Votorantim Cimentos

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Impact and dependencies assessment
Votorantim Cimentos discloses it has used the IBAT tool to identify priority locations and develop Biodiversity Management Plans. However, no relevant evidence on the company conducting an assessment of its business model’s impacts could be found in the public domain.

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company discloses its inputs, including its material footprint.

Solid and air pollution
Votorantim Cimentos 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. It has time-bound target to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain. The company reports regularly against these targets.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Votorantim Cimentos discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. It has disclosed targets regarding GHG and non-greenhouse gas emissions, however the company does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company reports consistently against all its targets. While it discloses having teams that discuss climate-related change, no further evidence regarding teams or committees within the company responsible for the implementation of its sustainability strategy. Votorantim Cimentos discloses its Executive Board and its Board of Directors, via working groups, discuss topics related to decarbonisation and ESG, no explicit evidence that it assigns decision-making and oversight responsibility for its sustainability strategy to the highest governance body could be found in the public domain. No evidence was found that the company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Votorantim Cimentos does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
The company does not disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

Lobbying
The company discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. While Votorantim Cimentos discloses that it applies guiding criteria to the associations it participates, it does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report misalignments between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
Votorantim Cimentos does not disclose an assessment of its impacts on nature which covers its upstream value chain. The company does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations and its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
While the company discloses the amount of sites within its own operations that are in or adjacent to areas important to biodiversity within its own operations, no evidence was found regarding its position relative to these areas, the status or location of this areas. Votorantim Cimentos does not disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. It does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to its own locations. The company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to the locations of its suppliers. Finally, it does not disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
Votorantim Cimentos is committed to restoring ecosystems and discloses the activities conducted regarding restoration, including investment towards Asset Restoration Obligation (ARO), sites restored including hectares, and future restoration plans. However, no evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. Votorantim Cimentos has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. While Votorantim Cimentos discloses information regarding a byproduct which is being used to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity, it does not disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
Votorantim Cimentos discloses water withdrawals performance data, which shows an increasing trend from 2019. It does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company reports how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. Votorantim Cimentos does not report a decrease in water pollution. It does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not regularly report on water pollution, nor disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. It also does not 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
No evidence that Votorantim Cimentos is reducing the production of hazardous waste was found. No evidence that it reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants.

GHG emissions
Votorantim Cimentos discloses is scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, however these show an increasing trend. While it has a target to reduce emissions per tonne of cementitious product, no evidence this reduction would also have an impact on absolute emissions was disclosed. Although the company reports information regarding scope 1 and 2 emissions, no report on progress against towards its targets could be found. While Votorantim Cimentos discloses its Board has approved a 1.5-degree pathway, it has yet to disclose a scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory. Although Votorantim Cimentos is reducing its scope 3 emissions, it is encouraged to disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory and disclose progress towards it.

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

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company does not disclose a commitment 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
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

Votorantim Cimentos has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially through its business relationships. It also has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. No evidence was found that the company has a global system to act on its salient human rights issues. The company has an opportunity to disclose the stakeholders it engages with on human rights risks.

Votorantim Cimentos has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. It has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. The company has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. It also has an opportunity to describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. While it discloses that 78.5% of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements, it does not describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining was found.

No evidence that Votorantim Cimentos has a publicly available global tax strategy was found. While it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships, no evidence it has a publicly available policy statement or policy setting out its lobbying and political engagement approach was found. The company specifies that it does not make political contributions.