Education is key to facing current and future challenges; that is why we promote quality education, infrastructure, and appropriate nurturing environments in the countries in which we work. We also focus on developing technical and soft skills and competences that foster employability and ensure an adequate future workforce for our Company. As a result, communities are more self-sufficient and empowered. By facilitating access to relevant technical and vocational skills for young people and adults, we contribute directly to SDGs targets 4.3 and 4.4. We also contribute to SDGs targets 8.5 and 8.6 by involving non-educated, employed or trained (NEET) or graduate age youth in different programs that foster employability.

We support different education initiatives—from formal education scholarships to development of capabilities for employability—as well as awareness of cultural topics such as youth employability and women’s economic empowerment in the community.

In order to be able to maximize our impact and comprehensively track our actions, we have thus designed two main programs that will start working during 2020. One of these two overarching programs for this pillar focuses on developing complementary education initiatives that contribute to the employability of future generations, mainly by teaching the skills needed for tomorrow’s workplace; whilst the other is focused on the development of employability capabilities of the people in the cities and communities where we operate.

Youth

At CEMEX, we are acting to eradicate youth unemployment, strategically building the foundation for our future growth. Along with all of our industry peers, we are experiencing an aging workforce, which if unaddressed, could result in the loss of skilled and knowledgeable labor for our business continuity. Hence, it is of vital importance for our Company and our industry to rethink practices for attracting, retaining, and engaging young and innovative talent. By developing youth employability capabilities, we bridge the gap between current skills and the needs of our future industrial ecosystem.

According to the forecast of the International Labor Organization, in 2019, the expected global unemployment rate was 4.9%, while the youth unemployment rate was 11.8%; this meant that 59.1 million youth aged 15 to 24 could not find a job. In total, youth represented 33% of unemployed people worldwide. This phenomenon has grown in scale throughout the years. There are several reasons behind this trend, such as an ever-increasing population, limited economic growth, and more importantly, a gap between skills learned by students and the needs of employers. Additionally, people who have experienced youth unemployment face lower average future earnings, thus limiting the productivity and growth of future generations and affecting the overall business environment.

In order to tackle this problem, CEMEX, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), developed a program called New Employment Opportunities (NEO).  By 2021, only through NEO, more than 30,800 young people have been trained, of which 51% are women.

Additionally, in January 2019, CEMEX signed an agreement with the Global Alliance for YOUth (All4YOUth), this agreement aims to collectively improve millions of lives through quality education and workforce readiness with the commitment of 20 companies. CEMEX committed to developing employability capabilities of 65,000 youth by 2022. Since then, our company’s education, employment, and entrepreneurship initiatives have already reached more than 58,900 youth across our worldwide operations, mainly through the NEO program.

As part of our partnership with All4YOUth, CEMEX has defined four focus areas to work on:

Learn more about CEMEX's Position on Youth here.

Community Centers

A significant part of our education and capability development efforts occurs through our 70 CEMEX Community Centers located in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Every year, participants take part in various training sessions designed to develop new skills and employability competencies, with a special focus on women’s and youth development.

We have developed self-sustaining business models in the construction industry to improve the livelihoods in the countries in which we operate. Through these models, we support society by building durable infrastructure that contributes to the resilience of the cities and communities. We further bring together communities and local authorities to tackle critical social issues such as credit, housing, employment, basic services, resilient infrastructure, and public spaces.

Our two overarching programs for this pillar are comprised of one program that focuses on developing integral affordable housing solutions that contribute to the economical and psychological wellbeing of their inhabitants; and another which focuses on facilitating mobility solutions for people with disabilities, campaigns for efficiency and accident reduction rate in transportation as well as promoting resiliency through awareness and new building models.

According to the World Bank, 26 million people are left in poverty yearly due to disasters. Disasters are socially constructed; they are a result of natural or anthropogenic phenomena and human activity. Rapid, extensive migration results in infrastructure incapable of serving this constantly growing population and thus increased risks.

Through our Resiliency and Urban Transformation Model we transfer our knowledge for promoting a culture of prevention and rapid disaster response.

Inclusive Business Models

According to the World Bank (2019), 7 out of 10 people will live in cities by 2050, and there are currently 1 billion urban poor. Rural migration to urban locations leads to irregular dwellings that lack appropriate services and infrastructure to achieve economic growth, thus intensifying a vicious cycle throughout generations.

Our shared value programs are contained within an umbrella called "Growing Platform". This innovative platform addresses the main problems inherent to poverty and inequality in vulnerable communities, such as inadequate housing, limited land ownership, lack of access to basic services, unemployment, and lack of financial inclusion, through micro-credits and other services.

The new jobs created under our Growing Platform’s initiatives, as well as the cost savings that result from access to affordable housing and services, directly reduce the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all of its dimensions, contributing to SDG 1, 10, and 11 through targets 1.4, 10.1, and 11.1.

To date, our Growing Platform is only present in Latin America, we are continuously working towards developing shared value programs in other countries where we operate.

Patrimonio Hoy

Tackles the lack of affordable housing in low-income communities, enabling those with low startup capital and income to afford high-quality materials and technical assistance, contributing directly to SDG target 11.1. In 2021, 9,914 families participated in this program, through which they gain access to our company’s network of contractors, support with land ownership, a micro-credit loan with a customized financial plan; and reduce the time and cost of building a home by 30%. The program has operated in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua. Its ultimate goal is to foster home safety and quality, while positively impacting partners’ health, wealth, and education. Since our launch of this groundbreaking social business model in 1998, we have reached 3.05 million participants in this underserved market.

To know more about the program and if you are interested on applying, please follow this link.

Construyo Contigo

Is a flexible business model that brings our building products and solutions to low-income families living in substandard housing who require a partial subsidy and/or micro-loan in order to make home improvements or build new homes. It reduces the construction time to build a 44 m² house from 15 years to three to six months and develops skills that enable homeowners to upgrade their homes. Through partnerships with governments, our Centers for Self-Employment enable families to receive technical assistance and training regarding the production of building materials, including concrete blocks and other components that they can use to expand their homes. This model promotes job creation and self-employment, contributing directly to SDG target 11.1. In 2021, 6,569 families accessed quality affordable housing and employment through our Self-Employment Centers in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia and Mexico.

Construyo Contigo is an integral program comprised of four solutions, which can be applied separately or in conjunction, depending on the community needs:

1. Centers for Self-Employment-CPA
2. Yo Construyo
3. Construapoyo
4. Community workshops

Yo Construyo

Implemented by the CEMEX-TEC de Monterrey Center, is a commercial and capability-building strategy that increases demand for our products by developing potential construction workers and masons’ technical and entrepreneurial skills to foster housing upgrades and construction. It promotes high-quality and cost-effective building, as well as the use of sustainable criteria, including energy saving and affordable clean technologies. Participants become new customers as they improve their homes and provide services to others. This strategy contributes to SDG target 4.3. The program is offered on demand through co-investment partnerships.

If you are interested on learning more about self-construction, please refer to our manual (only available in spanish).

Construapoyo

Is an inclusive business that enables microfinance entities and distributors from our value chain to offer financial solutions to do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners, so they can acquire construction materials to improve their homes. Construapoyo utilizes flexible technology that allows other entities, such as private companies and governments, to provide funding for upgrading housing, including relief projects, and to deliver building materials clearly and efficiently. Operating in conjunction with our Construyo Contigo platform, through this program, we have supported 189,661 individuals to date since 2006, allowing for more transparent transactions that reach people in need.

Clean Cook Stoves

Is a business model that enables our company and social entrepreneurs to reach new markets with cleaner, healthier cooking solutions through the production and commercialization of concrete cook stoves. We partner with microfinance institutions (MFIs), governments, and local women groups. The implementation of these clean cook stoves has improved the families’ quality of life—saving time in the collection of firewood and cooking, and reducing the risk of lung diseases, eye infections, and burns by open stoves. During 2021, we installed 1,970 ecological stoves in Mexico.

We provide innovative, sustainable solutions to social and environmental issues by supporting, promoting or otherwise contributing to organizations and activities that create innovative ideas. Our social innovation and shared value creation position us as a benchmark in social impact. In addition, we support local entrepreneurship through training or acceleration in order to boost local economies.

Our two overarching programs for this pillar are comprised of one that focuses on empowering and providing the necessary tools for people to develop or accelerate their own entrepreneurship projects; and another which is focused on providing the tools for conceiving or accelerating holistic solutions to social and environmental problems, thus developing mature social innovation businesses.

We use resources sustainably, encourage a proactive attitude to diversity conservation and restoration, and reinforce a culture of health and safety in the cities and communities where we operate. We act to reduce the degradation of ecosystems by partnering to protect and restore threatened areas, contributing directly to SDG target 15.1.

Our programs for this pillar focus on community environment-related initiatives, such as biodiversity conservation to provide ecosystem services; and on another on safeguarding lives within the communities we live and operate in from natural and anthropogenic hazards through health campaigns.

An example the Community Environmental Restoration Program, participatory education initiative, which aims to strengthen environmental knowledge among young people by educating them as promoters and environmental leaders, through training, community diagnosis, and participatory activities of restoration and environmental improvement.

Objectives:

• Encourage the active participation of young people in environmental restoration projects.
• Generate environmental information through participatory environmental diagnosis.
• Promote environmental awareness of the community and disseminate it.
• Contribute to the environmental restoration of the community.
• Generate local networks of collaboration and action on environmental issues.

Methodology:

• Sensibilization
• Training our promoters
• Participatory Environmental Diagnosis
• Socialization and Activities

In addition, this strengthens the relationship with local stakeholders and the leadership of the company by promoting networks for the development of environmental initiatives.