We have the responsibility to show what our relationship is with the environment, with the use of fresh water, emissions, business ethics and, especially, our relationship with native peoples.
But it is not enough to say what we are capable of doing. We must prove it, and not only to ourselves, for this, there are international standards. Albemarle Corporation began an independent evaluation by a third party, using the Responsible Mining Assurance Initiative (IRMA) Standard for Responsible Mining at our Salar Plant in the Salar de Atacama.
The IRMA standard is considered worldwide as the most complete and rigorous certification standard to guarantee responsible mining. The standard sets out more in-depth, broad, and specific objectives and requirements for environmentally and socially responsible mining practices.
ERM Certification and Verification Services (ERM CVS), will be the certification body approved by IRMA, which will carry out the audit in Albemarle, thus becoming the first lithium producer in the world to initiate an evaluation of this type.
IRMA recognizes Albemarle on the organization's Responsible Mining Map as the first lithium company in the world to complete the organization's self-assessment process.
For Albemarle, following the path towards IRMA means an effort that goes far beyond any current regulation and encourages us to look deeply at ourselves in order to generate sustainable development for our people and the territories that host us.
In this regard, it should be noted that, with the first stage of the document audit concluded, the on-site audit will be conducted in a timely manner to ensure the process is completed by June 2026 (marking three years since the first evaluation was finalized). This will be completed by a body recognized by IRMA, who will interview the company's management, department personnel, mine workers, unions and external stakeholders from the community. Likewise, the relevant data and documents will be reviewed; corrective action items will be developed and the audit summary will be made public. Once the process is complete, a full report will be published on the IRMA website with public access.
In this phase, a third-party assessment covering 26 areas is considered, including water management, human rights, greenhouse gas emissions, fair work and working conditions, all areas that are relevant to Albemarle as we are committed to our sustainability goals and the well-being of all those who make up the Albemarle team.