HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CEMEX further demonstrated its commitment to sustainable business practices in 2016, investing more than $50 million on projects and improvements in cement plant operations and other facilities to help reduce environmental impact and conserve nearby wildlife.
CEMEX spent millions of dollars at its cement plants in 2016 to make changes benefiting the environment. Four cement plants—Brooksville, Miami, Clinchfield and Victorville—achieved the ENERGY STAR Certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 2017. Last year, all active CEMEX cement plants in the U.S. achieved the Wildlife Habitat Council’s Conservation Certification, and several sites in California are currently working to attain that goal.
“At CEMEX, we are committed to building a better future for the communities in which we live and work through sustainable business practices,” said CEMEX USA president Ignacio Madridejos. “We continue to operate responsibly regarding the environment, and by investing in our operations, we are taking steps to honor that commitment.”
CEMEX’s environmental initiatives also include wildlife conservation efforts. The Lytle Creek quarry in Rialto, Calif., has more than 150 acres dedicated to wildlife habitat easements, including the Riversidean alluvial fan sage scrub, a habitat for the San Bernardino Kangaroo rat, an animal listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1998.
CEMEX’s Rockfield Quarry in Fresno County, Calif., recently installed nesting boxes for birds. Sparrows filled those boxes last spring, weeks after they were placed on the property. In Ventura County, Calif., CEMEX’s Moorpark Quarry installed water guzzlers in 2012 to provide a safe and easily accessible source of drinking water for wildlife on the property.
The crown jewel of CEMEX’s environmental programs is the El Carmen Nature Reserve, a private conservation area that spans nearly 400,000 acres across the Texas-Mexico border in the Big Bend region. El Carmen is comprised of five different ecosystems and is home to a myriad of plants, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. In May, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department awarded CEMEX the prestigious 2017 Lone Star Land Steward Award for the Trans Pecos Ecoregion for its ongoing commitment to sustainability and land stewardship. CEMEX received the Wildlife Habitat Council’s Gold Tier Program of the Year for work at El Carmen in 2016.
For more information on CEMEX’s environmental and conservation efforts, visit cemexnature.com.
CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high-quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Its U.S. network includes 11 cement plants, 43 strategically located distribution terminals, 57 aggregate quarries and more than 270 ready-mix concrete plants.
