Sustainable.
Sustainable.
We are interested in hearing from you.
If you would like to make suggestions and/or comments about this Sustainability Report, you are welcome to email us at sustentabilidad@molymet.cl
We want to continue strengthening our position focused on efficiency, continuous process optimization and innovation, constantly looking for new business opportunities in strategic metals.
We generate value for the advancement of humanity through products developed by people who believe in the wellbeing of our planet.
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It is with great pride that I present our third Sustainability Report which details our performance along ethical, social, environmental and economic dimensions during 2020. This was an unprecedented year due to the COVID-19 crisis. It led us to analyze our priorities and reflect on our purpose – guiding our thinking about how we want to keep contributing to improved quality of life of all our stakeholders.
Without a doubt, our ongoing concern for the health and safety of our employees, contractors and communities and the different actions taken to protect them made all the difference. This was clearly seen in the effective preventive measures applied and established by the Corporate Crisis Committee which was formed to manage the administration of our Company in the new context of the coronavirus pandemic. Strict protocols played a big part in controlling the spread of the virus inside our production plants and administrative offices. This in turn, ensured business continuity; it strengthened the sense of purpose and dedication our people brought to their work; and ultimately, allowed us to maintain productivity levels and produce excellent commercial results.
Since our early beginnings as a Company, we have always been concerned about the environment, not only implementing preventative environmental management but actively pioneering implementation of the best available technology to ensure that our productive processes have minimal impact on the environment in Santiago, Chile and beyond. During 2020 there were no environmental incidents at any of our five subsidiaries and we continue to promote the modernization of our installations. This is the case with our MolymetNos subsidiary in San Bernardo, Chile where our modernization project is currently undergoing environmental assessment. This will improve production processes and significantly reduce SO2 emissions, in this way doing our part towards the decontamination of the Metropolitan Region.
Understanding the importance of creating value for our neighboring communities and in view of the health context in which we find ourselves, we have continued to strengthen ties with our surrounding communities, supporting initiatives for the care and health of local populations by assisting with street cleaning and delivering protective supplies and food. We also have ongoing programs for training, job promotion and local employment development.
Here it is worth highlighting that the number of community complaints dropped in 2020. In fact, they were 78% less than the year before. Clearly these positive results are linked to the new sustainability goals we have set as a Company including the Zero Peak Emissions policy which we implemented in 2020.
Supplier relationships are also integral to long term sustainable business and we have developed corporate policies to streamline supplier management while also putting mechanisms in place for their growth and development. In 2021 we will make further progress in this regard by carrying out a social evaluation of our suppliers and looking at our role in the development of local suppliers.
In terms of production, at the end of December 2020, Molymet’s total processing capacity was 207 million pounds per year, which compares to an approximate world consumption of 570 million pounds per year. Our sales were US$1,057.1 million, 10.10% lower than in the previous year. With respect to EBITDA, as of December 31, 2020, it reached US$114.15 million, constituting a decrease of 15.14% compared to the same fiscal year in 2019, which was US$134.51 million.
In terms of production, at the end of December 2020, Molymet’s total processing capacity was 207 million pounds
With regard to Corporate Governance, in 2020 we conducted a thorough evaluation of our risk matrix. To date we have defined 108 strategic risks. These are grouped under Operational Sustainability; Commercial; People; Image and Reputation; Finance; Competitiveness; Profitability and Investment; Industry Changes; and Intellectual Property; with prevention and mitigation measures defined for each of them. This links directly to the framework of our strategic agenda where the management of critical risks is one of the challenges of the Sustainability pillar at Molymet.
I would also like to highlight Molymet’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address the global challenges set out in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. We are convinced of the urgency of contributing to these goals through the activities and actions we are carrying out every day in each of our subsidiaries.
Let me end by saying that the progress we present in our Sustainability Report 2020 is the result of tremendous team work. I want to applaud all our employees who, every day, live our purpose, bringing their all to ‘creating value for the advancement of humanity through products developed by people who think about the well-being of the planet’. Their contribution is essential for us to advance in an ethical, prosperous, inclusive, modern and innovative industry, an industry that will stand the test of time and contribute towards a more sustainable future.
Best regards,
John Graell
CEO Molymet
The COVID-19 crisis took us all by surprise, being the biggest crisis we have ever lived through and impacting our business hugely as of course, and business around the world.
In 2020 more than 83 million people were infected with the coronavirus; approximately 2 million people lost their lives; and hundreds of millions more have been affected both physically and psychologically by the changes the global pandemic has made to our way of living.
To face the impact of COVID-19 in our Company we established a Corporate Crisis Committee who evaluated, defined and put the necessary measures in place to ensure business continuity while putting the wellbeing of our people first.
As we have operations in different countries, there have been different local realities. Despite this, our subsidiaries maintained operational continuity thanks to our company business being declared an Essential Activity. Here the only exception was our Molymex subsidiary in Mexico where, the government put strict measures in place to control the spread of infection at a country level. As a result, Molymex was forced to close down operations for a month before successfully obtaining Essential Activity status.
Thanks to our purposeful and resilient team, we did not have a drop in performance and for this we want to extend heartfelt appreciation and recognition to all our people for their great work and effort throughout the year, not least of which was their adaptability in facing difficulties and new ways of working.
At Molymet we are continuously adapting to the evolving COVID-19 situation. Our priority remains the assurance of health and safety for all our employees and stakeholders. To this end, we are meeting the highest standards and making sure that we live by our purpose as we play our part in containing and reducing the spread of the coronavirus.
COVID-19 remains a pressing reality. Although we are making progress in the immunization of the population, we have to continue rethinking this ‘new normal’ in order to contribute to value creation, growth and prosperity for all our stakeholders.