Heidelberg Materials

United States

In 1986, British Hanson Cement, which was acquired by Heidelberg Cement in 2007,[17] bought the Leigh Cement factory and quarry in Santa Clara County, California. After 80 years of operation and more than 2,000 local, state and federal violations, including around 100 considered to be serious, from 2012 to 2021,[18] Lehigh announced in 2023 that it would close.[19]

A $600 million cement plant, the second-largest in the U.S., Heidelberg Materials built in Mitchell, Indiana, was completed in 2023.[20] In March 2024, the Biden administration's Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the company a grant of up to $500 million to develop a system for capturing and underground storing of carbon produced by its cement production. The plant's project was one of 33 in 20 states selected for a major DOE carbon reduction project.[21] In May 2025, the Trump administration cancelled the grant as part of its efforts to end projects intended to slow global warming. The demonstration project would have brought 1,000 construction jobs and around three dozen permanent positions to the town which had voted for Trump by 75% during the 2024 presential election.[22]

Russia

• 1) Cement factory,[23] Sterlitamak
• 2) Cement factory "CESLA",[24] Slantsy, Leningrad Oblast
• 3) Cement factory,[25] Novogurovsky

Climate change

As cement manufacturing is an extremely CO2 intensive process, the cement industry is one of the main contributors to climate change, being responsible for a significant amount of global emissions.[28] Of all companies traded on the DAX, Heidelberg Materials was the second largest CO2 emitter.[29] For this reason, there have already been numerous protests by environmental groups, like Fridays For Future,[30] Extinction Rebellion[31] and Greenpeace.[32] In August 2020, the local group "Wurzeln im Beton" ("Roots in Concrete") blocked the main entrance to the company's headquarters[33] and in May 2021, its cement plant near Heidelberg was blocked by the local Extinction Rebellion chapter.[34]

By 2024, despite reduction of the DAX total, and Heidelberg's emissions in particular, Heidelberg was the largest emitter in the DAX,[35] cement manufacture emissions being particularly difficult to reduce. Nevertheless, Heidelberg plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and to "almost halve" its carbon footprint, when compared with 1990 levels, by 2030.[36] In 2025 Heidelberg's first carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility became operational in Norway.[37]

Indonesia

Heidelberg Materials has been heavily involved in the planned construction of a controversial cement plant on the Indonesian island of Java through its subsidiary "Indocement". The objective is the exploitation of the Kendeng mountains against the resistance of the people living there.

In addition to the destruction of the complex ecological system, the construction also has created the marginalization of partially indigenous living inhabitants of the region to follow.[40] In this region, the indigenous known as Sedulur Kendeng are protesting against the planned mining operation of PT Semen Indonesia, a state owned enterprise. In March 2017, 50 protestors poured concrete over their feet in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. This is the second time this has occurred in eleven months.[41]

In addition to the protest against the factory building and its ecological consequences as "misconceived 'development' at the expense of indigenous and peasants", the activists also appealed politically at Heidelberg Materials that a multinational "company should not invest in environmental destruction and human rights violations, in any country in the world."[42]

In September 2020, representatives of the local communities submitted a complaint to the German government.[43] It alleges Heidelberg Materials' plans in the Kendeng mountains to threaten their livelihoods, water resources and the local ecosystem as well as sites sacred to local Indigenous Samin communities. As a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Germany maintains a National Contact Point that addresses complaints against German companies for overseas violations of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises.[44] The guidelines contain standards on human rights and the environment.[45]

West Bank

In Israeli occupied West Bank Heidelberg Materials' wholly owned subsidiary Hanson Israel manufactures ready-made cement, aggregates and asphalt for Israel's construction industry. In March 2009, the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din filed a petition with the Israeli high court demanding a halt to mining activity in West Bank quarries, including Hanson Israel's Nahal Raba quarry.[46][47]

According to research of the ARD magazine "Panorama" on 2 September 2010, and the ARD Studios Tel Aviv, the minerals produced are brought to Israel without any benefit to the Palestinian communities.[48] Palestinians from the village of az-Zawiya in the immediate vicinity of the quarry lay claim to the land. The Israeli Supreme Court rejected the petition from Yesh Din in December 2011.

Divestment

In September 2017, the largest Danish pension fund, PFA Pension(Da), divested from Heidelberg Materials due to "Violation of basic human rights, which conflicts with UN Global Compact principles 1 and 2."[49]

In October 2017, Danish pension firm Sampension added Heidelberg Cement to its blacklist, because it operates an asphalt factory and quarry in the West Bank.[50]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

HeidelbergCement has faced criticism for its continued presence in Russia despite the geopolitical tensions and sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While the company announced a freeze on investments in its Russian operations, concerns remain about its ongoing activities in the region. According to the Leave Russia project, HeidelbergCement has yet to fully withdraw, raising questions about its ethical practices and commitment to international standards.[51][52]

Wales

In March 2024, residents of Glyncoch, near Pontypridd in South Wales, engaged in a series of protests around the over-riding of the local authority's opposition to extend quarrying, by the Minister of Climate Change, Julie James. This successful appeal will allow a further 15.7 million tonnes of rock to be extracted for road surfacing and runways. The quarry operations will continue until 2047 and will come within 164 meters of schools and housing as well as destroying a community green space and a wildlife sanctuary.[53]