As the business leaders of ten global cement companies, and members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), we believe that sustainable development is a fundamental challenge facing humanity today, and that our industry needs an agenda for action that will prepare it for this challenge.
Cement is an essential material in today's society because, as a major constituent of concrete, it forms a fundamental element of any housing or infrastructure development. Taken together, our companies produce approximately one third of the world's cement and operate in two thirds of the world's markets. Our businesses compete with each other, including on some aspects of sustainable development. As competitors, there are legal and practical limits to our abilities to cooperate and collaborate. But we also recognize that within these limitations there remain significant benefits for working together to explore what sustainable development will mean for the cement industry and our stakeholders.