Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) said it is now the first mining operator in the country to create a Board-level sustainability committee as it also designated a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) as part of efforts to achieve environment, social, and corporate governance (ESG) goals.
NAC said the Sustainability Committee is in charge of overseeing, identifying and assessing the economic, environmental, ethical and social impact of the company’s operations.
“More than just a simple revision of the old statement, this one heralds the changes that our company is today undergoing as we formalize our ESG process – changes that we believe will enable us to be at the forefront of truly sustainable development of our country’s natural resources result in an even more stable and successful company,” said Martin Antonio Zamora, NAC’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
The company said that as early as 2014, it incorporated the pillars of ESG in its operations with all of its operating mining subsidiaries in Palawan, Surigao and Dinagat Islands have been conferred the Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award, considered as the highest form of recognition in the country, and have amassed various awards from both the government and the private sector.
“ESG is now a fundamental element of business, higher-level evolution of the ‘triple bottom line’ that was all the rage in the 1990s. No company worth its salt – especially those who claim to or aspire for leadership in its industry – can avoid embracing ESG as part of the way it does business,” added Jose Bayani Baylon, NAC’s newly installed CSO.