building a better future - Cemex
building a better future - Cemex
building a better future - Cemex
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our approach<br />
CEMEX is focused on achieving strong environmental performance<br />
by systematically controlling and effectively managing<br />
the impacts of its activities, products, and services and by<br />
making efficient use of natural resources. Our efforts center<br />
on five main action areas:<br />
• A global Environmental Management System (EMS) that<br />
provides for the monitoring and reduction of environmental<br />
incidents and prepares us to achieve external environmental<br />
certification (such as ISO 14001, EMAS, or Energy Star) at<br />
100 percent of our operations by 2015.<br />
• Managing our air emissions through expanded monitoring<br />
throughout our operations and by setting new emissionsreduction<br />
goals for 2015.<br />
• Assessing our water usage and impacts to <strong>better</strong> understand<br />
and mitigate the water risks facing our business.<br />
• Advancing our waste-reduction strategy through improved<br />
recycling efforts and ongoing collaboration with industry<br />
partners.<br />
• Deepening our commitment to biodiversity management<br />
with the introduction of biodiversity action plans (BAPs) at<br />
all of our quarries located in areas of high biodiversity value.<br />
challenges ahead:<br />
Having improved our management and prevention<br />
of Category 1 environmental incidents,<br />
we will refocus our energies on monitoring<br />
and reducing the occurrence of lower-severity<br />
incidents.<br />
With increased knowledge of our company’s<br />
impacts upon water resources, we must improve<br />
our water-measurement systems in order to find<br />
viable ways to reduce water usage.<br />
We must undertake additional efforts to improve<br />
the way we measure and monitor the<br />
generation of waste in our facilities.<br />
introducing the new CEMEX<br />
environmental management<br />
system<br />
In 2011, CEMEX completed an intensive, multi-stakeholder<br />
review of its new global EMS, which will launch in 2012.<br />
The objective of the new EMS is to facilitate the consistent,<br />
complete implementation of risk-based environmentalmanagement<br />
tools across its entire business structure. The<br />
CEMEX EMS comprises key mechanisms for environmental<br />
impact assessment, stakeholder engagement, and accident<br />
response based upon input from a range of environmental<br />
and biodiversity specialists. Our EMS is designed to ensure<br />
legal and regulatory compliance and it’s full compatibility<br />
with the ISO 14001 standard and the EU Eco-Management<br />
and Audit Scheme (EMAS). As of the end of 2011, 86 percent<br />
of CEMEX operations have implemented internal environmental<br />
management systems, and 23 percent have achieved<br />
ISO 14001 certification. As we approach full implementation<br />
of our global EMS in 2015, it is our goal to reach 100 percent<br />
compliance with our internal environmental criteria at<br />
all facilities. In addition, we have a goal to achieve external<br />
environmental certification (ISO 14001, EMAS, or Energy<br />
Star) at 100 percent of our cement manufacturing facilities.<br />
environmental risks, in context<br />
Environmental and biodiversity conditions are changing at unprecedented<br />
rates throughout the world, often irreversibly. Leading research<br />
from organizations such as the World Resources Institute, the US EPA,<br />
and the United Nations Environmental Programme suggests that<br />
pollution and climate change pose serious threats to our most basic<br />
resources—such as clean air, fresh water, and arable land—and have<br />
contributed to the decline of many plant and animal species. What’s at<br />
stake, should these trends continue, is a complex and delicate set of<br />
ecosystem services that support the basic needs of life on Earth. Food,<br />
fuel, clean water, climate regulation, pollination, and disease control<br />
are just a few of the ecosystem services that humans and other species<br />
enjoy. Yet the protection of these natural systems is a challenging,<br />
multifaceted endeavor.<br />
At CEMEX, we understand the need for a holistic approach to environmental<br />
and biodiversity management. Our quarries, plants, and<br />
logistics operations all pose unique environmental challenges, and<br />
we have thoroughly analyzed the actual and potential impacts they<br />
may cause for local habitats, communities, and our customers. Through<br />
this process we have found that air quality, biodiversity, water use, and<br />
waste are the most significant environmental factors facing our company—and<br />
those requiring the most proactive, systematic handling.<br />
To minimize our overall environmental footprint, we have developed<br />
issue-specific management priorities for each of these high-risk areas.<br />
MOST SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL<br />
IMPACTS FACING OUR COMPANY<br />
waste<br />
water use<br />
air quality<br />
biodiversity<br />
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