Below we present the Top 10 material undertakings of 2021 that advanced Neo’s ESG efforts in contributing to global sustainable development:
Establishment of standing agenda on ESG updates within Neo’s Board of Directors HESS Committee;
Introduction of ESG-linked executive compensation criteria;
Institutionalization of Neo’s Working Group on Sustainability;
Configuration of the US-to-EU supply chain of rare earths, making use of by-product economics and reducing upstream waste;
Redirection of naturally occurring radioactive material from legacy storage to an industrial partner that uses it as feedstock for the production of carbon-free nuclear power;
Support for and membership to the Responsible MineralsInitiative and the UN Global Compact;
Consultation participation to share data and industry insights for public policy making within the European Raw Materials Alliance;
Relocation of an operating facility in China to help reduce the concentration of heavy industry in a high-stress water region, and reduce potential risk to groundwater sources;
Development of a first-in-China neutralization treatment of slag that allows recycling of government qualified materials suitable for alternative applications, and;
Preparation for and production of this inaugural Sustainability Report.
Continuous Improvement Model and Governance of ESG:
Operating plant management and HESS staff to source qualitative and quantitative ESG data on an annual basis
Internal ESG Working Group working with operating plant management and HESS staff to develop GAP analysis from target KPIs
Each operating facility’s Plant Manager and HESS Manager are responsible for identifying projects that contribute towards improving material topic ESG KPIs annually.
Business Unit Leaders oversee improvements of their operations towards material KPIs and report their annual sustainability strategy and action plan to COO
COO chairs Internal ESG Working Group, convening byweekly, with a documented agenda, meeting minutes, and accountability/timeline tracker.
Internal ESG Working Groups conducts consultations with both internal and external stakeholders for Neo’s Materiality Assessment and Goal Setting on an annual basis.
COO and VP HESS report quarterly at Board’s HESS Committee meeting on continuous efforts towards meeting ESG targets set for each year
Chair of Board HESS Committee delivers brief to the Board of Directors quarterly on Management’s progress towards the corporate sustainability strategy; and
Board Compensation Committee sets and assesses annual performance of executive team towards set ESG targets, rewarding ESG-linked compensation accordingly