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Select SDGs to find out how we are taking action in support of the UN Substinable Development Goals
ICL aims to improve sustainability along its entire value chain. The Company has made substantial progress in its long-term efforts to manage its operations responsibly and decrease its environmental impact. This endeavor includes, among other things, a commitment to top tier environmental performance and complete product responsibility. ICL also aims to be an employer of choice, and verify that its contract workers are treated fairly.
An essential element in ICL’s organizational culture is to strictly adhere to principles of sustainability. ICL’s core commitment to create impact for a sustainable future, is aligned with a number of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. ICL is also deeply committed to identifying technologies, products and processes that ensure that, as a society, we do not exceed environmental boundaries, while recognizing that this is an especially formidable challenge in the chemicals and mining industries in which ICL operates.
As part of this long-term commitment, ICL also strives to positively impact its clients and suppliers. ICL’s programs support best practices for its clients, both in the agricultural sector (balanced fertilization) and the industrial sector (such as VECAP and SAFR).
In 2020, ICL published its Sustainable Procurement Policy and Supplier Code of Conduct.
Some of ICL’s companies are part of the Sedex initiative. It is a membership organisation that provides platforms for companies to manage and improve working conditions in global supply chains. Several ICL sites conducted Sedex audits.
ICL believes that sustainability is a shared responsibility. This means that the Company works closely together with its stakeholders to meet its sustainability goals. ICL has embedded sustainability in all its activities, including procurement, and it plays a key role in establishing a clear and transparent link with the Company’s entire supply chain. Improving ICL’s sustainable procurement performance is an ongoing process which involves all its suppliers. It is committed to establishing partnerships with them to enable both ICL and its suppliers to meet the Company’s business goals in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Sustainable Procurement Goals
ICL’s Supplier Code of Conduct mirrors the expectations that ICL has of its suppliers to cooperate with it and support it in building a sustainable supply chain. The Code of Conduct includes commitments from suppliers regarding environmental protection, health, safety and security; responsible employment and human rights; and business ethics. The Code of Conduct was first published in 2020, and ICL’s GPO (Global Procurement Organization) is currently implementing it with both existing suppliers and in future agreements.
In 2018, ICL joined the Together for Sustainability (TfS) initiative, an international non-profit association promoting sustainable procurement by the global chemical industry. ICL is one of 30 large chemical companies who are members of the TfS initiative. ICL and the other member companies engage their suppliers and encourage them to improve their practices on issues such as environment, safety, fair employment, business ethics and others. With thousands of suppliers assessed and audited through this initiative, and many of them showing improvement over time, TfS member companies, including ICL, are leading the way for sustainable performance practices within chemical industry supply chains and effectively promoting a better world. Read More on ICL’s involvement in the TfS, including KPIs and goals, here.
As part of the Sustainable Procurement Process, ICL approached over 900 suppliers by the end of 2020, requesting that they complete a CSR assessment or a sustainability audit
We can only bring sustainability to a higher level if we work together. This is why we would like to invite our suppliers to take an active part in sustainability activities by participating in the EcoVadis assessment or the TfS audits.”
Heinrich Berger, VP Global Raw Material Procurement
Over the past years, ICL has matured in the area of sustainability. This has been reflected by several tangible improvements, as well as by recognition from external parties. ICL’s Global Procurement Organization (GPO) received the EIPM-Peter Kraljic Award in 2018 for “Value Contribution Through Sustainability & Business Intelligence”.
Furthermore, in 2019, ICL successfully converted to the use of 100% renewable electricity, through guarantees of origin, at most of its European sites. As a result, it reduced CO2 emissions in 2019 by 24,000 tonnes and estimates the reduction at 75,000 tonnes for 2020.
ICL’s Sustainable Procurement Program, developed in 2019, was also recognized with the internal ICL Leadership Award 2020 for Procurement and EHS Excellence in Jan 2020.
