Involving local communities

We involve local communities in our business activities through various dialogue formats as well as community engagement plans. Among other things, these strategies include long-term partnerships with non-governmental and non-profit organisations. In addition, we keep the local communities and stakeholders informed via newsletters or at open days.

We aim to develop community engagement plans for 100% of our sites by 2030. In addition, all employees are offered one day per year of paid leave for voluntary community work.

We have also defined clear evaluation criteria to ensure that our activities are both transparent and effective. We support projects, initiatives, and organisations that are active at our locations or to which we have a direct link. We attach great importance to ensuring that the guidelines and principles of these organisations align with our own corporate philosophy.

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Focus of our engagement

Our CSR activities are focused on the following areas:

  • Culture: We promote inclusive cultural initiatives for all age groups in our local communities.
  • Environment: We support initiatives that promote environmental protection and strengthen the diversity of nature at our locations.
  • Infrastructure: We provide practical help in the construction of buildings and infrastructure by making products, financial means, and expertise available.
  • Education: In this area, we are guided by the specific needs of our locations. We foster potential and encourage initiatives such as education partnerships.

In the 2023 financial year, Heidelberg Materials was particularly active on health and safety matters. For example, as part of our CSR activities in India, our local country organisation ran a health camp in the Panchayat community, providing medical care to 224 people. In particular, women, children, and the elderly were supported with check-ups and free medicines.

As part of our employee volunteering day projects, we worked with the construction industry charity CRASH in the UK. A small team undertook a multi-day fundraising hike to the organisation’s office in Chiswick, collecting donations for a children’s hospice from several Heidelberg Materials locations along the route.

In Bulgaria, our subsidiary Devnya Cement once again took part in a campaign to renew the road markings on pedestrian crossings in the city of Devnya. To create a safer street environment, especially for children, zebra stripes near a school and at busy junctions were given a fresh coat of paint.

“Open doors” at our locations in Italy

Group of people on a green area with pavilions

Heidelberg Materials

Local acceptance of our plants is one of our core concerns. At many locations, we have been cultivating good, cooperative relationships with the people in our neighbourhood for decades. To make it easy for members of the public to learn more about our production, our innovation projects, and our commitment to sustainability and occupational safety, our Italian subsidiary held a total of eight “open doors” events at various cement and concrete plants in 2023.

One of the events took place in October 2023 at Heidelberg Materials’ cement plant in Isola delle Femmine, Sicily. Around 1,000 people – among them employees and former employees and their families, school classes, local residents, customers, and suppliers – accepted the invitation. The day was organised by the teams from our country organisation and the plant, together with 28 local associations, some of which have been working with the company for over 13 years, including the Pro Loco Isola delle Femmine tourism association, the local football club, the Mariposa cultural association, the Italian Red Cross, and the Movimento e Danza society.