Responsible Sourcing
Sustainability is at the core of who we are and everything we do. In line with Umicore’s ambition to become a Sustainability Champion, we are raising the bar to an even more ambitious responsible, and sustainable sourcing approach.
Our entire supply chain is committed to promoting fair and ethical business practices, ensuring health and safety, and managing the impact on people, climate, and the environment.
Stronger Together
To support us in our mission, we seek out like-minded partners who embody the same values. When conducting business with Umicore, all suppliers are expected to adhere to our sustainable sourcing policy, a set of core principles and policies to guard against potential ethical, environmental and social risks in our supply chain, including:
- Business Integrity
- Labor & Human Rights
- Environment & Climate
- Supply Chain Due Diligence
A risk-based due diligence approach
To remain aligned with our continued commitment to sustainable and ethical sourcing, we have defined a risk-based approach to determine the required management and performance/compliance monitoring systems. Umicore sites dealing with conflict minerals and cobalt are certified by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI).
Additional guidance for responsible sourcing and due diligence of critical raw materials complements the Umicore Global Sustainable Sourcing Policy, such as our policy on Responsible global supply chain of minerals from conflict affected and high risk areas and our Sustainable Procurement Frameworks for battery materials.
We have also developed a guidance on understanding and addressing forced labour in global value chains as we expect our business partners to identify, mitigate and remediate forced labour risks.
Battery materials
Life demands energy, and Umicore battery materials provide the necessary energy for people to live the life they desire, anytime and anywhere. Battery materials like cobalt, lithium and nickel, play a crucial role in the green energy transition by powering electromobility and storing energy from renewable sources. At Umicore, we are committed to providing sustainable energy solutions that positively impact people's lives and the planet.
We are committed to responsibly sourcing our battery materials, paying special attention to the conditions under which raw materials are extracted and processed. Our experience in the sustainable procurement of cobalt is over a decade long, implementing due diligence in the supply chain and promoting traceability at every turn. Based on our long-standing experience with cobalt, we have extended our due diligence to other battery materials, such as nickel and lithium.
Read more about responsible sourcing of battery materials
We go for Net Zero GHG
To reach our decarbonization goals, efficiency is the priority across our operations and we aim to generate renewable electricity on-site to reduce our need for purchased electricity. But securing long-term green power purchase agreements (PPAs) to source renewable energy is essential in our journey to net zero GHG emissions.
The majority of Umicore's CO2 footprint consists of scope 3 emissions, amounting to 8.3 million tons CO2e in 2019. The upstream emissions linked to purchased goods amounts to 7.3 million tons CO2e in 2019. Umicore has set an ambitious target to reduce the carbon intensity of purchased materials by 42% by 2030.
