Heidelberg Materials controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2024
Cement emissions and quarrying impacts
Environmental groups and communities have criticized Heidelberg Materials because cement manufacturing is highly carbon-intensive and quarrying can affect landscapes, habitats and nearby residents.
2022
Criticism of Russian operations after invasion of Ukraine
The company faced criticism for retaining operations in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. The reference material says Heidelberg froze new investment but had not fully exited the country.
2017
Pension-fund exclusions over human-rights concerns
Danish pension funds reportedly divested from or blacklisted HeidelbergCement over alleged breaches of basic human-rights principles connected with its West Bank activities.
2017
Kendeng mountains cement dispute
Indocement's involvement in proposed cement and mining activity in Java was opposed by local communities and activists concerned about water, ecosystems, livelihoods and Indigenous Samin cultural sites.
2010
West Bank quarry controversy
Human-rights organizations challenged quarrying by the company's Hanson Israel subsidiary in the occupied West Bank, arguing that extraction and the use of the resulting materials raised land, resource and community-rights concerns. The Israeli Supreme Court rejected the petition in 2011.
1933
Company conduct during the Nazi period
The company's management and the wider cement industry benefited from Nazi state construction and armaments programs. The reference material also records the political affiliation of senior manager Otto Heuer and the use of forced laborers and prisoners of war during the Second World War.