With some 70,00 employees, Holcim (www.holcim.com) is the world’s leading provider of innovative and sustainable building solutions. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, the group comprises well known brands such as ACC, Aggregate Industries, Ambuja Cements, Firestone Building Products, Geocycle, Holcim and Lafarge. Now Holcim is actively transforming its brand identity. With the world's most comprehensive range of low-carbon building materials, the company is now concentrating on making cities greener and infrastructure more intelligent. At the same time, Holcim is setting itself high standards: With the goal of becoming a “net zero” company, Holcim is focusing its strategy on sustainability and, as a global leader in recycling, is driving forward the circular economy. Its business is becoming data-driven, agile and innovative.

"The construction industry can make a significant contribution to a sustainable lifestyle. We are therefore consistently changing our offering - and want to communicate this transformation clearly," explains Elmar Mühleder, Head of Branding at Holcim. "With the new appearance, we are sending a strong signal: It is concise, flexible and understood worldwide. A powerful sign of change."

The new identity is characterized by a green-blue gradient used on all brand elements, and is also visible in the new motto, “Making cities greener: from foundation to rooftop.” The new logo shows an H connecting two circular elements. “The logo is the stringent condensation of Holcim's business strategy: The circular economy is expressed by an infinity loop. The comprehensive business, which extends from the creation of the foundation walls to the covering of the roof, is reflected in the color gradient, which uses the colors of the earth and the sky. And at second glance, you recognize the first letter of Holcim,” says Norbert Möller, executive creative director at Peter Schmidt Group, who developed the design in collaboration with his team.

A brand portal that provides brand managers with all the assets they need will help with the global implementation of the new corporate identity. Holcim opted for the modular software solution BrandScape (www.brandportal.de), a product of the Peter Schmidt Group. “As an agency, our mission is to help companies make positive change,” said Lukas Cottrell, managing partner of Peter Schmidt Group. “We have been working successfully with Holcim for a number of years and have seen how seriously the company has pursued the transformation of its business model. The new appearance makes these initiatives strikingly visible.”