Sumitomo Metal Mining

Stakeholder engagement 

Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups. 

Resource exploitation and circularity 

Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses material flows within its business activity, including resources and energy input as well as products and emissions output. 

Solid and air pollution 

Sumitomo Metal Mining 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. The company reports the amount of total, hazardous and non-hazardous waste by treatment method, including recycling, landill, incineration and volume reduction. 

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

Sustainability strategy and accountability 

Sumitomo Metal Mining 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. While the company discloses some sustainability targets and reports consistently against all its targets, no evidence that the company has group wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain based on the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool could be found in the public domain. While Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses its basic policy for remuneration for directors, it is unclear whether the performace criteria cover nature (including biodiversity) and social issues. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics. 

Lobbying 

Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. However, 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 

While Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses its annual environmental monitoring surveys, no evidence that the company discloses the results has been found in the public domain. The company does not disclose any assessment of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, in its supply chain. The company does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations and its upstream business relationships. 

Key areas and species 

Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses the locations that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity within its own operation, but not those of its suppliers. The company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to its own locations and 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 

Sumitomo Metal Mining does not disclose a commitment to ensure zero conversion. The company does not disclose any activities or time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment or aby activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company discloses the amount of land developed or rehabilitated in areas affected by its operations every year but does not disclose a commitment to restore ecosystems. 

Resource exploitation and circularity 

Sumitomo Metal Mining does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health. 

Water 

No evidence that Sumitomo Metal Mining reduces water withdrawal across the company’s own operations was found. While the company mentions optimizing water use in its vision for 2030, no evidence the company sets quantitative targets on the reduction of water withdrawal. The company reports how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas through WWF Water Risk Filter and reports no areas of high water stress in its own operations. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal.  

Sumitomo Metal Mining does not report a decrease in water pollution. The company discloses its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company discloses its COD and BOD pollutant loads as water quality parameters. 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 

No evidence that Sumitomo Metal Mining is reducing the production of hazardous waste was found. 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.  

Sumitomo Metal Mining reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. The company reports its SOx, NOx, and soot and dust emissions as its air quality parameters every year. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain. 

GHG emissions 

Sumitomo Metal Mining is reducing its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. While the company sets goals to achieve GHG emissions below the level of 2013 by 2030 and net zero GHG emissions by 2050 or sooner, it does not explicitly specify that this will include their scope 1 and 2 emissions and that it aligns with a 1.5-degree trajectory.  

No evidence that Sumitomo Metal Mining 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 

Sumitomo Metal Mining has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations. 

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

Sumitomo Metal Mining 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 

Sumitomo Metal Mining does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities. 

While Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses that it conducts due diligence in general, it has an opportunity to specify that it conducts human rights due diligence that includes a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its business relationships. No evidence that the company describes its process for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues was found.  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 Sumitomo Metal Mining 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. While the company provides general examples of engagement with stakeholders, it has an opportunity to clarify if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. 

Sumitomo Metal Mining 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. No evidence that the company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage was found. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. While the company states that it expects its suppliers to pay wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to fulfil their basic needs, it has an opportunity to disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers.  

No evidence that Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements was found. 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. 

Sumitomo Metal Mining discloses a global tax strategy. The company states that it conducts survey on the issues regarding bribery, however it does not describe the process(es) to identify its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. No evidence that the company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with business relationships was found. The company does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement in a public policy document.