SQM Joins United Nations Global Compact

As part of its hard work on sustainability matters, the mining company has pledged its allegiance to the mission of promoting and disseminating the UN Global Compact’s10 Principles and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by integrating them into its strategic guidelines in order to generate value through a genuine commitment to sustainability.

Today SQM is part of the “United Nations Global Compact”, with the purpose of working together with other companies to make concrete contributions to global sustainability and taking on a serious commitment to integrating sustainability into its corporate strategy by implementing the 10 Principles, which center around four areas: human rights, labor relations, the environment and anti-corruption.

In that context, joining Global Compact gives SQM the chance to be part of a strategic bridge between the corporate world and the United Nations, allowing it to collaborate with the main catalyst of sustainability-related transformations taking place by designing plans and implementing concrete programs that help make a more sustainable society.

“We are proud to belong to an international agreement, where we can demonstrate that our work respects the 10 Principles promoted by Global Compact since they will be part of our corporate strategy,” explained Pablo Pisani, Director of Communications, Sustainability and Public Affairs for SQM. He then added, “We will also facilitate cooperation with our main stakeholders, collectively integrating the diverse opportunities for participation offered by this initiative.”

Accordingly, the mining company will adopt guidelines provided by the Global Compact Office in New York, which works closely with other bodies from the United Nations. Each of the 160 member countries prioritize their work areas based on the global agenda, established today in the 2030 Agenda together with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Global Compact has a mandate from the United Nations to promote these guidelines within companies.

The 17 SDGs are: No Poverty, Zero Hunger; Good Health and Well-being; Quality Education; Gender Equality; Clean Water and Sanitation; Affordable and Clean Energy; Decent Work and Economic Growth; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Reduced Inequalities; Sustainable Cities and Communities; Responsible Consumption and Production; Climate Action; Life below Water; Life on Land; Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions; and Partnerships for the Goals.

“We believe that SQM’s decision to join this initiative demonstrates its interest in making progress on solid commitments that establish demanding challenges regarding sustainability at the company,” commented Margarita Ducci, Executive Director of Global Compact Chile.

Global Sustainability

Global Compact is an initiative from the United Nations with more than 15,000 participating companies around the world, making it the first international organization dedicated to examining critical matters related to sustainability in the world. Global Compact was officially founded in 2000, after a call to action from then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 1999.