CEMEX B de C : paves the road for a more sustainable future

CEMEX paves the road for a more sustainable future

March 25, 2021

• CEMEX presents its fifth Integrated Report: Safe. Essential. Resilient.

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. ('CEMEX') (NYSE: CX) presented today its Integrated Report 2020: 'Safe. Essential. Resilient.' which includes a comprehensive analysis of CEMEX's strategic vision, operational performance, corporate governance, and value creation at a global level. The report highlights the company's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the essential value of its industrial activity, its Climate Action strategy, and its commitment to drive the industry's innovation by unlocking new value opportunities.

'2020 was undoubtedly a very challenging year, with COVID-19 abruptly upending every aspect of our lives and disrupting every industry worldwide. At CEMEX, that uncertainty and the challenges it posed brought out the best in our people. It also revealed the essential nature of our products and services, the value we bring to our customers, and the strength and resiliency of our business,' said Fernando A. Gonzalez, CEO of CEMEX. 'Sustainability remains to be one of our top priorities, and our Climate Action strategy makes us confident in our ability to achieve our targets and aspirations.'

Among the main accomplishments presented in CEMEX Integrated Report 2020 are:

• CEMEX developed and implemented more than 50 strict hygiene and safety protocols to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 contagion throughout its worldwide sites and operations.
• CEMEX reached a low level of employee lost-time injuries (LTIs) for the sector and made progress across most of its countries, with 96% of its operations achieving zero fatalities and LTIs.
• CEMEX Go was instrumental in allowing customers and employees to work remotely with seamless efficiency and consistently, safely, and reliably deliver products despite the challenging circumstances. 61% of CEMEX total global sales were made digitally through CEMEX Go, with a 90% overall usage rate among recurring customers and high customer satisfaction levels.
• CEMEX announced its Climate Action strategy in February 2020, defining a global target of a 35% reduction of CO₂ emissions per ton of cementitious products by 2030. To complement this strategy with a longer-term vision, CEMEX also established an ambition to deliver net-zero CO₂ concrete to all its customers globally by 2050.
• For its European operations, CEMEX reduced its net CO₂ emissions by close to 35% as of December 31st, 2020, and is the first company in the cement industry to define a 55% reduction target, in line with what the European Commission set as a new goal for all its member states.
• 91% of the company´s cement plants co-processed a cumulative 2.7 million tons of waste as alternative fuels, allowing for approximately 1.6 million tons of coal replaced and a 25.3% substitution rate.
• Clean electricity now covers 29% of CEMEX global consumption in its cement business. In some countries such as the U.K. and Poland, renewable power covers 100% of local cement, concrete, and aggregates business needs.
• CEMEX globally introduced Vertua^®, its low carbon and net-zero CO₂ products, a key milestone towards the company´s 2050 CO₂ neutrality goal. Vertua^® Ultra Zero is the industry's first concrete product with a Net Zero CO₂ footprint, and is already being used in relevant infrastructure and building projects around the world.
• To respond to market changes in outlook resulting from the pandemic, CEMEX launched Operation Resilience, a medium-term plan to improve operating results, margins and promote growth, sustainability, and financial resilience.
• The company increased its financial flexibility with the successful amendment of its bank debt under its Facilities Agreement. This transaction underscores CEMEX´s commitment to a carbon-neutral economy by incorporating green metrics and is one of the largest sustainability-linked loans in the world and the largest in emerging markets.
• CEMEX strengthened the Social Impact strategy that allows it to reinforce initiatives to contribute to communities' well-being. The company positively impacted more than 23 million people on an accumulated basis, contributing to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievement, particularly the five in which CEMEX can have the most impact.

CEMEX Integrated Report 2020 includes an external verification report carried out by KPMG and was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards.

To learn more about CEMEX Integrated Report 2020, please visit: www.cemex.com/IntegratedReport2020

For more information on the company's Climate Action strategy, please visit: https://www.cemex.com/sustainability/climate-action

CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high-quality products and reliable services. CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through innovative building solutions, efficiency advancements, and efforts to promote a sustainable future. For more information, please visit: www.cemex.com

This press release, and the report referred to herein, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. In some cases, these statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as 'may,' 'assume,' 'might,' 'should,' 'could,' 'continue,' 'would,' 'can,' 'consider,' 'anticipate,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'envision,' 'plan,' 'believe,' 'foresee,' 'predict,' 'potential,' 'target,' 'strategy,' 'intend,' 'aimed' or other similar words. These forward-looking statements reflect, as of the date such forward-looking statements are made, or unless otherwise indicated, our current expectations and projections about future events based on our knowledge of present facts and circumstances and assumptions about future events. These statements necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. Some of the risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause results to differ, or that otherwise could have an impact on us or our consolidated entities, include, but are not limited to: the impact of pandemics, epidemics or outbreaks of infectious diseases and the response of governments and other third parties, including with respect to the novel strain of the coronavirus identified in China in late 2019 ('COVID-19'), which have affected and may continue to adversely affect, among other matters, the ability of our operating facilities to operate at full or any capacity, supply chains, international operations, availability of liquidity, investor confidence and consumer spending, as well as availability of, and demand for, our products and services; the cyclical activity of the construction sector; our exposure to other sectors that impact our and our clients' businesses, such as, but not limited to, the energy sector; availability of raw materials and related fluctuating prices; competition in the markets in which we offer our products and services; general political, social, health, economic and business conditions in the markets in which we operate or that affect our operations and any significant economic, health, political or social developments in those markets, as well as any inherent risks to international operations; the regulatory environment, including environmental, energy, tax, antitrust, and acquisition-related rules and regulations; our ability to satisfy our obligations under our material debt agreements, the indentures that govern our outstanding senior secured notes and our other debt instruments and financial obligations, including our perpetual debentures; the availability of short-term credit lines or working capital facilities, which can assist us in connection with market cycles; the impact of our below investment grade debt rating on our cost of capital and on the cost of the products and services we purchase; loss of reputation of our brands; our ability to consummate asset sales, fully integrate newly acquired businesses, achieve cost-savings from our cost-reduction initiatives, implement our pricing initiatives for our products and generally meet our 'Operation Resilience' strategy's goals; the increasing reliance on information technology infrastructure for our sales, invoicing, procurement, financial statements and other processes that can adversely affect our sales and operations in the event that the infrastructure does not work as intended, experiences technical difficulties or is subjected to cyber-attacks; changes in the economy that affect demand for consumer goods, consequently affecting demand for our products and services; weather conditions, including but not limited to, excessive rain and snow, and disasters such as earthquakes and floods; trade barriers, including tariffs or import taxes and changes in existing trade policies or changes to, or withdrawals from, free trade agreements, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; terrorist and organized criminal activities as well as geopolitical events; declarations of insolvency or bankruptcy, or becoming subject to similar proceedings; and, natural disasters and other unforeseen events (including global health hazards such as COVID-19). Readers are urged to read this press release, and the report referred to herein, and carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and other factors that affect our business and operations. The information contained in this press release, and the report referred to herein, are subject to change without notice, and we are not obligated to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. Readers should review future reports filed by us with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.