The Swiss company will spend the money on waste heat recovery systems at six plants in India, as it looks to reduce its carbon emissions by 500,000 tons a year.

The project, which will be completed over the next two years, aims to use thermal heat to produce decarbonised energy.

LafargeHolcim has committed to reduce its Scope 2 carbon emissions by 65% compared with 2018 levels. Scope 2 applies to emissions generated indirectly by a company as a result of electricity it buys.

The company has been working to reduce its carbon emissions which analysts have said have weighed on its share price as environmental concerns become increasing important for investors.

An investor group managing more than $16 trillion in assets earlier this year launched the world's first step-by-step plan to help pension funds and others align their portfolios with the Paris Agreement on climate change.

($1=0.8937 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Vinay Dwivedi)