Nickel Asia Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Zamora. (Contributed photo)
SURIGAO CITY — Mining conglomerate Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) has been accepted as one of the newest members of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the first mining company in the Philippines to be admitted at the world body's sustainability initiative.
In a statement Wednesday, NAC said UNGC “supports global companies that are committed to responsible business practices in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and corruption.”
By signing up as a member, NAC vowed to uphold the UNGC principles in all aspects of its operations.
Two of NAC's affiliates operate in the Surigao del Norte town of Claver and Hinatuan, and the Dinagat Islands town of Cagdianao. It also has an operating mine in Bataraza, Palawan.
“This is a huge deal for all of us at NAC because it effectively binds us to the proverbial umbilical cord of what UNGC represents to the world,” NAC President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Zamora said.
NAC added that to be considered a member, the company "had to lay bare to UNGC its value system and its approach to doing business in the communities."
"NAC also had to share how the company’s relationships with all its stakeholders are the actual narratives of its best mining practices," it said.
The world’s largest sustainability initiative, the UNGC was launched at the United Nation’s headquarters in New York in 2000.
UNGC emphasizes that “member companies of the UN Global Compact are expected to act in environmentally responsible ways with regard to climate change, water and sanitation, energy, biodiversity, and food and agriculture. They are also expected to recognize the link between environmental issues and social and development priorities.”
Jose Bayani Baylon, NAC vice president for corporate communications, said the standard operating procedures in all the mining companies under the NAC umbrella "have long been setting the stage for the UNGC membership."
“The UNGC principles have been integrated into our corporate strategies and day-to-day operations, and our membership to this global pact exposes the NAC companies to a more intense peer review which in effect will be beneficial to the industry as a whole because," Baylon said.
"Mining continues to fight in the reputation category, and UNGC will help demonstrate our track record as we publicly report on how effectively we manage the environment, social and governance issues," he added. (PR)
