Aurubis

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Solid and air pollution
The company discloses the proportion of hazardous waste treated to reduce pollution compared to total waste, the hazardous waste diverted from disposal and the waste directed to disposal.

Aurubis participated in the European research project “FORCE – Cities Cooperating for Circular Economy.” The project’s goal was to develop new concepts to avoid and treat waste in the material streams related to plastic, biomass, end-of-life electrical appliances, and wood. As a multimetal recycler, Aurubis supported the project with its expertise for the purpose of improving the recycling of strategic metals (e.g., copper and gold) through the best possible collection and dismantling system for waste electrical and electronic equipment.

The company has a target to reduce specific dust emissions in g/t of multimetal copper equivalent by 15% (base year 2018) by 2030, and reports regularly against this targets. In 2020, the company’s dust emissions to air in copper production processes were reduced to 56.7 g/t of copper output, representing a 19% decline.

GHG emissions
The company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory. The company’s scope 3 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company demonstrates that its human rights risks and impacts identification process includes a focus on the health of local communities.

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights
The company has a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and complies with the internationally recognized core labor standards of the International Labour Organization. The company requires its business relationships to identify and recognise affected Indigenous Peoples and to obtain their free, prior and informed consent regarding whether and how to carry out projects.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company provides evidence of identifying its relevant sustainability topics, but it has an opportunity to disclose evidence of how these topics are prioritised. The company does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company reports consistently against all its targets. No evidence was found that the company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

Lobbying
The company discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. The company does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
Whilst the company discloses which conservation areas are in close proximity (distance in metres) to its copper production sites, it has an opportunity to disclose this information across all its operation sites. The company does not disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. The company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to its own locations. The company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to the locations of its suppliers. The company does not disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

Resource exploitation and circularity
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to work towards a circular economy or which organisms it exploits. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
The company discloses its total water withdrawal increased 7.3 million m³ between 2019 and 2020. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. Whilst the company states that an initial analysis supported by the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas 2019 showed that a small proportion of its water withdrawal in copper production comes from regions with a high level of water stress, it has an opportunity to disclose this exact proportion this represents across its operations. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company reports a decrease in water pollution. The company does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not regularly report on water pollution. The company does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
The company reports an increase in hazardous waste production, from 48,6591 tonnes in 2019 to 50,970 tonnes in 2020. No evidence that the company reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants.

GHG emissions
The company has a target of -50% absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions (base year 2018) by 2030. However, its scope 1 and 2 emissions increased from 2019-2020. The company has a target to reduce 24% of its Scope 3 emissions per ton of copper cathodes (base year 2018) by 2030. However, its scope 3 emissions increased between 2019-2020.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. No evidence that the company tracks its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities was found. The company is not committed to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, nor does it describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. No evidence was found that the company requires its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

The company has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially through its business relationships. The company has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. While the company discloses that it conducts routine human rights risk assessments and that it remediates in locations with the highest risk, no evidence was found that it has a global system to act on all its salient human rights issues. No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found. While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. No evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities was found.

The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. The company has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. The company has an opportunity to describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. The company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. While the company states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to those.

The company discloses a tax strategy, but it is not applicable to all its operations. No evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations was found. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. In a public policy statement, the company discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement. The company specifies that it does not make political contributions.