Our industry relies heavily on natural resources and energy, and we must use cutting-edge technology to increase energy efficiency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and optimize our use of raw materials and water. We are committed to measure, monitor, and constantly improve our environmental performance.

Cement is at the very core of society's development. It provides many essential benefits, such as shelter, public buildings and services, and transport infrastructure.

Concrete, made with cement, is the world's most used material after water - more than 2.5 tons are used per person annually.

But the production of cement and the extraction of aggregates for concrete have significant environmental impacts that we must manage responsibly. Some of them, such as the emissions of carbon dioxide from cement kilns, have a global impact. Others, such as the effect on biodiversity from quarrying, congestion from transport, and dust emissions, have a local effect. We must reduce all of our impacts, and we are committed to measure, monitor, and constantly improve our environmental performance.

In this section, we address the environmental impacts of raw-material extraction and cement manufacturing and describe how we are reducing the most significant impacts.

We report our performance progress in the latest Sustainable Development Report.