Precious to Us

Responsibility is an integral part of our culture and guides how we work with people, the environment and our stakeholders. We believe it is fundamental to our long-term success and future.

Our pledge to responsibility

Climate, resources and people are precious to us. This commitment guides our responsibility programme, which addresses operational emissions, resource use and circularity. It also guides how we consider the well-being and interests of people in our company, nearby communities and across relevant parts of our value chain. We set corresponding expectations for our upstream and downstream business partners through our policies and due-diligence processes.

Due to their high value and unique properties, precious metals have been mined, processed and used for thousands of years. As this is unlikely to change, it is very important that these activities are carried out as responsibly and with as little harm to the environment and people as possible.

Indeed, the precious metals industry is characterized by significant challenges, particularly in the area of social and environmental responsibility. The high carbon footprint of precious metals mining and processing and the resulting environmental impacts, including loss of biodiversity, as well as illegal gold mining by artisanal and small-scale operations, stand out as the most urgent concerns.

Argor-Heraeus provides services that place us right in the middle of the precious metals value chain. This puts us in a unique position to act as a bridge between the producers of raw precious metals, collectors or intermediaries, and our clients.

We consider it our responsibility to use this position to keep driving the continuous improvement of responsible practices. We actively engage with stakeholders adjacent to our value chain, including representatives from our industry, politics, academia and civil society (NGOs). This helps us to continuously improve our own approach and work toward greater sustainability, transparency, and traceability in our industry’s supply chain.

We are convinced that our industry can make a successful transition toward more sustainability, but we can only achieve this by working together: from miners to refiners, processors, and users of precious metals. Our aim is to lead by example in advancing responsible practices across the precious metals industry. We apply defined standards within our operations and encourage the adoption of comparable practices among relevant business partners.

Our value chain and stakeholders

While our position at the center of the precious metals value chain makes us well positioned to address the sector’s key challenges, we are aware that we cannot achieve the transition toward a responsible precious metals industry on our own.

Our goal is to set an example by sharing the importance of responsibility in our business practices with all our stakeholders. We offer our expertise and vision and work together in order to improve the sector. Open and transparent dialogue on topics of mutual interest plays a key role in this. For instance, we regularly engage with NGOs to jointly address the key challenges in our supply chain. We have established a Sounding Board, composed of representatives from the corporate, academic, and NGO sectors whose names and roles can be found on our website. Together, we discuss issues in sustainability and responsibility, with the aim of fine-tuning our practices, to ensure we are continuously striving for excellence in our business conduct.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations as part of the 2030 Agenda are a universal call to action. The aim is to preserve the planet and improve lives of all people.