LafargeHolcim joins UN’s 1.5°C rise limit commitment

LafargeHolcim yesterday said to have aligned its science-based emission reduction targets with a 1.5°C trajectory of the United Nations. 

The "Business Ambition for 1.5°C: Our Only Future" is a communications and advocacy campaign of the United Nations Global Compact.

It calls for businesses to step up and do their part in limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C in response to the global climate crisis, and in the lead up to the upcoming UN Climate Action Summit.

Over 75 CEOs are said to have committed to the 1.5°C pledge as of 2019.

The companies represent 26 countries with 2.10 million employees, as well as a wide range of 22 sectors.

They include telecommunications (16 per cent), chemicals (9 per cent), construction & materials (9 per cent), pharmaceuticals and biotechnology (7 per cent), financial services (7 per cent) and electronic and electrical equipment (7 per cent).

"I believe in building a world that works for people and the planet. That's why we are reinventing how the world builds today to make it greener with low-carbon and circular solutions," said Jan Jenisch, CEO of LafargeHolcim.

"I will not stop pushing the boundaries to lead the way in green construction."

In a statement, LafargeHolcim said this commitment was built on its construction solutions such as ECOPact, its "green concrete".

In its 2030 goals, the company aims to lower carbon dioxide intensity to 475 kg per tonne of its cementitious material and reduce its transportation and fuel-related emissions by 20 per cent.