Melbourne, Orica (ASX: ORI), one of the world’s leading mining and infrastructure solutions providers and one of Australia’s major manufacturers has been recognised for its sustainability efforts in the 2024 Australian Financial Review Sustainability Leaders awards. The company secured top honours in two significant categories, the Resources, Energy, and Utilities, as well as the Overall winner for Impact.
The Australian Financial Review ‘Sustainability Leaders’ list sets out to celebrate Australian companies, across a wide range of industries, that are making real progress in tackling sustainability challenges – and delivering business value along the way. The rigorous assessment process, overseen by an expert panel, evaluates each organisation’s impact on non-financial outcomes and its alignment with competitive advantage and business value.
Operating within a hard-to-abate manufacturing sector, the pace of responsible mining and infrastructure development must accelerate to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy . Orica has been recognised for embracing this challenge, informed by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the adoption of innovative low-carbon technologies at its Kooragang Island ammonium nitrate plant in Newcastle, Australia while providing sustainable solutions to help customers achieve their sustainability goals and enabling society’s transition to a decarbonised future.
Through rigorous efforts, innovative practices, and strategic partnerships, Orica has made substantial progress in addressing environmental challenges while creating value for its stakeholders. The AFR’s expert panel, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), evaluated Orica’s sustainability initiatives and acknowledged their significant impact.
The ‘Kooragang Island Decarbonisation Project’ is a $37 million private-public investment between Orica, the NSW Government and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation2. The completion of the project in 2023 with the successful commissioning and operation of an Australian first tertiary catalyst abatement technology across three nitric acid manufacturing plants on site, will allow Orica to reduce site emissions by approximately 45 per cent and Australia’s total chemical industrial sector emissions by approximately 11 per cent1, making it one of the largest industrial decarbonisation projects in the country. This project has also injected over $12 million into the Hunter Valley economy and will help future-proof the Kooragang Island manufacturing facility and ensure the continued, reliable supply of critical products to the mining, medical, agricultural, and food and beverage sectors.
In acknowledging this significant recognition, Orica’s President - Australia Pacific and Sustainability Germán Morales said:
“We are exceptionally proud to receive these awards. They are an acknowledgement of our team's ongoing commitment to sustainability and many years of collaboration across Orica, Government and partners. We have been able to demonstrate that economic growth and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand and together, we are shaping a more sustainable future.
Now, as we continue our decarbonisation efforts, we will focus on installing the same proven technology at our Yarwun facility this year. This will help to deliver against Orica’s accelerated climate targets to reduce net operational Scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 45 per cent by 2030, from 2019 levels and is a further step towards achieving our ambition of net zero emissions by latest 2050.”
To learn more about Orica’s ongoing commitment to sustainability, visit orica.com/sustainability
1Based off the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Quarterly Update: June 2023, https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/publications/national-greenhouse-gas-inventory-quarterly-update-june-2023
2Proudly funded by the NSW Government in association with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Orica’s Kooragang Island Manufacturing Plant, Newcastle NSW
Installation of tertiary abatement thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG and our EnviNOx® Technology at Kooragang Island Manufacturing Plant, Newcastle NSW