Freeport-McMoRan

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy area.

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.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. Although Freeport-McMoRan (Freeport) has set timebound targets on some topics, including human rights anf GHG emissions, it 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. Although Freeport has disclosed its remuneration model for executives, which includes an Annual Incentive Program covering ESG topics, 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 does not disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. While Freeport discloses some information regarding its engagement activities, it does not disclose its process for engaging with stakeholder groups beyond its materiality assessment.

Lobbying
The company discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. Although Freeport has disclosed that it will conduct a global evaluation of its associations, including climate change and the Paris Agreement and other sustainability topics, it has yet to 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
While Freeport discloses biodiversity management is incorporated in its Environmental Policy, it 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
As part of its SASB disclosures for the Metals & Mining Industry Standards, Freeport reports some information related to protected areas and states that 0% of its proven and probable reserves (2P) are in protected areas, while 10.5% of them are within close proximity (5km) of protected areas, in Colorado and Indonesia 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 key species affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

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. Freeport discloses some examples regarding restoration of ecosystems as well as mine closure rehabilitation initiatives, however no evidence of a group-wide commitment towards the restoration of ecosystems was disclosed. The company discloses details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to work towards a circular economy. 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
While Freeport discloses information regarding its water utilisation, no evidence it reduces water withdrawal across its own operations was found. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. Freeport does not disclose relevant information related to water quality or pollution, in its operations or supply chains. Freeport acknowledges the right to safe water as ‘ a fundamental human right and it is essential to the well-being of communities and the environment, however this does not translate into 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
Freeport reports an increase in its waste production. Furthermore, the proportion of hazardous waste is not clear. 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, such as CO2 carbon monoxide, SOx, NOx, PM, mercury, lead, VOCs, and Ozone Depleting Substances. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
The company is reducing its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. While the company has a target to reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, it does not have a time-bound group-wide target. While Freeport discloses information on GHG emissions, it does not report a group-wide target to report against. The company has put forward two targets covering part of its own operations. It has also disclosed its preparing to submit SBTi targets aligned with a pathway below 2 degrees, without specifying if it will be aligned with a 1.5 trajectory. No evidence that the company reduces its scope 3 emissions was found. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions. The company does not report progress against its scope 3 emissions target. No evidence that the company’s scope 3 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found.

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 or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights
In its Social Performance Policy, Freeport discloses it is aligned with the ICMM Position Statement on Indigenous Peoples. However, this is not enough to translate into a commitment. 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. In its Social Performance Policy, the company states that it seeks to achieve the free, prior and informed consent in its operations. However, this statement does not translate to a commitment by the company to respect land rights. 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 describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships. The company describes its process(es) for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. The company describes its global system to take action to prevent, mitigate or remediate salient human rights issues, and this includes a description of how its global system applies to its supply chain. The company discloses categories of stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. The company engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

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 discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage/ that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. The company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. While Freeport discloses its expectation from business relationships to pay workers fair wages, no evidence that the company describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers was found. 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 has an opportunity to publish a global tax strategy and should assign responsibility for this strategy to an executive-level individual or body. While Freeport describes the process to identify its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in its value chain, 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 has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it allows political contributions and clearly states the criteria for making them.