Holcim Philippines president and CEO Horia Adrian states that, despite the challenges in 2021, the company's commitments remain solid.
"We pushed on with key initiatives that will contribute to our long-term success and enable us to have a more positive impact on the country’s development," adds Adrian. "We are excited to continue our innovation and sustainability programs in line with our mission to help build progress in the Philippines.”
The company had several notable achievements to make its operations more respectful of the environment and beneficial to society. In May, Holcim Philippines published its first Integrated Annual Report which follows the sustainability disclosure standards of the Global Reporting Initiative.
In July, the company signed an agreement with Sinoma CBMIPH Construction to upgrade its cement manufacturing facilities in La Union and Misamis Oriental to reduce the fuel consumption, raw materials and carbon footprint of operations.
In August Holcim Philippines appointed Zoe Sibala, former VP of strategy to senior VP of sustainability, and expanded the role of Richard Cruz, VP of health, safety, and security, to include the environment portfolio.
In September, the company completed storage and processing facilities at its Bulacan plant to increase usage of alternative fuels and raw materials in cement production through its waste management arm Geocycle. It is also participating in the rehabilitation of the Manila Bay through the Circular Explorer, a solar-powered catamaran sent by the Holcim Group that can collect up to four tons of plastic litter daily and advance marine research.
In November the company signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with renewable energy company Blueleaf Energy, to deliver solar power to its Bulacan and La Union plants. Holcim Philippines says this will make its cement plants the first in the country to be powered by solar energy.
In addition to these initiatives, the company says it is leaning on digitalisation to raise its sustainability performance. It is participating in the Holcim Group’s Plants of Tomorrow initiative and incorporating data analytics in logistics to make operations more efficient and further reduce its environmental footprint.
Holcim Philippines also took steps to have a more positive social impact particularly on the affordable housing front. It forged closer ties with shelter organisation Habitat for Humanity, with a cement supply partnership for housing projects in Metro Manila and Negros Occidental and a number of virtual forums on addressing the country’s housing gap. The company also continued to support the United Nations Human Settlement Programme’s housing project in Marawi and assisted the GMA Kapuso Foundation in building education facilities for indigenous communities in Cagayan.
On the commercial side, Holcim Philippines says it has ramped up product innovations with the launch of new building solutions for specific building applications. In January, it unveiled Holcim Multifix, an easy-to-use and multipurpose mortar product that can help contractors and masons improve the quality of walls, floors, and tile installation in their building projects. The company followed this up with in March with Holcim Aqua X, the country’s first ever water-repellent cement that protect structures against excess moisture. It capped the year off with the launch in November of Holcim ECOPlanet, its most environment-friendly product with more than 30% lower carbon footprint than other ordinary Portland cement.
ECOPlanet is a global range of green cement developed by the Holcim Group. Holcim Philippines says it will offer ECOPlanet as a general purpose blended cement ideal for structural applications that delivers equal to superior construction performance while lowering the carbon footprint of buildings.
