Sustainability Champions – Edelio Bermejo, Head of Global R&D and Innovation at Holcim

Welcome to the first instalment of our Sustainability Champions Series, where we speak to leading sustainability executives across a range of industrial and manufacturing businesses.

Our goal is to understand what sustainability targets these organisations have in place, what they are doing to achieve them, and how companies can incentivise executives to achieve these targets.

In this interview, we speak to Edelio Bermejo. Edelio is the Head of Global R&D and Innovation at Holcim, an international leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions.

Who is Edelio Bermejo?

Leveraging his engineering degree, PhD in Materials Chemistry, and management diploma, Edelio has carved out a multi-decade career at the forefront of the building materials industry. 

He previously ran LafargeHolcim’s cement operations across 10 countries, overseeing in excess of 550 employees in the cement, concrete, aggregates, blocks, and mortars industries.

Today, Edelio is the Head of Global R&D, Innovation at Holcim, one of the world’s leading suppliers of building materials.

We were fortunate enough to speak with Edelio and learn more about his unique perspective on driving sustainable innovation in the building materials industry.

Driving sustainable innovation in the materials industry

Hi Edelio, thanks for joining us. To begin, what are the primary sustainability targets for the global building materials industry?

Thanks for having me. While each country and company have their own targets, on the whole, I’d say that one of the most important goals is to reduce the carbon intensity of products like cement and concrete. 

The industry aims to emit 520 kg of CO2 per tonne of cement by 2025. This is a critical goal as cement production remains one of the industry’s largest carbon emitters. 

Beyond cement alone, we also want to promote a circular economy by recycling materials, investing in green capital expenditure, and conserving water. We use roughly 200 litres of water per cubic metre of concrete—so the less water we use, the better. 

And what are Holcim’s specific sustainability goals?

We’re aiming to reduce carbon intensity to 520 kg of CO2 per tonne of cement by 2025, invest half a billion Swiss francs in green capital expenditure by 2025, and recycle 45 million tonnes of materials by 2025.

What’s the major driving force behind these targets?

Population growth has led to massive urbanisation, increasing demand for cement and concrete. The challenge for us is to meet this demand while drastically reducing carbon intensity.

What does Holcim’s sustainability strategy look like?

We’ve defined four key pillars moving forward:

1. Make our operations greener: Rethinking how we create emissions-heavy materials like cement and concrete.
2. Efficiently use the materials at our disposal: Building better with less, following carbon-smart development strategies.
3. Developing energy-efficient buildings: Ensuring the homes or offices we build are energy-efficient, rely as much as possible on renewable energy, and so on.
4. Promoting circular construction: Reusing materials, focusing on repair and refurbishment over new construction.

What major challenges do you have to overcome to achieve these targets?

One of the main challenges is convincing standard-setting and normalisation bodies that you can create a new, low-carbon product that’s durable, recyclable, and performs just as well as ‘traditional’ cement.

The industry is understandably conservative—safety has always come first. However, we need to recognise the urgency of the situation. This doesn’t mean compromising safety. Rather, it’s about tailoring our formulations and product use for different applications to achieve lower carbon intensity. 

For example, in many applications like plastering or rendering, we can use less cement without compromising the product’s functionality or longevity.

Another major challenge involves trying to overcome outdated building codes and norms. Take 3D printing in concrete, for example. 3D printing means we can develop large-scale projects that reduce raw material usage by up to 50%. Unfortunately, 3D printing isn’t easily adapted by engineering bodies or architects — so we must stick with emissions-heavy traditional construction techniques. 

The industry desperately needs to start incentivising and accepting this type of innovation. For example, governments could provide credits for innovative and low-carbon projects, just as the European Commission incentivises carbon capture solutions. 

We need these bodies to put sustainability at the heart of their agendas. Until they do, progress will remain painfully slow. 

In your opinion, who should be responsible for driving the sustainability agenda and ensuring that targets are met? Where do you think that responsibility sits?

It’s a shared responsibility between the industry and the government. The industry must first establish the feasibility of low-carbon solutions. Once proven, we then need to show they work and implement them at scale. 

Think about a conventional building. 73% of the mass is concrete, contributing 21% of the carbon footprint but only accounting for 5% of the cost. If the cost of carbonated concrete doubles, we’ll help save the planet at a minor additional cost.

Countries like France and Denmark have led the way, implementing sustainable solutions before worrying about the price. If we solve the climate issue then economic viability will follow.

Within an organisation, who should drive the message that compliance is crucial to achieving sustainability targets?

Here at Holcim, the CEO plays a pivotal role in emphasising our mission to build a net-zero future. However, the responsibility is also shared by the technical, sustainability, and finance teams. The CEO, CSO, and the technical team, backed by finance, are the key influencers and decision-makers.

Do you think sustainability targets should be tied to financial incentives for executives?

Absolutely. In our organisation, every senior leader has an incentive tied to the company’s sustainability results. It’s not a small amount, and it encourages us to make our operations more sustainable.

Lastly, what advice would you give to leaders aiming to achieve their sustainability targets?

Firstly, always maintain your conviction to prioritise sustainability. Secondly, ensure your sustainability target will create long-term revenue—remember that lowering your carbon footprint can, in fact, be profitable. 

Lastly, rely on the next generation. I mentor young people in our company to help them see the potential in decarbonising our industry. They will be leading the sustainability agenda in a few years, so we must involve them in the process right now. 

Thank you for your time, Edelio—it was fascinating speaking with you.

Not at all, it was a pleasure.

If you would like to discuss any of the topics raised in this piece or if you need support with your leadership resourcing strategy, please get in touch with James Pope on: James.pope@beaumontbailey.com