As a global building materials provider, we have the ability, and a tremendous opportunity, to help raise living standards in developing countries. We contribute directly to the economies in which we operate through the creation of jobs, investments, and local procurement.

We seek to leverage our core business strengths—institutional knowledge and experience, employees’ talent and time, and social contributions to the communities in which we live and work. In keeping with our vision to build a smart world together with our stakeholders, we seek to develop strong and enduring partnerships that strengthen both these communities and our business prospects.

As a building materials company, the most effective and appropriate way for us to contribute to the global effort to eradicate poverty is to increase access to our building materials and services among disadvantaged groups. Our initiatives seek to promote affordable housing and better community construction infrastructure.

We do so through innovative programs that provide microfinance, training, equipment, technologies, and our expertise to help low-income customers build homes, businesses, and stronger communities. We also partner with local governments and groups of neighbors to improve the conditions of community infrastructure such as unpaved roads, sidewalks, parks, schools, hospitals, and other public spaces. A key example is our award-winning Patrimonio Hoy program, which, for over a decade, has been dedicated to helping to reduce the housing deficit by providing access to building materials for low-income customers.

Read more about Social Investment >>

Patrimonio Hoy >>

Global initiatives
Click on any of our initiatives to learn more about our efforts.

 
We began developing our signature social enterprise, Patrimonio Hoy, in 1998 with the objective of providing a market-based solution to address the housing needs of low-income families and thereby empower them to improve the quality of their lives. At its most basic, Patrimonio Hoy provides low-income families living in urban and semi-urban areas with access to building materials such as cement, concrete blocks, and steel. Patrimonio Hoy provides these products at average market prices as well as microfinancing, technical advice, and logistical support to assist participants in building their own homes. The program accomplishes this through a collaborative network of local CEMEX distributors; community-based promoters, mainly women trained and empowered through the program who build trust and secure participation of community members; and the families themselves.

In addition to housing, Patrimonio Hoy contributes to the improvement of local public school infrastructure, including classrooms, bathrooms, and sports facilities, with the active participation of the program participants.

Program benefits. The benefits of Patrimonio Hoy accrue not only to the participants but to the community at large and our company. For example, indicators of the success of the program in Mexico alone include the following:

  • Participants are able to build their homes or additions three times faster and at a third of the average cost to build a home in Mexico.
  • Participants gain access to the credit markets. Since inception, Patrimonio Hoy has advanced USD135 million in microcredit, and 60 percent of participants say they would not have been able to build their house without the program.
  • The market value of homes built through Patrimonio Hoy is approximately 20 percent higher as a result of the higher quality and functionality of the structures.
  • The program creates jobs mainly among local masons and those trained as promoters; 95 percent of promoters are women, 51% of whom had no previous working experience.
  • Twenty-nine percent of participants use their homes, or extra rooms that they have built through their participation in Patrimonio Hoy, to build their own businesses.

In addition, Patrimonio Hoy contributes to the improvement of local public-school infrastructure, including classrooms, bathrooms, and sports facilities, with the active participation of the program participants. In all, Patrimonio Hoy helps us build long-term relationships and trust within underserved communities and increases our competitiveness within the low-income market segment.

Since the program first began operating in 2000, Patrimonio Hoy has provided affordable solutions to more than 1.3 million people throughout Latin America and has enabled more than 265,000 families—251,000 in Mexico and 15,000 in other countries—to build their own homes. Patrimonio Hoy operates through more than 100 centers in Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. Of these offices, 85 are in Mexico, and 93 of those are completely self-sustaining.

The Patrimonio Hoy program has been recognized with multiple awards. In 2006 it received the World Business Award from the International Chamber of Commerce, the Prince of Wales International Business Leader's Forum, and the United Nations Development Program for its support to the Millennium Development Goals. In 2007, it was chosen for the Corporate Citizen of the Americas Award from the Trust for the Americas. More recently, in 2009, it was recognized with the United Nations HABITAT Business Award in the category of accessible housing solutions.

Challenges. Patrimonio Hoy faces two key challenges. The first, which is also a primary goal, is to replicate the model in other developing countries. The second is to integrate social and environmental features. To address these challenges, we have undertaken the following:

  • A pilot program to introduce energy-efficient appliances to raise awareness of climate change while helping participants reduce energy usage and costs.
  • Research to analyze and update the business model for more effective scalability and to develop a plan to enter new geographic regions at full scale.
  • An initiative to provide additional business training and new microfinance products
  • Feasibility studies for launching Patrimonio Hoy in other developing countries

Our success with Patrimonio Hoy has spurred the development of other social enterprises that provide market-based solutions to help low-income families to sustain themselves and contribute to the development of their communities.

Read more about Patrimonio Hoy >>

Read about the UN Habitat Business Award >>

We see our low-income customers and their communities as important stakeholders and our relationships with them as mutually beneficial. As a result of our work on Patrimonio Hoy, we have undertaken the development of several other local initiatives to address their needs and build relationships within their communities.

For example, in developing countries, we also partner with local governments and groups of neighbors to improve the conditions of community infrastructure such as unpaved roads, sidewalks, parks, schools, hospitals, and other public spaces.

Read more about our community infrastructure iniciatives >>



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