Electra Battery Materials Corporation (TSX-V:ELBM, NASDAQ:ELBM) has announced the introduction of a comprehensive set of policies and frameworks dedicated to environmental, social and governance (ESG) best practices.
The policies cover human rights, supply chain, environment and sustainability matters, the company said. Alongside the new policies, Electra is launching a whistleblower channel, open to internal and external stakeholders and accessible from the company’s website.
"Given our focus of developing a low carbon, fully-integrated battery materials park for the North American electric vehicle industry, it is important that we have stringent ESG policies in place and conduct ourselves in accordance with industry best practices when it comes to sustainability, ethical sourcing, and respect for human rights," the company's CEO Trent Mell said in a statement.
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For instance, Electra is formally adopting a zero-tolerance policy against human rights abuses, committing to annual supply chain audits in compliance with the Responsible Mining Initiative standards.
The company is also pledging to reach net-zero direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A clear roadmap for achieving these goals is expected in 2023. Additionally, as a member of the Cobalt Institute, Electra is committed to the responsible production and use of cobalt.
"Electra is committed to state-of-the-art ESG frameworks and practices," said Renata Cardoso, the company's vice president of sustainability and low carbon. "The development and approval of these policies represent a major milestone for Electra. With policies and frameworks now in place, we can turn our focus to providing training to our employees, engaging with our supply chain and working on our management systems to track performance in accordance with industry standards."
Electra's core strategy is to produce low carbon, ethically-sourced battery materials for the North American electric vehicle supply chain. Electra is specifically focused on creating the first integrated battery materials park in North America, providing refined cobalt, nickel and recycled battery materials to North American battery precursor manufacturers.
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