Holcim Foundation helps build a sustainable future

Reducing carbon footprints is a mark the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction hopes to leave.

With infrastructure projects producing a significant portion of carbon dioxide emissions - coupled with a rapid rise in global urban population - the need for sustainable construction proves to be more critical than ever.

“Cement production is considered as an emitter of 5% of man made (carbon dioxide). But that’s not the real problem,” Edward Schwarz, general manager of the Holcim Foundation, said in an e-mail. “The problem is that human construction and constructions are at the roots of approximately 40% of (carbon dioxide) emissions.”

Schwarz said that Holcim, a provider of cement, aggregates and concrete, has only limited influence on “how building materials are used, how the human infrastructure is planned and how buildings are operated during their lifetime.” Holcim established the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction in 2003 to raise awareness and foster global long-range perspectives on these issues.

“Sustainable construction” aims to meet present day needs for housing, working environments and infrastructure without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs in times to come,” Schwarz explained. “Specifically, it involves issues such as the design and management of buildings, materials performance and energy and resource consumption - all within the larger scope of urban development and management.”

In defining sustainability, the foundation adheres to a “triple bottom line” concept, which requires a balanced attainment of economic growth, ecological equilibrium, and social progress to perpetuate long-term and sustainable progress.

“Based on this concept and to make sustainable construction easier to understand, evaluate and apply, the Holcim Foundation and its partner universities have identified a set of five “target issues” for sustainable construction,” according to Schwarz.

These five ”target issues” require that projects:

• Represent a quantum leap from conventional methods and techniques, and allow for transferability and replication.

• Adhere to ethical standards and foster social responsibility.

• Advance a reasonable utilization and management of natural resources throughout its life cycle, including operation and maintenance.

• Be economically feasible and viable to meet the demands and constraints encountered throughout the construction’s life span.

• Be of high aesthetic quality to address cultural and physical context.

The Holcim Foundation sponsors a series of three initiatives to achieve this aim. These include the Holcim Awards, project seed funding and doctorate research grants, and the Holcim Forum.

Operating on a three-year cycle, the Holcim Awards is a global infrastructure competition that recognizes innovative, future-oriented and tangible sustainable construction projects. It awards up to US$2 million per competition cycle. Adjudicating the competition based on the five “target issues” is a global jury of internationally renowned independent experts engaged in the sustainable development of society, building processes, and construction materials.

The Holcim Foundation’s Technical Competence Center, which is led by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology or ETH Zurich, supports the competition’s jury in determining winners. The TCC renders academic and technical support to the foundation.

In addition to ETH Zurich, the foundation also formed partnerships with other universities including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tongji University, Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, and University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. These institutions help determine the jury and evaluation criteria for the Holcim Awards

The foundation, according to Schwarz, also offers seed funding for building initiatives and grant for research projects to cultivate and test innovative ideas in the field of sustainable construction. The sum for this initiative amounts to US$1 million per three-year cycle.

Projects vying for seed funding are assessed according to the “target issues” for sustainable construction, and must be endorsed by a local Holcim Group company. The first project to win seed funding involved building the headquarters of Development Alternatives in New Delhi.

The foundation likewise provides cofunding to doctorate research efforts, with projects in Brazil, China, Mexico and Switzerland as the first beneficiaries of a US$200,000 funding.

The Holcim Foundation also holds a series of symposiums on sustainable construction, which serve as “an academic platform for architects, engineers, construction professionals and specialists of all generations to exchange information on creating a sustainable built environment and thus advancing sustainable development,” according to Schwarz.

The first Holcim Forum - with the theme “Basic Needs” - took place in Zurich in 2004 and tackled essential infrastructure including housing, water, education, health care, and access to goods and services.

A small staff of professionals makes up the Zurich-based foundation’s secretariat. The Holcim Foundation posts job vacancies or available internships on its Web site or other media outlets.

Undeniably, energy and construction converge in a multitude of ways when pursuing sustainable progress.

“Construction and the manufacture of building materials consume less than one-fifth of the total energy consumed during the life cycle modern buildings. Four-fifths of the energy is consumed for heating, cooling and electricity, and so forth, during use over the lifetime of the building,” Schwarz reiterated.

He added: “How we build determines whether we make progress on the sustainablity agenda.”