Holcim CEO: Europe's Housing Shortage, Decarbonising Cement and Why Complacency Is the Enemy

What It Covers

Holcim CEO Miljan Gutovic discusses how the world's largest building materials company is navigating Europe's 10-million-home housing shortage, decarbonizing cement production responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions, and deploying AI to generate 200 million Swiss francs in operational savings by 2028.

Key Questions Answered

• •Cement Decarbonization via Waste Fuels: Holcim generates revenue by accepting industrial waste materials, processing them into alternative energy sources, and burning them in place of fossil fuels. This dual mechanism simultaneously reduces CO2 emissions and lowers production costs, making sustainability financially self-reinforcing rather than a cost burden — a replicable model for heavy industry decarbonization.
• •Eco-Product Market Penetration: Holcim's reformulated low-CO2 cement and concrete products, launched five-plus years ago, now represent over one-third of total sales. These products carry a cost advantage through reduced raw material intensity, plus a small price premium — demonstrating that green product lines can outcompete conventional alternatives on margin, not just environmental credentials.
• •AI Predictive Maintenance at Scale: Holcim targets 200 million Swiss francs in net AI benefits by 2028 by feeding operational data from cement factories averaging 1,000 by 500 meters into proprietary algorithms. These systems flag equipment failure risks before shutdown occurs, enabling planned maintenance scheduling rather than reactive repairs — improving uptime without workforce reductions.
• •Decentralized Performance Culture: Holcim operates across 40 countries with a deliberately slim corporate structure, sourcing, producing, and selling locally in each market. Corporate functions act as coaches sharing best-demonstrated practices across geographies rather than issuing directives. Country-level accountability drives industry-leading EBIT margins and allows rapid replication of high-performing local strategies.
• •Latin America Self-Builder Channel: Nearly half of Holcim's Latin American customers are individual self-builders purchasing bagged cement directly. Holcim operates approximately 2,500 franchise retail construction shops called Disensa, supplying up to 85% of each store's product needs — a route-to-market model that captures fragmented demand unreachable through traditional commercial construction channels.