We're About Responsibility
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WE’RE ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY Responsible Business Report 2018 Foreword CONTENTS WELCOME... Highlights and achievements 2 A year of progress 4 TO OUR RESPONSIBLE Responsible Business 6 BUSINESS REPORT Community 8 Environment 16 Our people 24 P8 Measuring our performance 28 FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY Supporting the UN Sustainable We are located in one of the most beautiful Our education outreach programme Development Goals 29 parts of the UK and recognise that with this continues to go from strength to strength privilege comes responsibility: a duty to with a particular focus on working with ensure that our operations enhance the area, disadvantaged young people in the area. rather than detract from it; bring economic It was great to launch our engineering benefits to the wider area’s residents; and apprenticeship programme in November contribute to solving a problem that has a 2018, which will see us take on 50 truly global scale – how to produce more apprentices over the next four years. food to feed the world’s growing population I have also been proud to see the Sirius in a way that is more sustainable. Minerals Foundation fund and deliver a Responsibility is something we at Sirius whole host of projects which have benefited embrace wholeheartedly – indeed, it is a wide range local people and community one of our core values. We expect everyone groups over the last year. involved with the Company, from the Board We continue to minimise environmental and staff to the wider contractor team, to impacts during construction and are pleased act with accountability and integrity. to have found ways to further reduce impacts As the Chief Executive Officer, I am beyond the minimum requirements of our responsible for the implementation of planning consent. As part of our planning our strategy to become a world-class commitments, we provided significant funding fertilizer business and make a significant towards environmental projects to safeguard and sustainable contribution to global and enhance the environment, which last year food security. included the planting of 40,000 trees in the I firmly believe that the Company’s North York Moors National Park. success in delivering this vision will Through our global research and CHRIS FRASER be achieved by supporting our team development programme, we continue to Managing Director and CEO and keeping them safe, protecting the demonstrate the positive effects that our environment, engaging with the community product – POLY4 – can have on crop yield and benefiting the local area. Underpinned and quality, as well as reinforce its by good governance, our three pillars of environmental credentials. responsibility – community, environment I hope you enjoy reading this report, which and people – inform everything we do. sets out our approach to working responsibly The past year has seen us make great and measures our performance across a progress in delivering our North Yorkshire range of targets. As always, we welcome polyhalite project (the ‘Project’), with a your feedback, so please get in touch with significant increase in construction across us if you have any questions, comments the Project’s sites. Safety is our number or ideas. one priority and I am disappointed that With best wishes, five safety incidents were reported in 2018, including one serious injury. Following detailed investigations, changes to working practices have been implemented at all sites. Throughout 2018, we continued to make Chris Fraser a meaningful contribution to the economic CEO and social wellbeing of the area. I am P16 pleased that two-thirds of the Project’s 900-strong workforce come from the local SEE HOW WE ARE PROTECTING AND area, which far exceeds our expectations ENHANCING THE ENVIRONMENT for this stage of the Project’s development. An assessment of our economic impact, P24 summarised in this report, shows that the READ HOW WE SUPPORT AND KEEP Project contributed over £200 million to the Published 30 April 2019 OUR PEOPLE SAFE regional economy in 2018. Sirius Minerals Plc Responsible Business Report 2018 1 Highlights and achievements HIGHLIGHTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS Indirect jobs Our expenditure on goods and services, as well as workers spending their wages, creates more employment opportunities. In addition to 900 direct £ m jobs, the Project has created a further GENERATED200 OVER £200 MILLION % 245 indirect jobs in the UK in 2018. IN THE ECONOMY OF YORKSHIRE 66REDUCTION IN NITROGEN 245 AND THE NORTH-EAST OXIDES (NOx) EMISSIONS INDIRECT JOBS CREATED Supporting the regional economy We are committed to making a meaningful contribution to the regional SUPPORTING economy. Whenever possible, we and our main contractors source goods 66% and services from businesses in the region. OF OUR WORKFORCE IS LOCAL 80 Promoting sustainable LOCAL PROJECTS Enhancing local employment agriculture 900 people work on the Project, two-thirds of 110 Our global crop science programme them coming from the local area. This is a far higher NEW CROP TRIALS STARTED demonstrates that POLY4 improves Reducing emissions Sirius Minerals Foundation number than we had anticipated for this stage of the crop yield and quality and has many In 2018, we significantly reduced the need for We have set up the Foundation as an independent charity to fund Project and was achieved by our efforts to make environmental benefits. We work diesel-generated power at Woodsmith Mine during community projects. During construction we have contributed £2 million to opportunities available to local people. with a wide range of stakeholders construction by installing mains electrical power to the Foundation. It has already awarded £0.5 million to support families and – including customers, farmers and the site. This means our NOx emissions are 66% vulnerable people, boost employability, improve community facilities and growers – to promote balanced less than the level permitted in our planning consent. enhance the environment. fertilization methods. 56 km 40,000 EDUCATION OUTREACH 50 0 30 20 TREES PLANTED EVENTS ATTENDED ENGINEERING APPRENTICES ENVIRONMENTAL INCIDENTS PUBLIC MEETINGS ATTENDED OF FOOTPATHS UPGRADED Woodland creation Raising aspirations Apprenticeships Minimising construction Engaging the community Improving access As part of our planning consent, we are Our education outreach programme In November 2018, we launched our impact We keep local stakeholders updated as to the National Park funding 7,000 hectares of new, mixed aims to increase the skills and engineering apprenticeship programme to the Project’s progress. We maintain We continue to ensure that construction We have funded a wide range of works deciduous woodland in the North York aspirations of young people in the local to take on 50 apprentices in preparation regular contact with our closest can progress and that the environmental to improve footpaths and bridleways in Moors National Park over the next 100 area. To date, we have worked with for long-term roles with the Company. neighbours, attend parish council impacts are minimised in line with our the North York Moors National Park to years. This will help to offset our carbon 70 schools, engaging with over 20,000 Recruitment is underway to select the meetings and hold public drop-in planning conditions, as well as looking enable greater access for all. emissions, enhance the landscape of young people. In 2018, we particularly first ten apprentices, who will join us sessions and exhibitions. for opportunities to deliver further the National Park and create more focused our efforts on working with in September. enhancements where we can. diverse habitats for wildlife. groups of disadvantaged young people. 2 Sirius Minerals Plc Responsible Business Report 2018 Sirius Minerals Plc Responsible Business Report 2018 3 Introduction to Sirius Minerals plc Our Project In designing the Project, we prioritised low environmental impact, high production The polyhalite will be extracted at the capacity and low operational costs. Details new state-of-the-art Woodsmith Mine, of how we limit the environmental impact near Whitby in North Yorkshire. It will be of polyhalite extraction are provided on transported to the Wilton International site page 17. at Teesside on a high-capacity conveyor belt system in an underground tunnel known Following first polyhalite in 2021, we will build A YEAR OF PROGRESS to an initial production capacity of 10 Mtpa, as the mineral transport system (MTS). The polyhalite will then be granulated at the with the potential to achieve a full production materials handling facility (MHF) to produce capacity of 20 Mtpa. Our 1:1 mined ore to AT SIRIUS MINERALS POLY4. The majority will be exported to product ratio, together with our efficient customers around the globe from the port mineral transport system and simple facility on the River Tees. granulation process, will help us to have a low environmental impact and operating cost. Our vision – to become a world-class fertilizer WOODSMITH MINE MTS ACCESS SHAFT MATERIALS HANDLING FACILITY TEESSIDE PORT FACILITIES business Sirius Minerals Plc is a fertilizer development company, focused on developing the world’s largest and highest grade polyhalite resource. Our vision is to become a world-class fertilizer business that makes a significant and sustainable contribution to global food security, which is one of the most important challenges facing the world today. Our flagship project is based in North Yorkshire and is expected to reach first polyhalite in 2021. POLY4, the trademark name of our product, contains four of the six macro- 0m nutrients that are essential to plant growth in one simple and efficient fertilizer product. 250m DRIVE 3 DRIVE 2 DRIVE 1 Construction progress We have unrivalled knowledge Significant construction progress of polyhalite. Our global crop has been made during the year. The science programme continues to REDCAR MUDSTONE 500m installation of diaphragm walls, which demonstrate that POLY4 is suitable protect the foreshafts from water for widespread commercial use and bearing strata, at both the production has a wide range of positive and service shafts have been environmental characteristics.