Sibelco announce 2025 sustainability priorities

Company demonstrates commitment to creating social, environmental and economic value

MATERIAL solutions providers Sibelco have introduced their sustainability priorities for 2025. These priorities are aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and demonstrate Sibelco’s commitment to creating social, environmental and economic value.

The 10 priority areas and related objectives, which were defined through a materiality analysis and take into consideration global initiatives such as the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, the work of the UN International Resource Panel and the EU’s Green New Deal, are:

SOCIAL:

• Safety and health: Sibelco’s improvement path aims at reducing their Recordable Injury Rate to below 3 by 2025, with the ultimate target of zero harm.
• Community engagement: 100% of sites should have an approved community engagement plan in place by 2025.
• Attractive employer: We aim to embed a consistent culture that helps Sibelco attract, engage and retain the best people. Sibelco’s goals are to achieve a min 30:70 gender balance for executive leadership and a minimum 25:75 gender balance for their total workforce by 2025. In terms of employee engagement, the company will target consistent improvements on the score achieved in the 2019 employee survey.
• Human rights and business ethics: The company aims to ensure 100% adherence to The Sibelco Code of Sustainable Conduct by its employees.

ENVIRONMENTAL:

• Water management: By 2025, half of the company’s sites should have implemented water-management systems using BATNEEC principles (best available technology not entailing excessive cost).
• Rehabilitation: By 2025, 100% of the company’s sites are expected to have a Sibelco-standard closure plan.
• Climate and energy: By 2025 Sibelco aim to: reduce CO2 emissions by 2% per year; improve energy efficiency by 2% per year; ensure that 30% of purchased energy comes from green sources; and have 20% of electricity consumed on site coming from on-site renewables.

ECONOMIC:

• Access to resources: Sibelco’s goal is to maintain a minimum of 25 years of property life for at least 80% of their own mine business by gross margin.
• Customer satisfaction: The company aims to improve on its 2019 net promoter score by an average of 5% per year by 2025.
• Technology and Innovation: Sibelco aim to commercialize one new product a year from their innovation pipeline between 2020 and 2025.

Commenting on the new sustainability priorities and objectives, Sibelco’s chief executive officer, Jean-Luc Deleersnyder, said: ‘It has never been more important for companies to take responsibility and implement changes that contribute to a better world.

‘At Sibelco, we believe that the benefits of this approach far outweigh the costs. We embrace the opportunity to become an even better employer, neighbour and supplier, and look forward to reporting on our progress in the coming years.’