Strong CEMEX presence at COP27

09 November, 2022

CEMEX chief executive officer Fernando A. Gonzalez participated in the First Movers Coalition panel at COP27. L-R: John Kerry, US Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (standing); ReNew chairman and managing director Sumant Sinha; Fernando Gonzalez; and Andrea Fuder, executive vice-president and chief purchasing officer of Volvo Group

Company participating in and hosting number of high-level panel sessions at COP27 in Egypt

CEMEX chief executive officer Fernando A. González was part of the First Movers Coalition panel at COP27 on Tuesday 8 November, alongside the World Economic Forum’s President Borge Brende, Microsoft president Brad Smith, ReNew chairman and managing director Sumant Sinha, Volvo Group chief purchasing officer Andrea Fuder, and special climate envoy John Kerry.

CEMEX are one of the founding members of the First Movers Coalition, a partnership between the World Economic Forum and the US Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. It is the only buyers’ club working to scale new technologies across the heavy industry and heavy-duty transport sectors.

As a First Movers Coalition member, CEMEX are committed to making 32% of their heavy-duty transport purchases zero emissions by 2030. This commitment aligns with the company’s ambitious goals of reducing transport carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 and becoming Net Zero by 2050, part of its Future in Action programme to achieve sustainable excellence and become a net-zero CO2 company.

This commitment is particularly challenging since zero-emission heavy-duty transport is unavailable at scale. At the panel, Fernando A. Gonzalez talked about how collaboration and innovation are at the core of the company’s efforts. CEMEX are already piloting fully electric concrete truckmixers with partners such as Volvo, as well as investing in transition technologies such as natural gas, having replaced 200 diesel trucks with this lower-emission alternative earlier this year.

Additionally, on Thursday 10 November, CEMEX will host the discussion panel Working Together to Decarbonize the Construction Value Chain, where a high-level group of experts will discuss critical levers and innovation strategies for fully decarbonizing the construction value chain.

Moderated by Thomas Guillot, chief executive of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), the panelists will include Gensler co-chief executive officer Diane Hoskins, CEMEX chief executive officer Fernando A. González, Carbon Clean chief executive officer Aniruddha Sharma, BCG global ESG and climate lead Hubertus Meinecke, and Energy Transitions Commission chairman Adair Turner.