building a better future - Cemex

Colombia opens a new Productive
Center of Self-employment (PCS)
In June of 2011, a new PCS center was opened in the city
of Payandé, Colombia, as part of the latest expansion of
CEMEX housing programs in the country. Throughout the
remainder of the year, 120 individual participants in the
PCS center collectively produced 45,511 concrete blocks,
helping 12 families to start building their homes. By year
end, 108 square meters of construction had been completed
through efforts of the program participants.
45,511
concrete blocks produced
by 120 individuals in
Colombia’s new PCS
empowering self-sufficiency
Through our community-involvement efforts across the
globe, we have learned that self-sufficiency and the development
of practical skills are integral to the long-term
prosperity of individuals and communities. In many of our
markets, however, poor access to jobs, skills-training, and
education opportunities limit individuals’ ability to meet
their basic needs. To address this challenge, CEMEX has developed
a number of programs that simultaneously improve
communities’ access to building materials for their homes,
and provide mechanisms to improve training and employment
options.
Productive Centers of Self-employment (PCS)
PCS are community spaces where individuals manufacture
concrete blocks and other precast forms, keeping half of
their production for personal construction purposes while
selling the other half to state and municipal governments.
CEMEX helps PCS manage purchase agreements to ensure
that each center uses proceeds to ultimately become selfsufficient.
In 2011, CEMEX introduced 16 new PCS to the
overall program helping over 44,013 families have build and
improve their housing conditions.
ConstruApoyo and Construimos Juntos: two models for
disaster response and long-term relief
CEMEX offers two mechanisms for fast and effective response
to disaster situations:
• Through its ConstruApoyo program, CEMEX facilitates the
distribution of government relief funds with a debit card
system, creating a transparent process through which aid
recipients are able to purchase the building materials
they need. Launched in 2005 to help with disaster-relief
efforts in Mexico following hurricanes Stan and Wilma,
the ConstruApoyo model has been replicated in subsequent
emergency situations. Ongoing support has been
provided to the victims of Hurricane Alex—which devastated
parts of Nuevo León in 2010—as well as the earthquake
in Haiti in 2010. In 2011, a total of USD1 million
was administered through the ConstruApoyo distribution
network, helping more than 2,000 families with home
rebuilding efforts.
• Construimos Juntos is a rapid-response system for the establishment
of PCS in disaster-stricken areas. Leveraging the
effective, repeatable model of the PCS program, Construimos
Juntos expedites the availability of essential building
materials to help communities begin rebuilding efforts.
FAMILIES BENEFITED BY PCSs
thousands
2010
2011
8,475
44,013
The number of CEMEX PCS increased by 60 percent in 2011,
with 38 self-sustaining centers now in existence. The overall
program is currently being strengthened to allow for more
rapid expansion of PCS locations beyond Mexico, and into
CEMEX’s other countries of operation.
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