The Holcim - IUCN Relationship

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Holcim-IUCN relationship

Objective

The Holcim-IUCN relationship, based on a three year agreement that started in 2007, aims at developing robust ecosystem conservation standards for the Holcim Group, contributing to sector wide improvements in the cement and related sectors. The relationship has three strategic objectives:

Review of Holcim Group's biodiversity conservation management and develop a more comprehensive corporate biodiversity policy and strategy
Support sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity conservation joint initiatives of mutual interests.
Promote good practice by sharing the learning with wider industry and communities.

Context

Nature provides the raw materials that support all life on this planet, along with the production, commerce and trade that underpin livelihoods and development. Conserving biodiversity – the planet’s network of plants, animals and the places where they live – is a crucial part of sustainable development, and the business community is becoming an important player in efforts to address it.

Solutions

Land use and biodiversity is one of Holcim's environmental stewardship commitments. It is addressed mostly at the local level, including raw material management, environmental and social impact assessment and quarry rehabilitation planning. Holcim’s Quarry Rehabilitation Guidelines, which are part of the raw materials management process, are one of the key tools for addressing its biodiversity responsibility at the site level. The Holcim-IUCN relationship aims to further improve these tools and introduce others.

Results

The Holcim-IUCN relationship has seen the following achievements since 2007:

The Independent Expert Panel established with five experts in biodiversity conservation plays a key role in the implementation of the agreement. The Expert Panel is entrusted to provide independent recommendations to Holcim on how to integrate biodiversity conservation in its quarry operations (for cement and aggregate materials).
The Expert Panel has completed a number of site visits to learn about Holcim’s operations in Spain, Indonesia, Belgium, Hungary, the USA, and UK. The visited sites span the different stages of the lifecycle of a quarry, from the development phase (Greenfield) to closure.
Local agreements have been established in Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Costa Rica/Nicaragua and Spain to work on specific projects.
A baseline of Holcim practices in biodiversity conservation management has been established with an inventory of more than 300 quarries.
A business case for the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM has been published. This shows how the IUCN Red List can influence site selection and inform biodiversity management and quarry rehabilitation plans.