CEMEX has joined the United Nations Global Compact CFO Taskforce for the sustainable development goals (SDG).
The building materials giant says the move is part of its continuing alignment of its financial strategy to its leadership in addressing climate change.
The CFO Taskforce for the SDGs has three main goals: to engage the global chief financial officer (CFO) community, to integrate the SDGs into strategy, financing, and investor relations, and to create a broad sustainable finance market.
Members of the UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce for the SDGs aim to provide the global development community with a modern view of how capital markets can contribute to financing the SDGs, at scale.
They also develop innovative financial instruments and contribute to a broad market of diversified investment opportunities for the SDGs; support companies in securing the financial capital needed to implement the SDGs and transform their business and production models; connect companies’ SDG investments with increasingly impact-oriented investors; develop internal tools and resources to embed sustainability in corporate finance, including strategic alignment, impact measurement, reporting, investor communication, and financial innovation; and promote partnerships between CEOs and CFOs and help translate sustainability strategies into financial language for investors and rating agencies.
“Climate change is perhaps the biggest challenge of our times, affecting lives and disrupting economies,” said Maher Al-Haffar, CFO of CEMEX. “Only by aligning our financial and climate action strategies will we be able to overcome this challenge.”
“At CEMEX, we share the beliefs embodied in the CFO Principles and are honored to join the UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce for the SDGs through which we will actively contribute to the innovation of corporate finance that will enable the building of a more resilient future for all.”
The CFO Taskforce for the SDGs works with the whole investment value chain, including investors, banks, development finance institutions, credit rating agencies, and sustainability assessment firms, to create a broad, liquid, and efficient market for SDG investments and capital flows. CEMEX says efficient capital markets can encourage companies to experiment with and improve upon a wide range of sustainability solutions, and over time, help identify the most effective ways to contribute to the SDGs.
To drive the commitment of billions, and potentially trillions, of corporate finance towards the SDGs, the UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce has created a comprehensive management and governance framework, The CFO Principles for Integrated SDG Investments and Finance.
The UN Global Compact CFO Taskforce was launched by the UN Global Compact in December 2019 with a small group of leading CFOs to build on the work developed by the Financial Innovation for the SDGs Action Platform.
As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
The taskforce was convened as a platform for CFOs to interact with their peers, investors, financial institutions, and the United Nations to share ideas, develop new concepts and frameworks, and provide recommendations to unlock private capital and create a market for mainstream SDG investments.
