About Us
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Investor Center
1Q 2012 Earnings Report Live Video Webcast Thursday, April 26, 2012, 10:00 AM ET. More

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Careers
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Sustainable Development
We have identified 7 areas of the highest concern to our company and our stakeholders. More

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Suppliers
CEMEX’s success depends on supplier relationships that are built on trust and mutual benefit. More

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Sustainable Development

Water

Access to sufficient quantities of clean water—a necessity for all life—is becoming an increasingly urgent global concern. In many parts of the world, freshwater resources are under pressure and access to water is already constrained by competing priorities.

Water scarcity will lead to various social and business challenges that can affect CEMEX operations, among them:

Higher water costs,
Limited availability of clean water,
Stronger regulations regarding access to land, water withdrawals, and wastewater treatment,
Competition with other users, including local communities.

Developing a comprehensive approach to water management

Water is of paramount importance within CEMEX everyday operations and a key input in the production process. Additionally, water is a primary component of concrete, representing an average of 15 percent of the mixture. It is also used for cooling and preparing slurry for cement, washing aggregates, and cleaning plants and equipment, including concrete delivery trucks. In our operations, therefore, we seek to increase water efficiency and recycling and to carefully control our water emissions, such as hydrocarbons and suspended solids.

Additionally, some of our quarries are in contact with aquifers and can cause changes in ground water levels. However, quarry rehabilitation can also contribute to the conservation and restoration of wetlands and watersheds and can offer water storage solutions and help mitigate floods.

In 2010, we began a three-year partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to strengthen our approach to water issues. IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network. In this partnership, we will develop a strategy to minimize CEMEX’s impacts on water availability and quality and take better advantage of our water-related opportunities by effective water policies and management systems. The partnership will also develop the tools— operating standards and guidelines, measurement protocols and key indicators, best practices, and training materials—we need to implement the strategy. In the first phase, we will:

More precisely assess CEMEX’s global water footprint,
Map operational sites against key water issues and identify CEMEX’s most sensitive sites,
Analyze water trends and stakeholders’ expectations with regard to water issues,
Explore the role of business in working with stakeholders at the local level to develop sustainable solutions to watershed management,
Identify the highest priority issues and begin developing approaches to address them.

The partnership will continue in order to develop and adopt a corporate water strategy and provide our operations with the appropriate tools and standards to manage water impacts.