating they should work as market enablers and enhance competitiveness. It also supported carbon pricing, suggesting it must be “reliable” and encompass supply and demand. In February 2022, Holcim signed a joint letter strongly advocating for a wide range of climate policies in the US and supported increased ambition. In a review of industry associations in April 2021 the company stated support for the UN Paris Agreement.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Holcim seems to engage predominantly positively with climate regulations. ln a review of industry associations in April 2021 the company broadly supported emissions trading schemes, and in a response to a public consultation in New Zealand Holcim was supportive of international carbon markets in March 2021. The CEO Jan Jenisch advocated for a higher carbon price in the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in a February 2022 earnings call. However, in June 2022 the company signed a joint letter advocating against the EU Parliament Environment Committee’s ambitious proposal to reform the EU ETS and implement a strong Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, stressing that the proposals would “further increase unilateral regulatory costs and harm the competitiveness of European industries in EU or international markets”, and advocating for strengthened carbon leakage protection measures. In Holcim’s 2021 CDP disclosure, it supported a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in the EU alongside free allocation of emissions allowances in the EU ETS for an unspecified transitional period. However, in a response to a public consultation in New Zealand in March 2021, Holcim opposed a CBAM in New Zealand.

Holcim was broadly supportive of energy efficiency standards and building codes in the construction sector in its 2022 Climate Report on the condition that building legislation is technology and material-neutral and based on lifecycle performance. In July 2021, the CEO Jan Jenisch strongly supported the EU’s Renovation Wave initiative and suggested that it should include “advanced norms and standards.” In its 2021 CDP Disclosure Holcim advocated for the integration of carbon performance in building standards and codes.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Holcim seems to support the energy transition and the decarbonization of the cement sector, with some exceptions. In its 2022 Climate Report, the company advocated for government policy to support the development of low-carbon technologies, particularly CCUS, and to support alternative fuels, such as non-recyclable and biomass waste, to replace fossil fuels. In January 2021, the news outlet La Tribune reported that the CEO of Holcim France, François Petry, was not supportive of French legislation, the Réglementation Environnementale 2020 (RE2020), which encourages the use of “biomaterials” in the construction of new buildings, stating support for low-carbon concrete instead. However, in March 2022 in testimony to the Maryland General Assembly on the Buildings Standards and Emissions Reductions legislation, the company supported low-carbon procurement mandates for state construction projects.

Industry Association Governance: Holcim published a detailed list of industry association memberships and their positions on climate policy on its corporate website, accessed in July 2022. In April 2021, the company published a review of its alignment on climate policy with some of its industry associations. Holcim retains membership of several influential associations such as the American Petroleum Institute which is negatively lobbying on climate policy. The CEO of LafargeHolcim Spain is President of CEMBUREAU. The Australian branch of the company appears to retain memberships of associations which have been intensely oppositional to Australian climate policy, including the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Manufacturing Australia.

A detailed assessment of the company's industry association review can be found on our CA100+ webpage here.