Building materials group Holcim and Bloomberg Media have launched the Circular Cities Barometer, a new custom content collaboration that explores circular cities.
The two companies say that the world’s economy has grown to an unprecedented US$94 trillion, on a trajectory to consume the resources of 2.3 planets by 2040. To make this growth work for people and the planet, circularity is key to transition our economy from a linear “take-make-waste” one to a circular “reduce-reuse-recycle” one.
Cities are at the forefront of leading this shift, driven by their rising population and growth. To better understand the fabric of circular cities as catalysts of sustainable growth, Holcim is partnering with Bloomberg Media to develop the world’s first “Circular Cities Barometer” to identify and celebrate best practices around the world. The Barometer’s first findings will be unveiled at the Bloomberg Green Summit in April 2022.
Holcim CEO Jan Jenisch says: “Circularity is the opportunity of our time. It unlocks economic growth in a way that is climate-friendly, nature-positive and socially-inclusive. My vision for construction is to build more new from the old with recycled materials in every new building. To understand better how to empower cities to become more circular, I am delighted to be partnering with Bloomberg, with the launch of the first Circular Cities Barometer.”
Lauren Kiel, general manager for Bloomberg Green at Bloomberg Media, adds: “We are excited to be partnering with Holcim to explore what makes cities circular – from the key levers that create progress to the bottlenecks that need to be removed. By better understanding the fabric of this important work, we can empower more circular living for all to thrive.”
The project partners say that circularity is socially-inclusive by creating new jobs in the recycling, repair and leasing economies. For instance, it is estimated that every 10,000 tons of waste that is recycled creates more than 100 new jobs.
Holcim and Bloomberg say that circularity is climate-friendly, as recycling 80% of materials would reduce at least 50 billion tons of CO2 emissions out of our atmosphere by 2040. It is also nature-positive, as replacing virgin materials with recycled ones preserves biodiversity.
The pair add that cities are on the frontlines of leading the shift from a linear to a circular economy because they are growing. We expect 70% of the world population to be living in cities by 2050, adding 2.5 billion people. The only way cities can grow while staying within our planet’s boundaries is by becoming more circular. Cities have the critical mass to make a difference with broad access to recycled materials.
With the world building the equivalent of New York City every month, Holcim says the construction sector has a key role to play to shift toward a circular economy. The company adds that it is recycling over 50 million tons of materials across its business this year on its way to doubling this rate to 100 million tons by 2030 as part of its net zero roadmap.
Holcim says it is focusing on three key levers:
• Recycling materials with a focus on urban mining to build more new buildings from recycled materials. Within its ECOPlanet range, Holcim launched the world’s first cement with 20% recycled construction & demolition waste inside.
• Reducing buildings’ material use and footprint by empowering smart design, deploying technologies from 3D printing to DYNAMax, the ultimate performance concrete to build more with less.
• Repairing and renovating buildings to make them last longer, constantly expanding its range of smart and energy-efficient solutions, from roofing to insulation systems.
