CDP raises CEMEX rating from B to A–

Rating raised for company’s leadership on climate change transparency and action

CEMEX announced this week that CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) raised its rating of CEMEX from B in 2018 to A– in 2019 for the company’s commitment to climate protection.

The rating upgrade reflects CEMEX’s improvement in governance, risk management, CO2 emissions-reduction initiatives, low-carbon products, and value-chain engagement.

‘We are very pleased not only that our CDP score has improved, but also that it reflects our company’s continued effort to achieve a robust climate change strategy, which is helping us to reduce our operations’ CO2 footprint,’ said CEMEX’s corporate sustainability director, Vicente Saiso.

‘So far, we have reduced our net specific emissions per tonne of cementitious product by more than 22% when compared with our 1990 baseline, putting us on track to accomplish our ambitious science-based targets for 2030.’

The reductions achieved to date allowed the company to avoid approximately 8 million tonnes of CO2 during 2019, equivalent to the carbon emissions of 1.6 million passenger vehicles.

CEMEX are taking the following steps to further reduce their direct CO2 emissions:

• Producing new types of low-CO2 clinker, cement, and concrete products.
• Increasing their use of alternative fuels as a substitute for fossil fuels.
• Using waste from other industries as alternative raw materials as a substitute for clinker.
• Expanding and protecting natural carbon sinks - from their El Carmen Nature Reserve to all of their quarries.
• Developing and testing disruptive technologies such as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and other innovative carbon technologies.

CEMEX say they are also determined to reduce indirect CO2 emissions from electricity through their use of renewable energy. Close to 30% of the company’s power consumption is now covered by renewable energy sources, understood to be the highest rate among global cement companies.