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ESG Overview

Our ESG Policy

At Volt, we aspire to become a leader in the battery minerals industry, growing shareholding value through the sustainable development and operation of our assets.

The key to implementing our ESG strategy is built on our Values of “grow together”, “do the right thing” and “heshima daima” (always respect). Our pursuit of the highest standards of ethics is the driver for our Values.

In developing this Policy, we partnered with UK-based sustainability experts, Uvuna Sustainability, and researched broadly to customise an interpretation of ESG that resonates with us as an organisation.

View Volt's ESG Policy

Our ESG Strategy

Volt chose to work with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) stakeholder capitalism model which categorises into Planet, People, Governance and Prosperity.

For simplicity and clarity, we have labelled our four ESG/E pillars

The Economic aspect underpins success in both the ESG strategy and the business as a whole.

This four-pillar model best encapsulate our ESG ambitions as:

  • it focusses on the pursuit of long-term value creation in a manner that accounts for the needs of all of Volt’s stakeholders, and society at large;
  • the metrics are organised under four pillars that are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and
  • the WEF framework recognises the role of businesses in driving economic growth, innovation and shared wealth to establish and maintain prosperous societies.

Our ESG/E Commitments

Our ESG Policy applies to our corporate offices, projects and operating sites throughout their lifecycles.

We expect all of our business partners to adhere to our Policy and will work with them to achieve compliance.

In this inaugural ESG Policy, we have prioritised implementation to the components of our business that are actively progressing with their development / operation.

Their scope of ESG management at this time is limited to within site boundaries, while recognising that these may have impacts beyond our fence lines.

We will review and expand the scope as our ESG journey matures.

Through thematic workshops, we determined ESG impacts that are pertinent to our business at this time and developed a set of commitments that will shape our company going forward.

Inaugural ESG/E commitments

Environmental Social Governance
Apply the mitigation hierarchy to avoid, minimise and mitigate environmental impacts from the earliest stage in a project development life cycle. Ensure that our actions and organisational culture uphold the Human Rights of all people with whom we engage. Comply with applicable legislation of the host countries in which we operate.
Develop water models and associated monitoring and measurement frameworks in pursuit of establishing water improvement objectives. Assess our potential exposure to Human Rights and Modern Slavery risks within our organisation and primary supply chain, and develop responses as appropriate. Provide the necessary human and financial resources to ensure the effective implementation of our ESG Policy.
Prioritise the use of mine-generated or mine-impacted water to reduce our reliance on fresh water, minimising our impact on host catchments. Ensure that all employees who wish to do so, are afforded the opportunity to join worker representation organisations. Implement pragmatic environmental and social management systems that deliver on business imperatives and are aligned with good international practice.
Undertake appropriate assessments to improve our understanding of biodiversity attributes and ecosystem services. Provide clear employment terms and conditions including mechanisms for employee engagement and grievance resolution. Implement mechanisms to assess the ability of our primary suppliers to align with our ESG requirements and obtain their commitment to do so.
Where significant impacts to biodiversity are identified, develop biodiversity management plans aligned with international good practice. Evaluate our employment and remuneration systems across all levels to maintain a non-discriminatory employment environment. Evaluate our current compliance with industry best practice design and management of tailings facilities and develop action plans to address any gaps.
Prepare emissions inventories for all Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions and associated emissions reductions targets. Ensure that the management systems we implement will specifically consider and address the potential impacts of our activities on host communities. Design, implement and test robust emergency preparedness and response plans that address both onsite and offsite incidents and their related impacts.
Undertake climate vulnerability assessments and develop plans to implement the resulting recommendations. Wherever possible, implement measures to avoid the displacement of communities and, where no alternative exists, undertake resettlement processes in compliance with national legislation and in pursuit of alignment with international good practice.
Economic
Prioritise the employment of persons and engagement of suppliers local to our operations wherever possible.
Ensure that our share of taxes and royalties are paid in the correct jurisdictions and at the right time.
Maintain sound financial management practices aimed at sustaining business continuity and in pursuit of long-term value creation.

Bunyu Tanzania

Strong ESG Credentials