Heidelberg Materials
Harmonizes Group-Wide Supply Chain Sustainability Management

As part of its Responsible Procurement initiative, the company leverages IntegrityNext to streamline and scale supply chain due diligence, enhance transparency, and advance decarbonization.

 

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Industry Building materials

Core business areas Cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, asphalt, specialty building products, digital construction solutions

Annual revenue €21.2 billion (2024)

Employees Approx. 51,000 (2024)

Headquarters Heidelberg, Germany

Supplier network Approx. 130,000 tier 1 suppliers, over 6 million tier 2 suppliers (estimated)

Annual procurement spend €14 billion (2024)

80%

response rate for supplier self-assessments

64%

of critical supplier spend covered by a green IntegrityNext assessment (2030 goal: 80%)

>100

employees actively use the IntegrityNext platform, with many more leveraging its data through the SAP Ariba integration and internal reports

With IntegrityNext, we've been able to streamline our previously fragmented supply chain due diligence process – gaining group-wide visibility, empowering our teams, and keeping workflows simple and accessible for both internal stakeholders and our suppliers.

Christian Günther
Head of Procurement Performance & Sustainability, Heidelberg Materials

How Heidelberg Materials Uses Our Platform

  • Main applications
    • Supply chain due diligence via supplier self-assessments
    • Risk mitigation through the Action and Collaboration Tool
    • Certificate validation
    • SAP Ariba integration via Extended API
  • Suppliers screened >2,400 (tier 1)
  • Suppliers subject to self-assessments >2,400 (tier 1)
  • Self-assessment response rate 80%

Heidelberg Materials Goals We Support

Supply Chain Risk Management

To establish a unified approach to supplier risk assessment and data management across the company’s global process landscape.

Sustainable Procurement

To achieve 80% coverage of critical supplier spend with a green IntegrityNext rating by 2030 – demonstrating full ESG transparency and the absence of significant risks.

Regulatory Compliance

To ensure ongoing adherence to the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) from its first year of application in 2023.

Supply Chain Decarbonization

To reach net zero emissions across the value chain by 2050, with a target of reducing Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services – particularly clinker and cement – by 25% by 2030. All targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Corporate Context

Heidelberg Materials is a leading global building materials company headquartered in Germany. With approximately 3,000 locations across 50 countries and a predominantly local supplier base totaling over 130,000 tier 1 business partners, the company must navigate a highly dynamic and fragmented risk landscape.

Heidelberg Materials aims to reach net-zero emissions across the value chain by 2050 – a major challenge in the hard-to-abate cement industry – expand its portfolio of sustainable products, promote circularity, and uphold stringent sustainability standards.

Achieving these ambitious goals, while ensuring compliance with evolving regulations, requires effective governance across a complex supply chain and corporate structure. Previously, the company’s localized approaches to supply chain risk management largely prevented consistent and transparent insights into upstream sustainability performance.

To address this, Heidelberg Materials sought a solution that could help harmonize its decentralized risk assessment processes and enhance supply chain visibility. It also had to minimize onboarding barriers for suppliers, streamline internal risk evaluations, and provide accurate, legally compliant, and continuously updated sustainability questionnaires.

Heidelberg Materials selected IntegrityNext for its ability to scale supplier due diligence efficiently and deliver reliable data for informed decision-making.

Key benefits of the platform include:

  • No supplier fees for platform use
  • Easy platform adoption and user-friendly interface
  • Lean, standardized, and legally compliant supplier questionnaires
  • Network architecture allowing suppliers to share profiles with multiple customers
  • Scalability to support a growing number of suppliers and internal users
  • Seamless integration with the SAP Ariba supply chain management system

As our sustainability efforts continue to grow, we recognized the need for a solution that could scale with us – across countries, corporate functions, and a global network of suppliers. IntegrityNext helps us manage that complexity with an intuitive platform that fits seamlessly into our existing digital infrastructure and doesn’t overburden our suppliers.

Project Description

Key Stakeholders

Heidelberg Materials has adopted a globally harmonized approach to supply chain due diligence. A cross-functional team at the company’s headquarters defines and coordinates the assessment process, which has been implemented across all Heidelberg Materials locations.
 
Key teams involved include:
  • Procurement: Whenever supplier engagement is required for ESG or compliance purposes – such as during onboarding or data collection – procurement teams take the lead at both group and local levels. Group Procurement oversees key processes like supplier prioritization, provides training, and embeds sustainability into procurement practices through the Responsible Procurement initiative to ensure full regulatory compliance. Local teams are responsible for implementing these practices and communicating directly with suppliers.
  • Compliance, Health & Safety, and ESG: Compliance, Health & Safety, and ESG teams manage group-wide sustainability, regulatory, and reporting efforts. They are typically involved in risk mitigation, particularly when legal obligations arise or specific risks are identified.

Roll-Out

The initial implementation of the IntegrityNext platform – including buyer training, preparing supplier lists, collecting contact data, and sending invitations – was completed in about three months.

Heidelberg Materials currently conducts an in-house country and industry risk analysis to identify critical, high-risk suppliers for further in-depth analysis on the IntegrityNext platform. Each year, over 2,400 suppliers are asked to complete the four IntegrityNext self-assessments on Environmental Protection, Human and Labor Rights, Health and Safety, and Supply Chain Responsibility. These suppliers are also evaluated on their corporate carbon emissions to determine whether they have set climate targets validated by the SBTi or whether they follow other comparable frameworks.

To enhance the quality of supplier responses, Heidelberg Materials uses IntegrityNext’s “Certificate Validation Service”. Uploaded certificates – such as ISO 14001, SA8000, and ISO 45001 – are reviewed for accuracy. If inconsistencies are found, suppliers are promptly contacted for clarification.

When suppliers present concrete risks – such as missing key policies – Heidelberg Materials leverages the platform’s Action and Collaboration Tool to document and monitor all required mitigation measures in a centralized and auditable manner.

In addition, pilot projects are underway to collect product carbon footprint (PCF) data and information on cybersecurity practices from selected suppliers.

Key Outcomes

Standardization of Group-Wide Risk Assessments

The IntegrityNext platform has helped establish a unified supplier risk assessment approach across Heidelberg Materials’ global operations. Risk data is embedded in SAP Ariba and made available to all procurement teams, both at the global and country level, enhancing supply chain transparency and process consistency.

Critical Supplier Insights

As a result of the standardized risk assessment process, Heidelberg Materials has gained additional, critical insights into supplier practices in areas such as human and labor rights, health and safety, environmental protection, and carbon emissions. Automated reminders and manual follow-ups have helped achieve an 80% response rate for self-assessments on these topics.

Seamless System Integration

More than 100 employees, primarily from procurement, with additional users from ESG and compliance teams, access the IntegrityNext platform regularly. Supplier risk and performance data is integrated into the SAP Ariba supply chain management system via the Extended API, with some components supporting group-level reporting.

Efficient Regulatory Compliance

The IntegrityNext platform enables Heidelberg Materials to efficiently meet the requirements of the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) and other regulatory frameworks, without relying on manual processes. Its network architecture allows suppliers to share their profiles with multiple customers, saving valuable resources.

Improved Supply Chain ESG Ratings

The company’s sustainability commitments, reporting, and performance are regularly evaluated by independent third parties. The harmonized supply chain risk assessment and due diligence process supported by IntegrityNext has contributed to improved scores for Heidelberg Materials’ supply chain activities in various globally recognized sustainability ratings.

Future Outlook

As Heidelberg Materials continues to embed sustainability across its supply chain, the company focuses on several strategic priorities:

Enhancing Supply Chain Transparency

Heidelberg Materials follows a three-pronged approach to improve visibility across its supply chain. First, the company plans to broaden the selection criteria for identifying critical, high-risk tier 1 suppliers subject to self-assessments – expanding the overall scope of analysis. Second, it aims to further increase the response rate for supplier assessments. Third, it intends to map its tier-n supply chain to gain deeper insights across the entire supplier base and uncover sustainability risks at lower tiers.

Advancing Decarbonization

Decarbonization across the value chain remains a top priority for Heidelberg Materials, particularly with regard to its cement and clinker suppliers. To support this effort, the company will enhance product carbon footprint (PCF) tracking by combining data from IntegrityNext and other relevant sources.

Ensuring Regulatory Readiness

As cybersecurity gains in strategic importance, companies must align with evolving regulations such as the EU’s Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). Heidelberg Materials is also proactively preparing for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) by co-developing a digital solution with IntegrityNext that ensures regulatory compliance. Other key legislative drivers shaping the company’s agenda include the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

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