Innovative Company

NRMCA member Heidelberg Materials has made an ambitious commitment to being a leader in sustainability, in both its product offerings and sustainable designs. In keeping with this commitment, the company rebranded at the beginning of 2023, changing its name in North America from Lehigh Hanson to Heidelberg Materials, a signal that the company is aligned with its global parent company on a journey to not only grow their business beyond cement and aggregates, but to become the most sustainable company in the sector.

Although the Heidelberg name is more than 150 years old and is often associated just with cement, “Heidelberg Materials” reflects the organization’s expertise in the heavy building materials industry—and its sustainability efforts are keeping pace with the company’s expanded scope. The company is adopting new, digital ways of working, with several new solutions available to its customer base that lessen the concrete industry’s impact on the environment. Across North America, it is exploring and implementing new technologies at its plants, including studying and testing carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) solutions for cement plants. Once fully realized, the CCUS project planned at the Edmonton, Canada, cement plant could be North America’s first full-scale implementation. The company has also made strides producing cement using alternative fuels and continues to work on furthering this goal.

When it comes to supporting and improving the concrete value chain, Heidelberg Materials is an industry leader. The availability of EcoCemPLC™, the company’s portland limestone cement (PLC), has increasingly expanded and the new Mitchell, Ind., plant coming online the first half of 2023 will greatly increase availability of PLC in the Midwest. Heidelberg Materials has also invested in concrete recycling facilities and even hosts an award program that celebrates the role quarries play in biodiversity.
Heidelberg Materials has also strengthened its expertise by building an internal education program focused on more sustainable concrete solutions across the entire value chain.

The company works with partners across the industry—including building owners and designers—to help them achieve their net-zero goals. EvoBuild™ Low Carbon Concrete is one way the company is working alongside its partners to reach sustainability goals; working directly with designers to examine life-cycle carbon impacts is another.