In celebration of World Ocean Day on June 8, LafargeHolcim has joined the World Ocean Council (WOC), an industry alliance committed to sustainable ocean stewardship. This membership builds on LafargeHolcim’s commitment to reviving marine ecosystems.
LafargeHolcim has innovated to promote sustainable oceans for decades. A recent example is the global deployment of its bioactive patented bilayer concrete that helps rehabilitate coastal ecosystems.
This bioactive concrete has been in place for over three years in the Parc des Calanques near Marseilles (FR), where it contributed to a four-fold increase in marine species. Building on this success, bioactive solutions are being installed in other coastal environments in the Pacific, Caribbean and the Persian Gulf in partnership with EGIS/Seaboost. This work was recently recognized by the Solar Impulse Foundation, which awarded LafargeHolcim’s bioactive concrete its Efficient Solution label.
LafargeHolcim plays a key role in developing coastal protection solutions. For example, the company is contributing to the renovation of the Afsluitdijk in the Netherlands, a 32-km-long dyke that is key to the country's sea defense infrastructure. Specially developed precast blocks will cover around 700,000 m2 of the dyke, protecting it from strong waves and rising water levels. In addition LafargeHolcim is part of over 30 international sustainable port infrastructure projects in over 25 countries including Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Madagascar, France and the UK.
“We are very pleased and honored to welcome LafargeHolcim as a member of the World Ocean Council along with other visionary organizations concerned with the health of the global ocean," says Paul Holtus, CEO of the WOC. "LafargeHolcim’s focus on driving sustainability with innovation will make a great contribution to the work of the WOC.”
LafargeHolcim is also actively engaged in preventing marine litter from reaching the oceans, notably through its waste management company, Geocycle. Geocycle India has recently installed the Bubble Barrier in the Yamuna River in the city of Agra. This non-invasive technology removes plastic waste from rivers, which are the source of most of the plastic that reaches the oceans.
“I am extremely proud to formalize our commitment to sustainable ocean stewardship by joining the World Ocean Council," says Magali Anderson, LafargeHolcim's chief sustainability and innovation officer. "Working with the council’s members, we expect to scale up our actions to preserve our oceans.”
