Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S A : SQM Makes Progress on Certifying its Sustainability Commitments

26/Nov/2020

SQM Makes Progress on Certifying its Sustainability Commitments

The company is also working on earning international certifications in this area, as part of its ongoing efforts to adhere to high standards of transparency and public reportability of objectives involving environmental protection, social responsibility and sustainable operations.

SQM's sustainability-related aspirations include goals in the following areas: Our Environment, Our Communities and Our Contribution to Sustainable Industries. More specifically, SQM's commitments to 'A Better Environment' include: cutting brine extraction in half by 2030, which began with a 20% reduction in November of this year; reducing consumption of continental water by 65% by 2040, starting with 40% by 2030; and being carbon neutral in all our products by 2040 and in lithium, potassium chloride and iodine by 2030.

In order to report on its advances in sustainable management with greater transparency, SQM measures and certifies its annual sustainability report using the methodology developed by the Global Reporting Initiative, GRI. S&P Dow Jones Index recently announced the results of its latest assessment process. SQM qualified for both the DJSI Chile Index and the DJSI MILA Pacific Alliance, representing a major achievement for the company.

About the milestone, CEO Ricardo Ramos remarked: 'This is the first year we have actively participated in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index assessment and we were accepted in two categories. This important accomplishment reflects our efforts to strength sustainability as part of our development strategy. Our commitment to sustainability translates into challenging our operational practices to reduce the impact on our environment; expanding dialogue and building close, respectful relations with neighboring communities; and achieving a high standard of transparency in all we do. We understand that our efforts do not stop here and will continue our work on environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate governance.'

Furthermore, last September in the Salar de Atacama the company began the self-assessment process developed by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, IRMA, the first step to becoming certified under this demanding standard. IRMA is an international certification in sustainable mining that measures improvements in employee health and safety, human rights, community involvement, pollution control, rights of indigenous peoples and corporate transparency with tax payments to governments, among other requirements.

In parallel, this month we initiated a diagnostic process with CDP, an international non-profit organization that helps companies and cities disclose their environmental impact related to greenhouse gases, water use and consumption and biodiversity.

Similarly, a few months ago we presented our Human Rights Policy, a significant first step in materializing our commitments to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights within the UN's 'Protection, Respect and Remedy' framework. Publishing this Policy entails being aware of and committing to respecting and promoting human rights, while beginning to implement and enhance due diligence mechanisms that progressively help identify, present, mitigate and remedy any potential adverse effect on human rights at our operations.

In addition to publicly assuming ambitious, challenging commitments for more sustainable management, SQM has decided to move forward to implement better reporting and transparency practices.