CEMEX

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Cemex discloses its materiality assessment process as well as the outcome of this process, which is in line with a double materiality assessment and includes stakeholder engagement. The company has group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain and reports consistently against all its targets. These include a net zero commitment by 2050 and targets around alternative fuels, air emissions reduction, 100 quarries being covered by biodiversity action plans and social-related targets like community engagement plans. The company provides evidence of linking its 2030 goals to its CEO and senior management’s variable compensation, thus covering nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. It also provides evidence that its highest governance body has expertise regarding the company’s most material nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
Cemex discloses the stakeholder groups with which it engages as well as the main topics covered, showing that its stakeholder engagement covers nature, including biodiversity, and social issues.

Key areas and species
Following its biodiversity policy and in line with the GCCA Sustainability Guidelines for Quarry Rehabilitation and Biodiversity Management, Cemex has biodiversity action plans for 99% of its locations.

Solid and air pollution
Cemex discloses the proportion of hazardous waste treated to reduce pollution compared to total waste, the hazardous waste diverted from disposal and the waste directed to disposal. The company has time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain, which include dust emissions (-95%), nitrogen oxides (-47%) and sulphur oxides (-67%), by 2030. Cemex reports regularly against these targets.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
In its human rights policy, Cemex states it is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Stakeholder engagement
Cemex discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. While it discloses the channels it uses for stakeholder engagement, there is an opportunity for the company to disclose the frequency of these engagement opportunities.

Lobbying
The company discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. However, it does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. Nor does it report misalignments or potential misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
While Cemex has conducted biodiversity-related assessments in all its sites, it could further strengthen its process by also assessing its business model impacts. The company does not disclose any assessment of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, in its supply chain. Also, it does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations or its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
While Cemex discloses the number of sites close to areas important to biodiversity, it does not disclose the locations that are in or within close proximity to these areas. The company does not disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. It also does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to its own locations or those of its suppliers. Nor does it disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. Cemex has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company is committed to restoring ecosystems and has active rehabilitation plans for 99% of its operations. However, it does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to work towards a circular economy. Cemex has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
Cemex demonstrates it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations. It discloses a specific reduction target for some of its activities but does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas or on how it engages with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. It also does not report a decrease in water pollution nor its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not regularly report on water pollution or disclosed targets to reduce water pollution. Finally, the company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water, nor does it disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
Cemex is not reducing the production of hazardous waste or reducing plastic use and waste in its own operations. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. However, it does report regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants.

GHG emissions
Cemex is reducing its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. It has a time-bound target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions and reports progress against the target. While the company has joined the Business Ambition for 1.5°C and Race to Zero, its scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction target is not aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory. The company is not reducing its scope 3 emissions. It has a time-bound reduction target for its scope 3 emissions but does not report progress against this target.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of IAS in its own operations.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company does not show if it is committed to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
Cemex does not disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, nor does it describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. The company does not require its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

The company describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. Cemex also describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships, which integrates various programmes and assessments as a part of risk management. The company describes its process(es) for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. Moreover, it describes its global system to take action to prevent, mitigate or remediate salient human rights issues, and this includes a description of how its global system applies to its supply chain. There is no evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes. The company discloses categories of stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. It also provides examples of how it engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

Cemex has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect the health and safety of its own workers and expecting its suppliers to do the same. While the company discloses paying competitive compensation, there is no evidence that it discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. There is no evidence that it describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. Nor is there evidence that the company describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. Cemex discloses that 40% of its total direct operations workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements. While the company states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in this regard.

The company discloses a global tax strategy. There is no evidence that it describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. However, it does include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. In a public policy statement, Cemex discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement. The company states that it does not make political contributions but does not formalise this commitment in a public policy document.