Holcim orders 1,000 electric trucks from Volvo

Image: Volvo

Volvo Trucks has signed a letter of intent to deliver 1,000 electric trucks to be used by Holcim up to 2030. The company claims that up to 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions could be saved annually as a result.

The deal is the largest commercial order of Volvo electric trucks to date and the first 130 vehicles will be delivered this year and next across France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK.

“Long-term collaboration and a strong commitment to really make a difference are essential for making big CO2 reductions a reality. I’m very proud of the partnership we have developed with Holcim, and the results we are achieving together,” Volvo’s president Martin Lundstedt said.

The company is part of the SBTi’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C, committing to science-based targets aligned to the highest ambition of the Paris Agreement, with a long-term trajectory of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Intermediate targets have been set for 2030 to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 21% per tonne of cementitious materials against a 2018 baseline. This target will see Scope 1 emissions reduced by 17.5% and Scope 2 emissions by 65% in the same timeframe. LafargeHolcim will reduce its transportation and fuel-related emissions by 20%. All of these targets have been approved by the SBTi.

Back in 2020, Holcim priced an €850m bond linked to its sustainability targets.

Holcim’s €850m sustainability-linked bond comes with a “coupon bond” – a debt obligation representing interest payments – of 0.5% that matures in 2031. Investors into the bond will access a higher coupon yield if the company is unable to meet the sustainability targets tied to the bond, including an aim to reduce emissions to 475 kg net CO2 per tonne of cementitious material by 2030. The CO2 target was recently unveiled by the company as part of a new set of decarbonisation goals.

Holcim’s chief executive Jan Jenisch said: “The net-zero transition requires deep collaboration across value chains. We are excited to be partnering with Volvo to decarbonize our European operations’ logistics with electric fleets, advancing our goal to reach 30% of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks by 2030.”

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