Umicore's management of its historical pollution

Umicore was created by the coming together of its forerunners Union Minière and Vieille-Montagne, mining and smelting companies with more than 125 years of history. In the last 20 years Umicore has been transformed into the leading materials technology and recycling group it is today. In this way Umicore plays an important role in the circular economy and, by extension, circular society.

Umicore has always been transparent about historical pollution, adapting to ever-stricter environmental standards and accepting its responsibilities. The thorough remediation of historical pollution is complex and unfortunately takes time. Umicore understands the questions and concerns on this important subject and underlines its continued ambition to make progress at all times.

For Umicore, caring for people and the environment is an absolute top priority: we dedicate the necessary resources and often go beyond what is legally required in order to find the best solutions for people, the environment and the future. Significant efforts have already been made but, inevitably, there is still a long way to go.

"Umicore is committed to dealing with our heritage in a responsible way and to developing long-term solutions based on science and close collaboration.  

We are committed to an open dialogue with our stakeholders and work in full transparency with experts and (government) agencies." 

Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore.

This commitment by Umicore translates into concrete and far-reaching efforts and investments. As required by accounting rules and audited annually, we set aside provisions for remediation projects once the scope and cost of the project can be estimated with sufficient reliability. These estimates are updated periodically.

The complete overview of ongoing remediation projects is an important and recurring chapter in each of our annual reports and is available on our website.