Holcim's Benoît-Henri Koch has resigned as vice president of Cembureau over carbon benchmarking issues

Holcim has announced that its executive committee member Benoît-Henri Koch has resigned from the position as vice president and president of the steering committee of Cembureau. Koch is reported to have stood down from the cement association following “Holcim's fundamental disagreement with Cembureau’s approach towards climate change regulation and, in particular, its position on CO2 benchmarking for phase 3 of the EU Emissions Trading System.”

In a statement, Holcim has said that it believes the most effective way to decrease the emissions of society is via mandatory governmental policies and regulated market instruments that set CO2 and energy efficiency benchmarks within international frameworks. The company has also said that benchmarking is more than a tool for distributing CO2 allowances within a trading system and said, “It goes to the fundamental question of what the future of the cement industry ought to be and the appropriate CO2 performance metric for stimulating improvement and innovation.

“In Holcim's opinion, that metric must capture the full potential for emission reductions in our sector. Clinker benchmarking runs counter to the long-term view and best interest of the industry and the environment in which it operates.”

Holcim has said that it will continues its efforts in the climate protection task force of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). However, the company has said that it does not support the approach being taken by Cembureau.