Our ESGcommitment
We are committed to integrating robust Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) practices and policies into all aspects of our operations. As a producer of strategic minerals, considered vital to the global energy transition, we recognise our responsibility to go beyond simple compliance and strive to set a new standard for ESG excellence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Environment
The transition to low carbon technologies to combat climate change is exponentially increasing the demand for strategic minerals such as copper and cobalt. A viable low carbon future can only be achieved through more sustainable approaches to mining, which is why we are actively reducing our environmental footprint through:
- Capacity building & training
- Environmental risk management systems
- Adhering to international standards & best practice (OECD, ISO, IFC, UNSDG)
- Increasing our use of renewable energy
Chemaf believes in contributing to the prosperity of the DRC by providing meaningful employment opportunities and investing in local community projects. Our approach to maintaining our social license to operate is based on facilitating social impact projects that empower local communities to create sustainable legacies for future generations. Explore our initiatives:
Health
In addition to our rigorous onsite health and safety standards, we actively seek to enable healthcare access in our stakeholder communities.
Our Lubumbashi Polyclinic was founded in June 2006 to offer our employees and the community affordable or even free healthcare. We have also opened satellite clinics for employees outside of Lubumbashi nearer to our operations in Kolwezi, Manono, and Mutoshi. Our healthcare centers also provide employment for over 100 staff members including medical professionals. Services include general practice, gynecology, maternity care, pediatrics, ENT, dentistry and ophthalmology in addition to diagnostic laboratory services including radiology and physiotherapy.
One of our most important initiatives has been our investment in the Ophthalmological Center which offers free eye care including eye tests and cataract surgery.
COVID-19 is the most significant public health challenge in a generation and poses an existential threat to many businesses. At the peak of the pandemic, we opened an isolation and treatment centre in Lubumbashi for the treatment of life-threatening cases.
Our prevention protocols are continuously updated in line with the latest Government and World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations as we look to have a meaningful, positive impact on employee and community health.
Education
The essence of Human Resource Development is education; it also plays a significant and remedial role in strengthening the socio-economic framework of developing countries. Professional training and skills transfer are central to our operations and our community programs. Our primary education contributions include helping to facilitate sustainable infrastructure including access roads, classrooms, potable water, and handwashing facilities.
Mufunta Ladies’ Agricultural Cooperative is a project launched by Chemaf and designed to create sustainable livelihoods for the communities in which we operate. The Cooperative was founded in 2014 with the goal of creating profitable and sustainable business opportunities for women working in agriculture.
Chemaf provides the land, tools, fertilizers, seeds, personal protective equipment and training needed to farm efficiently and work towards becoming financially self-sustaining. Chemaf employs Agricultural Engineer Ms. Arlette whose mandate is to transfer skills and knowledge to the Cooperatives, so that they can expand their crop offering and farm in a more sustainable way. Beginning with vegetable cultivation, the members of the Cooperatives progress to maize farming, The maize is sold to Chemaf while vegetables not needed by the Cooperative are sold at the local market
Governance
Chemaf is committed to building an organization that exhibits responsible and ethical corporate governance and building a value creation ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders. Our corporate governance framework is strategically integrated into our board and management structures, as well as our health & safety, auditing, and compliance policies and procedures. Our financial and commercial partners value our transparency and our commitment to continuously improving our ESG scorecard.
We systematically assess our health & safety and environmental indicators to identify risks and areas for improvement. We engage in ongoing capacity building programs to ensure our people understand their responsibility to manage operational risk.
We implement assurance processes to test the suitability, design and effectiveness of our controls and alignment with the UNDP’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), International Finance Corporation (IFC) standards, Equator Principles and International Organisation of Standardization (ISO) Performance Expectations.
Due diligence is driven by Chemaf’s leadership and senior management, i and
implemented by management teams responsible for overseeing health, safety,
environment, community relations, geology, technical services, production and
commercial activities.
We remain committed to developing a resilient and responsible business by working with our upstream and downstream partners, regulators, the DRC Government and NGOs to ensure that our social and environmental impacts are managed in ways that create transformative opportunities for local communities.