Inside the $35 Billion Building Products Maker That Set Out to Cut Emissions 30% by 2030

CRH sells more construction materials in North America than any other company. That comes with a big climate impact: Buildings account for close to 42 percent of emissions annually. CRH, which is based in Dublin, Ireland, is using circular production to reduce its impact, aiming to cut absolute emissions 30 percent across its entire footprint, including its suppliers, by 2030. Last year, CRH recycled 43.9 million metric tons of biproducts and waste from other industries as raw materials and fuels for its own products — reducing its use of virgin materials by 9 percent. CRH is also reducing its water usage, and recycled roughly 40 billion gallons of water in 2023. GreenBiz’s editor-at-large Heather Clancy will talk with Eunice Heath, CRH’s chief sustainability officer, in the latest episode of Climate Pioneers, a new GreenBiz video series featuring the innovators and executives working to mitigate the climate crisis.

The conversation will cover:

• How to reduce emissions with circular production
• How CRH turns recycled concrete, plastic and asphalt into new revenue opportunities
• How CRH partners with other companies, such as Google and Cargill, to create new lower-emission products
• CRH’s strategy to use less water
• How the CRH corporate venture arm looks to address the global water crisis
• How Heath manages and influences change throughout the organization
• Her team structure and typical day, team meeting and board prep techniques

Interviewer: Heather Clancy, editor-at-large, GreenBiz Guest: Eunice Heath, chief sustainability officer, CRH