Akermann explained that the company has now set itself a new CO2 reduction target for 2015. Taking 1990 as reference year, Holcim's original target was a 20% reduction in net CO2 emissions per tonne of cement by the end of 2010. The company successfully reduced these emissions by 21% by the end of 2009 and has set itself the new target of reducing CO2 emissions by 2015 to a level of 25% below the 1990 baseline. Holcim expects that the marked improvements in the environmental efficiency of new cement plants coming on stream from 2010 onward will make a substantial contribution to achieving this goal.
Akermann also said that as part of its contribution to the current UN Year of Biodiversity, Holcim is making a major effort to promote biodiversity in the vicinity of its raw material quarries. The close cooperation with the
