In March 2019, our company joined the UN Global Compact, committing to the Ten Principles set out by the United Nations in the areas of Human Rights, Labor, Environment and Anti-Corruption. In August 2019, Polyus has now joined Global Compact’s local Russian network.
The principles of the UN Global Compact are derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
With more than 13,000 participants from over 160 countries, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.
In recent years, Polyus has made substantial progress in improving our management processes in HR administration, HSE and local community relations, amongst other areas. Progress has included developing and implementing new policies and standards, improving our governance structure and increasing the level of disclosure under our sustainability reporting system. Polyus has also taken on new commitments under the global initiatives for sustainable development and continuously works to fulfil these.
Taking these steps has enabled us to evolve as a global mining company and a sustainability role model, with clarity on our long-term sustainability targets and accountability in our performance. We firmly believe that a proactive integrated approach to sustainability management is essential for retaining leadership in our industry.
Polyus is fully committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 by the UN General Assembly and we strive to contribute to their achievement. Having acknowledged the importance of all 17 UN SDGs, Polyus has chosen to focus on the nine goals that relate most directly to our business and the areas in which we are capable of contributing most effectively.
Daria Grigoreva, Head of Sustainable Development at Polyus, commented:“The Global Compact Local Network represents the UN’s international initiative’s Russian community. The network is an affinity group and a fantastic platform for local members to share our experiences and practices and work together to implement joint projects. We are convinced that participating in this group helps us to make an efficient contribution to social development and to promote best practice sustainability standards within Russia.”