CEMEX has developed a number of educational and social responsibility initiatives. For example, it instituted the Premio CEMEX, an annual award that recognizes works in the fields of sustainability, accessibility, construction and architecture. Also, it funds the Catedra Blanca, and honors architecture courses in three universities: the ITESM, in Monterrey, the Universidad Iberoamericana, in Mexico City, and the Barcelona School of Architecture. Also, CEMEX has created the Centro CEMEX-Tecnológico de Monterrey, which is a research and development program for sustainable communities across Mexico thru the Premio CEMEX-TEC. In 2007, the Organization of American States (OAS), through their Trust for the Americas, awarded the company The Corporate Citizen of the Americas Award 2007, for the social benefits of their program "Patrimonio Hoy", in Mexico, that according to José Miguel Insulza, President of the OAS, has a positive effect in low-income families. This initiative, conceived in 1998, aims to reduce the Mexican housing deficit, which leaves more than 20 million people with inadequate shelter. Patrimonio Hoy organizes low-income families into self-financing cells that facilitate and expedite the typical homebuilding process. CEMEX and its network provide the products needed but also the technical assistance, including an architect who helps design homes to optimize space and reduce waste. To date, more than 150,000 Mexican families have realized their dreams of home ownership As of 2020, CEMEX Social Responsibility initiatives had benefited over 23 million people in its neighboring communities world-wide. The company also restated its Social Impact policy, with the goal of benefiting 30 million people by 2030. Fortune Magazine ranked CEMEX in 39th place in its 2020 Change the World Index. Environmental record CEMEX has been accused of violating environmental laws in the United States. Environmental watchdog groups and the United States Environmental Protection Agency are threatening to file suit claiming the company has committed numerous violations of the Clean Air Act in Lyons, Colorado. CEMEX divested its operation in Lyons, Colorado, in 2016. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has also filed suit against CEMEX in Victorville, California, claiming the company failed to install modern air pollution controls, despite spending millions in renovations. The case was settled in 2009. In February, 2021 the U.S. Department of Energy awarded funding for research on carbon-capture at the CEMEX Victorville cement plant. In the United Kingdom, CEMEX was originally fined £400,000 in October 2006 after hazardous dust was deposited up to three miles (5 km)