Johnson Matthey

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups. An example of this is how the company’s CEO, Liam Condon, launched ‘The Big Listen’ whereby its global workforce was invited to share their opinions to feed into Liam’s strategy review. Employees were asked to share details about the things that make them proud to work at the company, as well as to help identify areas for improvement.

Water
The company sets a target to reduce water use by 25% by 2030 compared to its baseline year 2019/2020 and reports progress against this target.

Solid and air pollution
The company is reducing its production of hazardous substances. Where possible, it replaces ‘high hazard’ substances – chemicals that may pose a significant risk to human health or the environment – with safer and economic alternatives. In cases where it needs to use these substances in new products or technology projects, a senior site or operations leader must approve a risk assessment. Where replacement in existing products isn’t possible, a safety assessments is conducted for each use to ensure that its operations and customers have robust risk management processes in place. The company sets targets to reduce its hazardous waste by 50% and NOx emissions by 40% by 2030, compared to its baseline year 2019/2020.

No leading practices were identified 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. 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. The company’s CEO, Liam Condon, launched ‘The Big Listen’ whereby its global workforce was invited to share their opinions to feed into Liam’s strategy review. Employees were asked to share details about the things that make them proud to work at the company, as well as to help identify areas for improvement.

Lobbying
The company does not report on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, nor whether these activities align with its sustainability strategy.

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
The company does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity 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.

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
24% of the company’s total water consumption comes from water-stressed areas. It sets a target to reduce its water use by 25% by 2030 compared to its baseline year 2019/2020. No quantitative evidence was found of reductions in water withdrawal across the company’s own operations, and the company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal.

Whilst the company reports regularly on its average chemical oxygen demand, it does not report a decrease in water pollution. The company does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. Furthermore, 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 does not commit to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. The company is not reducing plastic use and waste in its own operations, nor does it report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company sets targets to reduce its hazardous waste by 50% and NOx emissions by 40% by 2030, compared to its baseline year 2019/2020. 

GHG emissions
The company sets targets to reduce its GHG emissions: it aims to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 33% by 2030 compared to its baseline year 2019/2020, and scope 3 emissions by 20% by 2030 compared to its baseline year 2019/2020. However, the company does not demonstrate evidence of reducing its scope 1, 2 or 3 emissions, and therefore does not report progress against these targets. Furthermore, its GHG targets are not aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

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

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company does not show if it is committed 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
The company does not show if it is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or Land rights of local communities.

The company has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially its financing activities. 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. No evidence was found that the company has a global system to act on its salient human rights issues. The company has an opportunity to disclose the stakeholders it engages with on human rights risks.

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. There is no evidence that the company describes how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

The company discloses a global tax strategy. There is 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. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. The company does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement in a public policy document.