Cemex announced today that it has been selected for inclusion in the United Nations Global Compact 100– a new global stock index that combines corporate sustainability and baseline financial performance.
“We are pleased that our sustainability policies and activities have been recognised in this way,” Lorenzo H. Zambrano, Cemex’s Chairman and CEO. “For many years corporations and investors have been looking for the positive link between responsible business practices and stock-market returns, and the Global Compact 100 appears to provide just that.”
Developed and released by the UN Global Compact in partnership with research firm Sustainalytics, the GC 100 is composed of the representative group of Global Compact companies selected based on their adherence to the Global Compact’s ten principles as well as evidence of executive leadership commitment and consistent baseline profitability.
Cemex is a signatory member of the UN Global Compact since 2004 and it's the only Mexican-based company included in the GC 100.
As communicated by the UN Global Compact, during the past 12 months the “GC 100” shows a total investment return of 26.4 per cent, surpassing the general global stock market.
“While the performance of the GC 100 should not be seen as clear evidence of a causal relationship between a commitment to corporate sustainability practices and stock performance, there appears to be an exciting correlation,” said George Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. “Moreover, the results may also reflect the fact that sustainability performance is a factor that is receiving increasing interest from investors.”
The GC 100 marries corporate performance on environmental and social issues with a requirement of basic profitability. Kell added, “Sustainability performance should not be looked at in isolation so we included a requirement of basic financial good health. Both factors are often taken as proxies for the quality of management, which can be an important determinant of investment returns.”
