Argos ONE

Sala de prensa

CEMENTOS ARGOS ES NUEVAMENTE GALARDONADA COMO EMPRESA SOCIALMENTE RESPONSABLE POR FUNDAHRSE

  • Por segundo año consecutivo, la compañía recibe el sello de ESR de mano de Fundahrse.

 

  • Argos se destaca especialmente por su labor responsable en el eje ambiental, siendo la única empresa cementera del país en trabajar con energía solar.

 

  • También se evaluó la labor social de las compañías durante la pandemia del COVID-19 en el país, en la cual Argos perfila por sus diferentes acciones.

Como resultado de sus acciones de inversión social, enmarcadas en su Estrategia de Sostenibilidad, Cementos Argos recibió nuevamente el galardón del sello de Empresa Socialmente Responsable (ESR) por la Fundación Hondureña de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (Fundahrse).

 

Este sello, establecido por Fundahrse en el 2007 con el fin de destacar anualmente a aquellas empresas que integran acciones responsables en su modelo de negocio, reconoce el cumplimiento de más de 200 indicadores a través de siete focos de Responsabilidad Social Empresarial: Gobernanza, Derechos Humanos, Prácticas Justas de Operación, Mercadeo Responsable, Medioambiente, Participación con la Comunidad y Prácticas Laborales.

Argos es una de las 67 empresas en el país que recibe este sello y se destaca
especialmente por su labor responsable en los ejes: económico, ambiental y
social. Prueba de esto son sus esfuerzos en reducir su impacto hacia el planeta,
a través del coprocesamiento de residuos (uso de residuos como plásticos y
llantas para producir combustible), la instalación de una granja solar en su
planta de Comayagua, única del sector cementero hondureño, y proyectos de gestión de fuentes de agua en las comunidades, entre otros.

 

Además, Argos perfila también por su inversión de más de 60 millones de lempiras en programas de apoyo social, para beneficiar a sus comunidades vecinas en los últimos años. Su programa insignia, Pisos Saludables, ha logrado reemplazar más de 54,900 m2 de pisos de tierra por pisos de concreto, impactando la salud y calidad de vida de más de 1,862 familias a nivel nacional.

 

Este año, también se evaluó la labor social de las compañías respecto al impacto socioeconómico que ocasionó el COVID-19 en el país. Argos se sumó al llamado nacional de empatía y, a través de la Fundación Argos Honduras, se hizo presente con raciones alimentarias en las comunidades más afectadas de sus zonas de influencia, beneficiando a más de 2,344 familias. Además, desarrollaron CRECE, un programa de voluntariado corporativo que consiste en el apoyo de colaboradores de la compañía como mentores a miembros de grupos vulnerables de la comunidad que buscan emprender. El programa incluye fondos para capital semilla y tiene como fin la generación de ingresos adicionales y sostenibles en las familias de la comunidad afectadas por la pandemia.

 

“Recibir este sello nuevamente es un gran motivo de felicidad para Argos. Sabemos que es el resultado del colectivo de buenas prácticas que aplicamos con el fin de agregar valor a la sociedad y al medioambiente. Trabajamos incansablemente por construir un futuro próspero para las familias hondureñas a través de nuestras acciones y entendemos que hoy, más que nunca, Honduras necesita de empresas, como Argos, comprometidas genuinamente con el futuro del país”, comentó Gustavo Uribe, director general de Argos Honduras.

Cabe recordar que, recientemente y por octavo año consecutivo, la compañía fue incluida en el Índice Global de Sostenibilidad del Dow Jones, que la reconoció como una de las empresas más sostenibles del mundo, así como líderes mundiales en el sector de materiales de construcción por sus buenas prácticas en materia económica, ambiental y social.

 

Argos en Honduras:

 

Argos es una empresa con una trayectoria de más de 39 años en el mercado cementero hondureño que, a través de su planta cementera, con sus dos estaciones de molienda y su centro de despacho nacional, es fuente de trabajo para más de 2,500 hondureños de manera directa e indirecta. La compañía ha dejado su sello en el desarrollo deHonduras al participar en proyectos relevantes de infraestructura como la construcción de la Carretera CA-5, el Segundo Anillo Periférico de San Pedro Sula, el nuevo edificio del Banco Central de Honduras, la Carretera del Sur y obras de reparación en la Represa Hidroeléctrica El Cajón, el Aeropuerto Internacional de Palmerola, entre otros.

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PIEDAD MONSALVE

Gerente de Comunicaciones
pmonsalve@argos.com.co
(57 4) 3198700

DANIELA VALLE

Directora de Comunicaciones
dvalle@argos.com.co

Atmospheric emissions

We are committed to reducing our emissions through actions that achieve more efficient processes and the implementation of abatement measures, contributing to good air quality in the places where we operate.  Our cement-, concrete- and aggregate-production processes generate punctual and scattered particulate matter (PM) emissions, as well as emissions of sulfur oxides (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the clinkering furnaces of the cement plants.

  • For society:  To contribute to mitigating the impact on air quality in the areas where we operate, acting responsibly and promoting relationships of trust with our Stakeholders.

 

  • For the company:  To develop more efficient processes that allow us to reduce our atmospheric emissions and contribute to responsible production, complying with local regulations in the countries where we operate and – in some cases – going beyond compliance with said regulations, contributing to the profitability of the business and preparing to face future challenges.

The “Emissions” pillar of our Environmental Strategy focuses on: Working on the adequate measurement, control and reduction of SO2, NOx and particulate-material (PM) emissions generated by our production processes in the cement business and on the prevention and mitigation of our dispersed emissions of particulate material (dust), originated mainly by the activities of transportation, transfer, unloading and storage of materials in the cement, concrete and aggregate processes. The foregoing, through operational control, optimization and renewal of emission-control systems to achieve continuous improvement.

Industry positioning

We position ourselves as strategic allies for the development of the territories where we are present, directly and through the empowerment of our value chain.  We do it through the construction of housing and sustainable infrastructure that enables the closing of socioeconomic gaps, the generation of employment, the improvement of the quality of life and the reduction of the impacts generated.

  • For society:  To sustainably respond to the growing demand for housing and infrastructure of the world population with the aim of improving people's quality of life, interconnecting regions and developing innovative solutions. 

 

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    For the company:  To be strategic allies of the actors in our value chain in order to maintain the Company's leadership in the market, ensure its competitiveness over time and increase the generation of sustainable value.

We are committed to the role we have as a Company in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda goals, the consolidation of territorial development plans where we operate, and the economic reactivation of the countries affected by the pandemic. Therefore, we focus our efforts in the development of sustainable housing and infrastructure projects that contribute to closing socioeconomic gaps, generating employment under safe conditions, environmental protection, and investment in improving people’s health systems and quality of life. 

Our work unfolds in three large lines:

 

Cities for everyone:

 

With nearly 54% of the world  population living in urban areas, the pandemic made inequality of those who live in the cities of the world

manifest. Nearly 90% of the COVID-19 cases are concentrated in the urban

centers that have, among others, challenges associated with access to basic services and decent housing conditions. For this reason, we work together with our value chain to develop projects that benefit the lessfavored population, facilitate access to housing, and promote development in

the areas of influence.

 

Interconnected cities

 

The need to connect urban areas with rural areas to expand the coverage

of basic services, such as health, has been a priority of developing countries

since before the pandemic. Therefore, during 2020, we continued working on creating innovative solutions that allow us to be present in the large projects of the countries and territories where we are present.

 

Intelligent cities

 

In recent years, the acuteness of the effects of climate change became the

risk of greatest impact to the world. Therefore, in the global stage, a need

has grown to transition to a low-carbon economy, an opportunity that becomes more relevant amid post-pandemic recovery scenarios and the effort we are making as a Company to generate new business models that respond to environmental and social challenges. For this reason, our Climate-Change Strategy includes actions aimed at mitigating the impacts associated with our productive processes, adapting our operating model and innovating from the identification of optimization opportunities.

Supplier management

Supplier management is a fundamental pillar of our Supply Chain Strategy; it seeks to build and strengthen relationships with strategic allies who have the ability to contribute to the Company in terms of efficiency, productivity, customer service and innovation.  For this reason, we carefully select our suppliers, transfer knowledge to promote their development, promote good practices and recognize those who are an example of sustainable, innovative, safe and responsible management.

  • For society:  To develop our suppliers, promote transparent practices and responsible conduct, to improve the productivity and competitiveness of our society and support the construction of a better future.

 

  • For the company:  To seek to add value throughout the Company's supply chain, from the purchase of goods and services to the delivery of products to clients.  Through the mitigation of risks and potentiation of opportunities, the implementation of good contracting practices and service excellence, we create relationships of trust and turn suppliers into business allies.

Our management is divided into five stages:

  1. Identification: We determine the goods and services required for our operation and the category to which they belong, according to our Category Tree. This groups our suppliers into macro-categories which – in turn – are subdivided into two more specific levels.
  2. Pre-Selection: We validate the suitability of suppliers through due diligence and review aspects of sustainability and financial health to ensure long-term relationships.
  3. Negotiation: We select suppliers with high standards, considering technical, economic, sustainability and service aspects.
  4. Retention and evaluation: We carry out knowledge-transfer processes with those suppliers with growth potential.
    • We characterize our suppliers as critical suppliers or with potential risk in sustainability.
    • We measure the management of critical suppliers through performance evaluations in terms of quality, service, occupational health and safety, having constant feedback and identifying key factors for their development.
    • We apply the Sustainability Index to suppliers with potential sustainability risks, to identify challenges, opportunities, and to develop joint action plans in environmental, economic, social and Human-Rights matters.
    • We implement additional controls and development plans to suppliers belonging to categories where the greatest potential risks have been identified. This is how, for example, we develop road-safety strategies for our logistics suppliers; with mining suppliers, we carry out a more rigorous pre-selection process, and with contractors, we have special controls on occupational health and safety.
    • We have a Transparency Line for Stakeholders to report possible improper actions and to implement the pertinent corrective actions. 
  5. Recognition:  Every two years, through Growing Together (Creciendo Juntos), we recognize the suppliers that have shown outstanding performance in innovation, sustainability, health and safety and development and comprehensiveness.

 

Additionally, we have:

 

Contracting manual: transparent action framework that guides the negotiation and contracting of our suppliers to allow the process to be agile, make use of best practices and carry out adequate risk management.

 

Code of conduct for suppliers: in which we define the principles and behaviors that we expect from our allies in terms of respect for human rights, protection of workers, environmental management, business ethics and responsible business practices.

Ethics and compliance

We are convinced that ethics and integrity are fundamental and non-negotiable; that is why we live by these principles, integrating them into our operations, processes, and strategy, thus generating value responsibly for our business, our Stakeholders, and for society.  Through the Global Governance and Compliance Program, our ethics and business conduct system, we seek to promote that our actions are consistent with the pillars of corporate culture and integrity as the guiding principle of our business activity.

  • For society:  To promote transparent, competitive, and sustainable business environments that strengthen trust and ethics in business, generating positive impacts for the market and society.

 

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    For the company:  To promote that our actions are consistent with the pillars of culture and that integrity is the inspiring principle of all members of the Organization.  This is how we consolidate ourselves as a competitive, reliable company in the eyes of investors and other Stakeholders.

We have voluntarily adopted a self-regulatory framework that confirms our commitment to business ethics as a way to promote transparent practices that contribute to the development of competitive environments. This framework* incorporates mandatory principles of ethics and conduct:

 

 

For the proper implementation and application of these guidelines, the strengthening of the ethical culture, the prevention and control of incorrect actions, our Board of Directors approved the Global Governance and Compliance Program (GGCP, in Spanish). The program structure incorporates international best practices to evaluate compliance programs, such as ISO 37001, ISO 19600 and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) guidelines. The program has the following scope:

 

 

Likewise, it systematically groups together the activities carried out to promote integrity in the Company's actions, its employees, and members

of the value chain, which allow the updating and permanent strengthening

of the program. Operating Scheme:

 

Efficiency and productivity

We materialize our Corporate Strategy through actions aimed at the efficient use of resources, the improvement of our financial flexibility and the maximization of income generation and business profitability.  We focus on the application of efficient, safe production processes and circular economy models, on the diversification of energy management models and on the efficient management of the supply chain.

  • For society:  To provide solutions and products that meet the needs of our clients through the responsible, appropriate use of resources and the incorporation of raw materials and alternative energy sources.

 

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    For the company:  To guarantee business sustainability, optimize working capital and capital investments, reduce costs and the level of indebtedness, and mitigate risks regarding the availability of resources necessary for our operation and the emergence of new business realities, environmental requirements and new regulations.

Creamos valor construyendo relaciones sólidas que transforman el futuro de la sociedad

Creamos valor a través de nuestro compromiso con el desarrollo responsable y transparente de nuestras actividades.