YARA INTERNATIONAL ASA Yara Sustainability Report 2020
Leading with a sustainable purpose
Leading with a sustainable purpose
The ever-increasing demand for nutritious food, together with the opportunities that lie in the growing of a climate positive food future, promise an exciting outlook for our company. Supporting our vision of a world without hunger and a planet respected, we pursue a strategy of sustainable value growth, promoting climate-friendly crop nutrition and zero-emission energy solutions.
To achieve our ambition, we have taken the lead in developing digital farming tools for precision farming and work closely with partners throughout the food value chain to improve the efficiency and sustainability of food production. Through our focus on clean ammonia production, we aim to enable the hydrogen economy, driving a green transition of shipping, fertilizer production, and other energy intensive industries.
Companies with high ESG performance are also believed to be better positioned to anticipate future risks and opportunities. Yara drives sustainable performance and is on a mission to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet.
Performance highlights 2020
At Yara, we do well by doing good. We take a holistic approach to measuring success. It is our firm belief that there is no contradiction between purpose and profit. In fact, having a clear purpose and operating in a sustainable way, is a pre-requisite for creating profit. As a response, we manage and measure our value creation along the three axes People, Planet, and Prosperity.
Read more about our value creation by clicking on the boxes.
What we offer
Yara is the world's leading producer of ammonia, nitrates, and NPKs, providing the foundation of our farming solutions, industrial solutions and in the future, clean ammonia.
Farming Solutions
We offer a complete range of crop nutrition products, backed by extensive knowledge and a growing range of services and new digital tools for modern farming. This unique combi-nation of fertilizer products, knowledge, services and tools helps farmers to grow more on less land and supports sustain-able farming practices.
Industrial Solutions
We develop and sell environ-mental solutions and essential products for industrial applications. Our portfolio includes emission abatement solutions for the transportation and maritime sectors along with products for water treatment, odor control, and solar power plants. We also provide essential products to cement and mining companies.
Clean Ammonia
Our new Clean ammonia unit 1) will leverage our leading positions across production, shipping, and distribution to develop and offer green ammonia. It will serve the maritime sector with zero-emissions fuel and help to de-carbonize the food value chain.
1) Effective 9 February 2021
Global presence
Yara is the industry's most global player. We combine production of premium products with a farmer-centric approach, turning a century ofagronomic knowledge into value for millions of farmers around the globe.
Yara-branded retail outlets around the world 10,800 + | |
Countries with Operations 60 | Countries with Sales 160 Countries with salesYara Plants Smaller sites 2) |
Production sites 28 | Terminals, warehouses, blending Phosphate mines plants and bagging facilities Joint ventures 200 and R&Digital Hub ) More than 10,800 Yara-branded reta 2) Yara operated terminals and logis |
More than 10,800 Yara-branded retail outlets around the world stical production sites
D sites
Countries with sales 1) Head office
Yara Plants Smaller sites 2)
Phosphate mines Joint ventures
Sales offices, R&D sites Digital Hub
1) More than 10,800 Yara-branded retail outlets around the world
2) Yara operated terminals and logistical production sites
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PERFORMANCE
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GOVERNANCE
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FRAMEWORK AND ASSURANCE
About the report
This is Yara International ASA's 2020 Sustainability Report.
Our reporting reflects the way we manage our performance - holistically. Hence, our annual reporting for 2020 consists of this report alongside the Integrated Report, which builds on the guiding principles set out in the International Framework from the International Integrated Report Council (IIRC).
This Sustainability Report provides stakeholders with additional information on our performance and governance of key sustainability topics. People, Planet, and Prosperity are the three pillars around which we manage and measure our success.
Content 01
STRATEGY
How we plan
CEO message 8
Global megatrends 11
How we create value 15
Our strategy 16
Our stakeholders 21
Our material topics 29
Strategy case 32
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PERFORMANCE
How we perform
CFO message 35
PEOPLE 37
Health and safety 38
Engagement 40
Diversity and inclusion 42
Skills and development 46
Workforce 48
People case 50
PLANET 52
Climate change 53
Circular economy 58
Water stress 61
Environment 64
Planet case 67
PROSPERITY 68
Value creation 69
Business ethics 72
Ratings and awards 76
Prosperity case 79
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GOVERNANCE
How we work
Sustainability governance
82
Codes, policies, and key processes 85
Health, Environment, Safety
and Quality (HESQ) 90
Human Resources 98
Ethics and Compliance 104
Mining operations 110
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FRAMEWORK AND ASSURANCE
How we report
Report scope and details 114
Auditor's report 118
Content indices 120
CEO message Global megatrends How we create value Our strategy
Our stakeholders Our material topics
Strategy case
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GOVERNANCE
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FRAMEWORK AND ASSURANCE
STRATEGY
How we plan
Over the past two decades, the Yara business model has developed from focusing on our asset and product base - what we have - to focusing on farmers and complete solutions - how we can contribute. This development will continue with full force and establish a unique position for us to evolve as a food solutions company.
CEO message Global megatrends How we create value Our strategy
Our stakeholders Our material topics
Strategy case
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GOVERNANCE
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FRAMEWORK AND ASSURANCE
One could have thought that a global pandemic would slow down the momentum in the fight against climate change, that the short-term health crisis would overshadow the long-term climate emergency, but the opposite has happened. If anything, the crisis has united us and proven that we can overcome the most difficult challenges when we join forces.
CEO MESSAGE
Decarbonizing the food systems
At Yara, we are not passively following these developments, but actively participating in them. Yara is dedicated to working towards a carbon positive future. We are, therefore, focusing our efforts on decarbonizing food and building resilient and fair food systems, while also using our knowledge to decarbonize other industries and to support a clean hydrogen economy.
A legacy of shared value
Our legacy, dating back to 1905, is all about creating shared value for our customers, society, and shareholders. We have more than 115 years of experience in combining purpose and profit. When farmers succeed, we also succeed. And when farmers are using best farming practices, the planet is also better off. Through technology, digital tools, and premium fertilizers, we are able to accelerate carbon positive farming by making agriculture more resource-efficient, productive, and environmentally friendly.
Yara is in the very fortunate position of having employees recognize this positive impact. We cannot underestimate the feeling of having a purpose. Knowing that your job makes it possible for a smallholder farmer to send his or her children to school gives added meaning. I still remember a conversation I had with an operator at one of our plants a few years ago. I asked him what his job was, and the reply came immediately: "I contribute to increased food production. That more people have access to food."
As with every large company, we, too, measure the level of employee engagement, and for 2020 we reached 79%, compared to the general industry engagement of 66%, according to the Korn Ferry survey. I am convinced that Yara's increased employee engagement is linked to the strong sense of purpose, one that may even have been reinforced by the pandemic.
Still, there is no doubt that the Covid crisis has indeed been an exhausting marathon for us all. We have expe-rienced fatigue and stress in the organization, and that is why we have taken significant steps to create a safe and stable working environment, one that also has the ability to lead to increased stability on a personal level. We have, for example, established global standards for paid sick leave, income security, and parental leave. We have also increased our efforts on mental health by training of our managers and making sure all em-ployees have access to free counselling. In addition, we have stepped up our work on diversity and inclusion, with a Black Talent workforce as one important example.
79% Employee engagement in 2020 | 66% General industry engagement in 2020 |
Committed partnerships
In addition to being aware of our own contribution, we are also aware of our limitations. We are not able to solve the global challenges in isolation. That is why we are engaged in several global arenas, such as the World Economic Forum as a strategic partner and the Food and Nature Board at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development as co-chair, and the UN Global Compact as signatory.
We have demonstrated our ability to put words into action. Yara has partnered with a number of compa-nies and organizations. We are, for example, working with Veolia to recycle nutrients, with the World Food Programme to give access to premium fertilizer and knowledge to smallholder farmers in some of the most vulnerable regions in Africa, and we are working with energy companies such as Engie, Ørsted, and NEL to develop fertilizer based on renewable energy.
Not least, we are partnering with the larger food companies, to support them in their quest for carbon neutrality. As a food solutions company, we have a significant impact on their value chain and how they source from farmers.
One of the highlights for me, before the pandemic hit us, was when I visited farmers in Colombia together with Magdi Batato, Chief Operating Officer of Nestlé. Historically, we have sold to the farmer and Nestlé has, in turn, bought from them. But what happens when we all meet in the field? We experienced first-hand how our joint trials have led to increased yield and farmer income, increased quality for the produce
"The agricultural sector accounts for almost a quarter of global greenhouse emissions, and we must succeed with systemic change."
Nestlé sources, and, not least, how increased organic matter in the soil enables carbon sequestration. In other words, a triple win.
The path to decarbonization
A value chain approach is the only path forward to help fix our broken food system. The agricultural sector accounts for almost a quarter of global green-house emissions, and we must succeed with systemic change. At Yara, we are working on three main routes to decarbonize the food value chain.
Firstly, through our products, services, and solutions used by farmers, we are able to optimize yield and minimize negative environmental impact. Secondly, through dedicated partnerships, we have introduced full transparency in the food value chain and there-by create green revenue streams for the farmers. By joining forces with other companies, as well as govern-ments and regulators, we are creating a carbon mar-ketplace, where farmers are paid for carbon capture and storage. Through the development of an open data exchange, we are also finally enabling carbon label-ling of food, to let consumers make informed choices, rewarding farmers for their environmental efforts.
Our third route to decarbonizing the food value chain is through green ammonia. It is clear that clean hy-drogen will drive the transition to a fossil free future and green ammonia is the gateway to such a hydro-gen economy because it is the best and easiest way of transporting and storing hydrogen. Green ammonia will lead to the production of carbon-free fertilizers, it will serve as carbon-free fuel for the shipping industry,and it will also enable the decarbonization of other energy-intensive industries. That is why Yara has taken the lead on this.
Reaching the tipping point
Former CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman, has said that it only takes 20 CEOs in any industry to come togeth-er and bring about transformative change. This is a philosophy we share, and that is why Yara is working with Polman and his team in IMAGINE. Together with some of the largest food companies in the world, we have joined forces to transform how we grow, transport, and consume food.
It is doable.
But we don't have all the time in the world.
Svein Tore Holsether
President and CEO
Food loss and waste accounts for 2.5 Gt GHG emissions, representing a substantial opportunity for improvement
Reverse land useSustainable nitrogen management
45% of all GHG emissions from agriculture stem from land use change. We must end the new cultivation of natural land.
Fertilizers are crucial to upholding agri-cultural productivity and soil health. The potential to reduce infield emissions, run-off, and leaching through precision farming and the selection of correct fertilizer is significant.
Consumers are increasingly willing to pay a premium for sustainable products, demanding transparency and traceability.
Digital tools can increase productivity and nutrient use efficiency
Improve rural livelihoodsMake food chains climate positive
Agriculture can provide better jobs and growth in rural economies, but it re-quires the sharing of knowledge, tech-nology, and digital tools, and access to inputs and efficient markets
Climate positive food chains are initiated by ceasing land use change and stepping up efforts to turn soil and land into carbon sinks - including carbon-smart farming. Fertilizers from clean ammonia can provide plants with the nutrients they need - without the carbon.
GLOBAL MEGATRENDS | Agriculture, the food value chain, and industries are |
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A changing landscape | undergoing profound changes. These are the megatrends |
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significantly shaping our industry and markets. |
DESCRIPTION
Changing climatic patterns are set to impact on agricultur-al production throughout the world, mainly impeding plant growth. Across most sectors, there are increasing pres-sure and expectations for climate actions and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
RISK
Climate change could impact demand for our products as a result of land areas becoming unproductive or from new policies encouraging a reduction in fertilizer use. In some regions, notably Europe, the competitiveness of our fertilizer production can be challenged by carbon pricing and taxes.
OPPORTUNITIES
Yara may capitalize on climate change and ensuing market adaptations along two main avenues: our agro-nomic knowledge can develop solutions that respond to the changing growing environments, and our low-carbon nitrate offering is a proven choice for reducing emissions from farming. Our decarbonizing efforts also include pilot-ing of green ammonia and mineral fertilizers, fit for a zero emissions future.
Water is crucial for plant growth. There is no substitute. Agriculture is a huge consumer of water, and lack of suffi-cient water quantity and quality is a major stress factor in crop production. Climate change disrupts precipitation pat-terns, while extensive irrigation taps aquifers and reduces water quality through salination.
Limitations on water supplies and sharper regulations can impact negatively on fertilizer demand or require new fertilizer formulations. Climate risks and farmer economics can reduce farmers' willingness to invest in water manage-ments systems and, hence, fertigation solutions.
Yara has identified a fundamental and close relationship between crop nutrition and crop water consumption. We employ new knowledge and innovative technologies to advance water use efficiency and offer solutions for water-scarce agriculture, as manifested in the Yara Water Solution, our fertigation solutions and products tailored for fertigation.
Roughly one third of the world's soil is degraded due to a variety of factors, including soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Farming without adequate replenishment of nutrients adds to the problem and results in productivity losses. Best farming practices focus on soil health, carbon capture, and regenerative agriculture.
Soil health is becoming a key topic globally and can lead to new fertilizer polices and consumption patterns, as fer-tilizers are often earmarked as a cause of soil degradation. While our crop nutrition and application knowledge can contribute to soil health, we face reputational risks and an overall reduced demand for fertilizer.
Yara is well positioned to improve soil health across the world, and to deliver the solutions required to do so. Our Analytical Services analyze soil, tissue, and water samples from all over the world. Our R&D on soil health management includes learnings from ongoing field trials dating back several decades. This helps to deepen our understanding of different farming environments and best practices for improving soil health.
CEO message Global megatrends How we create value Our strategy
Our stakeholders Our material topics
Strategy case
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DESCRIPTIONRISKOPPORTUNITIES
Food industry integration | Dietary shifts | Circular economy | Digitalization |
Agriculture and the food value chain is becoming increasingly integrated. Input providers are joining forces, farms are growing in scale and professionalism, the food industry is moving upstream, and conscious consumers are putting pressure on the food and agriculture industry to achieve new levels of sustainability | Climate and health conscious consumers, particularly in high income countries, are increasingly driving diets towards health-ier and sustainable choices, and more plant-based nutrition. Globally, however, the trend towards higher calorie intakes and increasing shares of animal protein continues. | Resource scarcity, growing sustainabil-ity awareness and increased consumer pressure is creating a push towards a circular economy, including in the agri- and food value chain. Recycling and reuse of materials coupled with reduced waste and pollution are core ideas in this trend. | Digital innovation and technological transformation fundamentally change strategies and practices in decision making, fertilizer application, farm automation, and traceability. Opportunities offered by big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchains impact on the entire agricultural food industry value chain. |
Agri- and food industry integration is changing our competitive landscape. New and larger players with holistic solutions can put pressure on our ability to stay relevant for farmers and to defend and expand our market share. | Changing dietary patterns impact agricultural demand and crop production regionally. Lower meat consumption can, in certain regions, reduce fertilizer demand in grass and feed production. Demand for our mineral fertilizers can also be impacted by growth in organic food, commonly perceived as clean and healthy. | Nutrient reuse, recycling and reducing losses, whether driven by regulations or raised awareness, can reduce demand or drive cost for fertilizer. In some regions, first and foremost Europe, recycled and organic fertilizers are promoted as a sub-stitute for mineral fertilizers. | Digital agriculture is developing rapidly, with a number of multinationals and start-ups making large investments into digital platforms. Securing our competitiveness on delivering knowledge and solutions hinges on our ability to achieve scale, generate value, and protect our knowledge advantage. |
Our global presence, knowledge, and crop solutions make us well positioned to ex-pand our collaboration with the food indus-try. Consumers are increasingly willing to pay for quality and sustainability, which we can help to achieve with better crop nutri-tion, application knowledge, and tools. By proving our value in these partnerships, we open opportunities for commercialization of our solutions in new market channels. | Yara is well positioned to respond to changes in dietary patterns. Nitrates - the backbone of our crop nutrition solutions - are the superior source of nitrogen for most applications. Combined with our on-the-ground presence, agronomic knowledge and tools, we are equipped to develop and always provide the best solu-tions to local needs. | Yara has taken an early position and is en-gaging in innovative partnerships to create and capitalize on new business models and revenue streams through recycling of nutri-ents in agriculture and food value chains. By increasing resource use efficiency and reduce raw materials costs, we aim to strengthen our competitive edge and add-ing value to our brand. | Yara has made an early entry into the rapidly changing landscape of digitalized farming. This supports and supplements our existing business model, and it pres-ents options to develop new crop nutrition business models. Digital services and solutions complement our existing offer-ings, enabling the creation of new revenue streams. |
What the changes mean to us
Megatrends and industry developments are disrupting business as usual.
Climate emergency and political response A wave of new regulatory and political initiatives addressing climate change is reaching shore. The 'EU Green Deal' positions Europe as a front-runner in the global food and industry transformation. It aims to reduce nutrient losses by half and expand organic farming to include a quarter of all farmland.
Commoditization and slower demand
China's 'Zero Growth' strategy aims to stop further growth of nitrogen consumption after 2020. We expect demand growth in Latin America, Brazil, and Africa, but capacity additions have created an over-supply. Overall, we expect the global demand growth in the next 10 years to slow down.
Decarbonizing food from field to fork
Consumer demand is driving food companies to take concrete actions. The traceability of food products, their origin, and environmental and carbon footprint, are key issues for the consumers. The food value chain needs to provide healthier and more sustainable food. Leading food companies have moved the decarbonizing of food to the top of the agenda. We can help them meet expectations by providing sustainable food solutions.
Alternatives to natural gas are approaching We expect natural gas to remain our main feedstock in the coming years. Nevertheless, decarbonized alternatives will likely challenge fossil fuel over time. Players are looking into alternative energy carriers to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. In the shipping industry, green hydrogen and ammonia is regarded as the most promising zero-emissions fuel.
The 4th agricultural revolution is digital
The next agricultural revolution has started, enabled by digital tools, big data, and artificial intelligence to support farming best practices. Digital tools currently have a relatively small impact on the profitability of farms, but our studies have identified potential addi-tional yield increases of 3-7% and up to 14% nitrogen fertilizer savings.
>> Our strategy, p. 16
HOW WE CREATE VALUE | Our business model combines production, sales and marketing in one, global system. |
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From field to fork | It enables us to deliver premium products, share knowledge, and develop innovative |
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solutions to farmers, distributors and food value chains worldwide. |
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CEO message Global megatrends How we create value Our strategy
Our stakeholders Our material topics
Strategy case
GOVERNANCE
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FRAMEWORK AND ASSURANCE
INPUT
We employ
Yara employs an array of resources and assets to create value and deliver on our mission.
Energy
Materials
• Natural gas to produce ammonia
• Minerals to produce crop nutrition
InfrastructureKnowledge
• 28 production plants
• 200 infrastruc-ture points globally
• Unique agronomic and industrial knowledge
• 10,800 Yara-branded retail outlets worldwide
• About 17,000 employees representing great diversity
We produce
We supply
We deliver
We produce a comprehensive range of nitrogen-based fertilizers and industrial products.
Our global footprint enables consistent and reliable deliveries to customers worldwide.
We deliver complete crop nutrition solutions for the farming community and food industry, as well as nitrogen-based solutions for industrial use.
Crop Nutrition
SolutionsGrower needs and insight
Production
Distribution
Farmer
• Global network of sales offic-es, terminals and warehouses
• Sales to 20 million farmers
• Agronomists worldwide
• Timely deliveries aligned with crop cycles and demand
• Complete package of premium products, knowledge and digital tools for modern farming
OUR STRATEGY
Growing a climate positive food future
We entered this decade with an updated strategy and the overarching goal of becoming a leading partner for farmers and food companies.
Yara is broadening its business model
O competit Broadening our core towards food solutions Peo Know Connectio Global f | ur ive edges ple ledge n to Farm ootprint Enabling the hydrogen economy |
Driving sustainable performance
Diverse and | Active portfolio | Clear capital |
inclusive culture | management | allocation |
Over the past two decades, Yara's business model has developed from focusing on our asset and product base - what we have - to focusing on farmers and complete solutions - how we can contribute.
This development is reflected and emphasized in our latest strategy update, which we conducted in 2020. Essentially, our ambition is to be a leading partner to farmers and food companies by providing sustainable solutions to help them thrive and meet their goals and commitments. We will continue to improve our fertilizer production and competitive edge - what we have - but we are increasingly aiming to expand this core, tapping into the opportunities emerging in our business environment - how we can contribute.
Strategic priorities
The outcome of the 2020 update was also a more streamlined strategy as we distilled our previous three strategic priorities down to two pillars.
These two strategic pillars represent equally sized value creation potential and form the foundation for our strategic responses:
» 1. Accelerate operational excellence » 2.Expand our commercial reach and offering
Operational excellence is paramount to unlocking the potential of our strategy. It ensures a robust financial position as we expand our reach and offering and develop new business models. Our approach is multidimensional and covers our culture and people as well as the efficiency and footprint of our operations.
Culture and people
Employee engagement, leadership, cultural evolvement, diversity and inclusion, dynamic upskilling, and responsible business conduct are all topics of high priority as we venture into new territory.
Our ambition is to become climate neutral by 2050, and to reach a milestone of a 30% reduction in our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.
Efficient operations
Efficient operations form the very backbone of our business. We target improvements in both volumes and energy efficiency through the Yara Improvement Program 2.0.
Holistic performance management
We manage our value creation along the three axes: People, Planet and Prosperity. Our ambition is to become climate neutral by 2050, and to reach a milestone of a 30% reduction in our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
Expand our reach and offering
We will continue to operate with commercial excellence across markets every day, while broadening our core and enabling a hydrogen economy.
To reach our ambitions, we will build on our core platform as a leading food solutions company to expand our reach and offerings. Developing new commercial offerings and business models will be decisive in evolving our revenue base.
New commercial offerings
Yara Farming Solutions and our regional units will explore new business models, selling services, new geographies and segments, and channel transformation to expand our reach and offerings. Low-carbon and organic offer-ings and sustainability services are among the opportunities we are eyeing.
New business opportunities
We want to explore two business opportunities with fundamentally different value drivers. Carbon marketplace is our initiative to reduce emissions and sequester carbon at farms to create new revenue streams from carbon credits - an opportunity that will also reward farmers for climate-smart practices.
Green ammonia reflects the drive for a clean hydrogen and ammonia-based economy. We are running green ammonia production pilots in three sites to build knowledge and support market development.
Focused growth
We seek growth to strengthen our Farming Solutions offering, such as in digital technol-ogy and reach, and in recycled and organic nutrients. Yara will also consider value-adding assets and scale in markets of strategic impor-tance.
Disruptive innovation in adjacent sectors
We will direct venture investments into clearly defined themes such as climate smart crop solu-tions, decarbonization of fertilizer production, farm connectivity, and new revenue models in agriculture
Green ammonia is the most promising zero-emissions fuel for the shipping industry.
Strategic goals
1) Energy efficiency target is for 2023. It excludes 51% of Tringen reflecting Yara ownership share in JV, while Cubatão and Babrala are out of scope. Performance numbers reflect Yara sites of operational control.
2) GHG absolute emissions scope 1+2 target is for 2030 from a 2019 baseline.
3) The indicator definition is being updated, meaning the historic figures and
2025 target are not fully aligned, ref. to indicator definition on p. 53.
4) Documentation for the KPIs that were launched at the ESG seminar in December 2020 is ongoing.
5) Production output measured on rolling 12 months, adjusted for major turnarounds and market optimization effects. Adjustments are done to better reflect the underlying production performance. Numbers exclude Qafco and Lifeco volumes. 2018 baseline includes growth and debottleneck projects already communicated, and is adjusted related to Galvani and Pardies portfolio effects.
Prosperity YARA KPI Measure 2020 2025 Target | |
Ammonia production 5)Mt 7.7 Finished fertilizer production 5) Mt 21.3 Premium generated 4)MUSDTBD Revenues from new business models 4) BUSD TBD Revenues from online sales 4) BUSD TBDWorking capital Days 113 Capital return (ROIC) % 8.0 Fixed costs MUSD 2,322 Capex BUSD 0.8 Net debt/EBITDA Ratio 1.36 MSCI rating ScoreBBB Sustainalytics rating Score Med | 8.9 23.9 TBD 1.5 1.2 92 >10 2,314 1.2 1.5-2.0 A Med |
CEO message Global megatrends How we create value Our strategy
Our stakeholders Our material topics
Strategy case
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"The new structure will sharpen our customer focus in each region, while also driving the transformation of our business for the future."
Svein Tore Holsether, CEO
New organizational strategy reinforces strategy execution
Yara moved from a segment structure (Production, Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain), to a regional organizational structure - Europe, Africa & Asia and Americas, effective 1 June 2020.
The three regional units got all responsibility for production, supply chain, and commercial operations, empowering them to run daily operations in a fully integrated set-up. They produce and deliver ex-isting Yara solutions, in addition to commercializing and selling new offerings under the guidance of Farming Solutions.
The Global Plants & Operational Excellence unit operates Yara's larg-est production plants (Porsgrunn and Sluiskil), and drives operational improvement and competence development across Yara's production units.
The Farming Solutions function got a global mandate to drive the transformation of Yara's core crop nutrition business, developing both existing and new solutions including premium products, digital busi-ness, food value chain collaboration, and climate-neutral solutions.
OUR STAKEHOLDERS
Committed partnerships
Partnership for green energy transition
Yara, Statkraft, and Aker Horizons aim to establish Europe's first large-scale green ammonia project in Norway. The partners will target green hydrogen and green ammonia opportunities within shipping, agriculture, and industrial applica-tions by electrifying Yara's existing ammonia facility in Porsgrunn. The conversion of the Porsgrunn plant has the potential to become one of the largest climate initiatives in Norway's industrial history, targeting annual CO2 reductions equivalent to the emissions from more than 300,000 fossil fuel pas-senger cars.
Introduction of certified fossil free fertilizer
Lantmännen, an agricultural coopera-tive and Northern Europe's leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy, and food products, has a goal of achieving overall carbon neutrality by 2050. Lantmännen and Yara are now taking a pioneering role in the transformation of the food system by launching a pilot project to introduce a certified fossil free fertilizer. The collaboration builds on Yara's efforts to produce mineral fertilizer from renewable energy. The fertilizer, which Yara aims to bring to market by 2023, will reduce the total CO2-impact of grain farming by 20% and enable consumers to make sustainable food choices.
We believe in dedicated partnerships to increase yield and farmer income and achieve a carbon positive future. Yara has partnered with a number of companies and organizations including larger food, technology, and energy companies.
Advancing agriculture through technology
IBM and Yara share a vision to advance agriculture through technol-ogy, leading to transparent, sustain-able food production. In 2019, the two companies launched a strategic partnership combining Yara's agri-culture expertise and digital farming capabilities with IBM's world-lead-ing technology and services. The first initiative uses IBM's hyperlocal weather insights to power Yara's digital solutions. Furthermore, Yara is spearheading the connection of farms with the food chain and ultimately global consumers through the IBM Food Trust, a network that aims to establish connectivity and traceability from farm to fork.
Green ammonia from renewable hydrogen
Yara has joined forces with Ørsted, the world's leading offshore wind developer, in a pioneering project to utilize renewable hydrogen in the production of ammonia. A 100 MW wind-powered electrolyser plant for renewable hydrogen production can replace fossil feedstock, with the potential to abate more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. If the required public co-funding is secured and the right regulatory framework is in place, the project could be operational in 2024/2025.
Engaging with our stakeholders
We engage with a wide range of stakeholders both globally and locally. Engaging and keeping good relations with stakeholders is integral to our transformation to become the Crop Nutrition Company for the Future.
With agronomists on the ground worldwide, we have a deep understanding of farmers' needs and capacity to meet them. We engage with our customers in a variety of ways, such as through farmer meetings, digital plat-forms, and surveys.
We nurture a culture of openness and accessibility to senior management. Employee engagement and diversity are corporate KPIs and we run regular surveys to measure our performance.
We collaborate with food industry at an institutional level as well as directly, to support their efforts to provide healthier and more sustainable food, and to promote food system reform and climate smart agriculture.
As members of industry associations, we are able to share best practices and speak with one voice. We are also committed to raising the standards and performance in the fertilizer industry.
Civil society drives sustainability commitments. We collaborate actively with stakeholders in the civil community through our institutional engagement and directly with NGOs and farmer associations, among others.
Farmers
Employees
Food industry
Industry organizations
Civil society
Operational stakeholder dialogueInstitutionalized stakeholder processes
Understand and respond to farmer's needs, and manage community impacts
FarmerFood industry
Develop sustainable farming solutions that respond to global challenges
Local communities
Suppliers
Investors
Academia
Governments
Trust and support from local communities is fundamental to Yara's license to operate. We aim for an open dialogue and take every complaint seriously and handle them promptly.
Our suppliers range from global suppliers of raw materials to local service providers. We stay in regular contact with them and expect them to comply with our codes and support our commit-ment to Product Stewardship.
Our strategy targets superior shareholder return from sus-tainable solutions. We engage continuously with our share-holders based on the principles of openness and the equal treatment of all shareholders.
Yara supports a science-based approach to sustainable agri-culture. We engage with academia to learn and share, and have initiated open innovation and collaboration with a number of academic institutions.
Our emphasis is on building and maintaining constructive relations with governments. We believe that more public-private collaboration is crucial to reach the SDGs and the Paris agreement.
Ya loc | ra ally |
Ya glob | ra ally |
Sustainability memberships
UN Global Compact signatory:
We are a member of the action platforms UNGC initiatives Caring for Climate and CEO Water Mandate. Through these platforms we aim to contribute in scaling innovative solutions for a low-carbon economy and to adopt better water stewardship practices.
Key memberships and alliances:
We engage in several WBCSD initia-tives, most notably Scaling Positive Agriculture, Natural Climate Solutions, Food Reform for Sustainability and Health, the Redefining Value Program, and the Vision 2050 Refresh initiative. Yara's CEO is a member of WBCSD's Executive Committee and chairs WBCSD's Food and Nature Board.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an important platform for dialogue and collaboration to meet the SDGs and ac-celerate climate actions. We are a WEF Strategic Partner and have signed the Partnering Against Corruption Initia-tive (PACI). Yara's CEO participates in the WEF CEO Climate Leaders group.
We play an active role in the Inter-national Fertilizer Association (IFA), aiming to raise industry performance and to promote sustainable farming solutions. Through IFA, we engage in several high-level processes in the UN as well as the Global Business Alliance and the multi-stakeholder coalition Farming First.
As a member of Fertilizer Europe, we engage in the development of more sustainable agricultural policies and practices in Europe. We also promote of the principles of Product Stewardship, which we have helped to develop in order to raise industry standards.
In addition to the above, we collaborate with several other organizations and in numerous partnerships and projects to promote sustainable practices in business and agriculture. We have resources dedicated to public and regulatory affairs throughout the business regions, and hold a modest governmental relationship capacity in Brus-sels, reflecting our footprint in Europe.
CEO message Global megatrends How we create value Our strategy
Our stakeholders Our material topics
Strategy case
02 PERFORMANCE
03
GOVERNANCE
04
FRAMEWORK AND ASSURANCE
Stakeholder engagement in 2020
Agriculture is often perceived as a major contributor to several of the biggest global challenges of our time. Our view is that agriculture also holds the solutions to many of them, and our strategy is designed to enable such solutions.
Throughout 2020, we engaged extensively in institutional stakeholder processes related to sustainable food solutions on the global level. Locally, we continued to focus on understanding and responding to farmer's needs and managing community impacts. By gathering insights locally, we enable development of better products and practices.
EU policies including Green Deal
In December 2019, the European Commission launched the European Green Deal, an umbrella of strategies and priorities with overall goals of reaching climate neutrality in the EU by 2050 and transforming the food system, among other ambitions. We have carefully assessed the potential impacts of the Green Deal on our activities and believe that Yara's strategic priorities are aligned with this transformative agenda. On a particular note, we will contribute to the upscaling of precision farming in Europe by boosting our activities in digital farming.
Yara is committed to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which aligns agriculture with the Green Deal. In this context, we promote balanced crop nutrition strategies and higher resource use efficiency as avenues to meeting reduction targets for ammonia emissions, an issue many EU countries are struggling with.
We also welcome initiatives in the CAP post 2020 to support and mainstream the use of FaST (Farming Sustainability Tools) and the development of FAS (Farm Advisory Services) as ways to accelerate the digitization of EU agriculture.
Food systems transformation
Yara is involved in multiple dialogues on how we can make systemic changes in the way food is grown and delivered. We believe that by transitioning to regenera-tive agricultural approaches, food systems can support the demand for food without driving land expansion. Such a transition can substantially reduce GHG emissions and support farming profitability through resource optimization. Land management, including restorative growth, can potentially create carbon sinks, making the agriculture and forestry sectors part of the climate solution.
Yara is a partner of the African Green Revolution Forum and one of six partners committed to the Farm to Market Alliance, a global public-private consortium addressing current agricultural barriers and seeking collective actions.
Climate Engagement
In 2020, Yara signed a letter of commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative to help build a Sector Decarbonization Approach for the nitrogen fertilizer industry in line with the 1.5C target. We continued to participate in the WBCSD Climate Smart Agriculture working group, which in 2020 expanded its scope to include, among other things, biodiversity perspectives and was consequently renamed Scaling Positive Agri-culture.
In 2020, Yara took an active role in accelerating the transformation of food systems and preparing the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit. We also participated in regional and global Food Systems Dialogues (FSDs) to discuss food systems policies and economics, science-based targets and pathways, the potential for innovation, and the inclusive approach required for a just transition.
Yara recognizes the critical role of the next generation in the transition, and in 2020 continued to promote youth entrepreneurship with Generation Africa's Go-Gettaz Agripreneur Prize, awarded at the Africa Green Revolution Forum in September.
We believe that better sustainability performance should be rewarded in the market. To this end, we participate and sponsor the True Cost of Food work in WBCSD. This includes a collaboration with Oxford University on measuring and valuing externalities from agriculture and the food system, a private sector guid-ance document, and investor dialogues.
Yara's CEO participated when the WEF CEO Climate Leaders group met in Davos in January 2020 and con-vened virtually throughout 2020, agreeing to take the lead on net zero commitments. Despite COP26 being postponed to 2021, building a roadmap for climate neutrality remained a critical business priority.
We also participate in discussions on Natural Climate Solutions through WBCSD and WEF. Thematically
linked to regenerative growth, this work aims at linking climate finance to effective solutions based on making nature a carbon sink. Through this work, we are also involved in the global update of the GHG Protocol, aiming to incorporate carbon sinks into climate reporting.
Regenerative agriculture and soil health Yara is committed to an ambitious and integrated agenda to halt nature loss. We recognize that failure to do so has tangible economic impacts. For example, the negative impacts of land degradation are estimated to be as high as 5% of total GDP in some countries. Societal losses from soil degradation are estimated to be USD 100 billion per year.
In 2020, we continued to work with partners such as One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) to share knowledge on digital tools and crop nutrition solutions that improve soil health and nutrient use efficiency. We have also taken an active role in the Business for Nature Coalition, raising ambitions globally to reflect nature's critical role as the infrastructure that under-pins humanity's prosperity and existence.
Furthermore, we are engaged in the promotion of biostimulants as well as biopesticides and biofertilizers through our memberships in the European Biostim-ulants Industry Council (EBIC) and the Biological Products Industry Alliance (BPIA).
Circular economy
Engaging on the emerging topic of circular economy, Yara is a partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Food Initiative (EMFFI), which aims to tackle climate change, create healthy cities, rebuild biodiversity, and create new business opportunities to deliver solutions for a healthy, regenerative food system.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation also supports Yara with circular economy knowledge in the development of the Nutrient Upcycling Alliance (NUA), a project we have launched together with Veolia. Partnering with other food value chain players, we aim to upcycle food waste from cities to deliver circular and regenerative crop nutrition solutions to farmers.
To further support our circular economy progress, we have also joined the European Sustainable Phospho-rous Platform (ESPP), The Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE), the European Biogas Association (EBA), and the German Association for Water, Wastewater, and Waste (DWA).
Product quality and customer satisfaction
In an effort to better serve our customers and exceed their expectations, we are harmonizing the way we define and measure product quality and customer satisfaction across markets, targeting roll-out late in 2021. We also intend to implement additional cus-tomer research tracking to gather insights for product innovation and improvements in service and customer interaction for all aspects of the Yara Farming Solu-tions offerings.
In 2020 we ran customer research projects through our distribution networks in India and Europe to identify how we can add value to our distribution network and customer service. We also gathered feedback from local Sales & Marketing initiatives, such as online surveys, focus groups, social media engagement, crop clinics, field days, demonstration trials, training ses-sions, tradeshows, customer phone calls upon delivery of our products, and participation in farmer meetings, to collect feedback.
Generally, Yara is recognized for its high-quality products and application knowledge across all markets. Complaints about product quality occur from time to time. All complaints are logged and we follow-up and investigate each complaint to find its root cause.
Yara is a founding member of the Cool Farm Alliance which has published the online GHG farm calculator Cool Farm Tool.
Key concerns raised in 2020
2020 drew significant attention to our relations in Belarus. We continued to manage closures of sites in Trinidad, France, Brazil, consulting unions and local stakeholders to minimize any negative impacts on their communities.
Belarus
Belarus has seen mass protests since the August 9 presidential election, which incumbent Alexander Lukashenko said he won - an assertion contested by his opponents, who claimed the vote was rigged and wanted him to leave office. While Yara received calls from elements of the Belarus political opposition to stop buying from state-owned companies, our ap-proach has been to seek influence through continued presence. This approach was supported by the Belarus Independent Trade Union (BITU) and The Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) and IndustriALL as well as the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and Industri Energi.
Yara was a leading buyer of potash from Belarus' state-run potash miner Belaruskali throughout 2020. We were particularly concerned over numerous reportsof dismissals of workers who expressed their demo-cratic rights in a peaceful manner. In a message from Yara CEO Svein Tore Holsether in December 2020, he stated firmly that the current situation is not tenable for Yara, and that he had made Yara's position very clear in conversations with a number of stakeholders, including the Belarus Ambassador to Scandinavia Dmitry Mironchik, about the need to see imminent and substantial improvements in the conditions for, and relations with Belaruskali's workforce.
Following a series of meetings with Yara, Belaruska-li announced steps to improve the situation for and relations with its workforce, including reintroducing allowance and bonus schemes for workers who had previously been subject to disciplinary penalties, and offering to re-employ terminated workers. The compa-ny also declared its readiness to cooperate with Yara on industrial health and safety improvements. Yara saw these steps as positive but continued monitoring the situation closely, expecting Belaruskali to further improve the situation for its workforce.
Environmental grievances
At a local level, communities adjacent to production facilities raised concerns regarding noise, odor, and dust.
Fifteen Yara sites received environmental grievances from neighbors or other stakeholders during 2020. A total of 140 environmental complaints and concerns were reported in 2020, slightly more than the 135 reported in 2019. The cases were all addressed and investigated, and 97% of them were closed during the year.
Montoir
The local community and media have raised concerns over environmental non-conformities at our site Yara Montoir, in France. The plant has focused on two aspects of its environmental permit: dust emissions from a prilling tower and nutrient discharges to the Loire river. These aspects of the permit have been challenging due to the fact that the plant's environmen-tal permits are more stringent than the European Best Available Technology reference levels. Yara Montoir's environmental performance is in line with the rest of the fertilizer industry, and we have made numerous improvements and tested novel technologies to meet the permit requirements.
Trinidad
In November 2019, Yara announced its plans to close its wholly-owned ammonia plant in Trinidad. The Yara Plant was one of three ammonia plants operated
by Yara Trinidad Ltd. The remaining two plants, Tringen I and Tringen II, are jointly owned by Yara In-ternational ASA and National Enterprises Ltd (NEL).
At the time of the announcement, there were 68 em-ployees either working directly on or supporting the plant. Following the closure, Yara and the recognized majority union commenced discussions to mitigate the total retrenchment and job losses. As an outcome of this consultation process, formal notices of retrench-ment were issued to 15 employees. Each separated em-ployee received a separation payment based on years of service and job category. They also received financial support for retraining, and continued support from the Yara's social service providers. Yara is committed to rehiring retrenched employees if appropriate vacancies arise within one year of retrenchment. The plan fulfills both legal requirements and after-care norms in Trini-dad and Tobago.
Pardies, France
Yara closed the main part of its operations in Par-dies, France in June 2018. The announcement was made in March 2017, and at that time, the site had 85 employees, of which 46 were laid-off. While most of these former employees found other jobs, two were still searching for a job at year-end 2020. Both are supported by an outplacement firm to find job oppor-tunities, establish their own business, or enter training or education.
Lagamar, Brazil
The phosphate mine Lagamar, Brazil, operated by JV Galvani, was closed in 2018. The closure process was planned several years in advance and is being car-ried out according to the schedule filed with relevant entities. Stakeholders have been consulted throughout the process, in which Yara has provided labor quali-fication programs and training courses for employees and members in the community as well as support for several community projects, including activities to combat the spreading of Covid-19.
Pilbara, Australia
For Yara's plants in the Pilbara region of Australia, concerns were previously raised about the Aboriginal rock art of Murujuga (the Burrup Peninsula). In 2020, Yara continued partnering with scientists, heritage ex-perts, and the local Aboriginal owners. This included another partnership to monitor the rock art, support for the owners in seeking World Heritage Listing for the cultural landscape, and work to identify shared opportunities in renewable energy development. Over the four years of studies, the rock art experts have not found any indication that Yara's plants are having an impact on the rock art, and these findings will be formally published in 2021.
OUR MATERIAL TOPICS
Determinants of our value creation
In 2020, Yara further developed and detailed its strategy, updated its governance struc-tures, and implemented integrated reporting. The strategy update was presented at an ESG Seminar in December 2020, numerating company level KPIs according to the People, Planet, and Prosperity dimensions.
Defining materiality
Yara made its first materiality assessment in 2015, in a process initiated and led by Yara's Head of Sustainabil-ity Management, and supported by Harvard professor Robert Eccles. We used the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board's (SASB) standards for chemicals and mining industries as a starting point.
The materiality assessment has since been reviewed in internal follow-up processes. In 2020, the materiality matrix was revisited as part of the 2020 risk and strat-egy processes. The review was informed by an update on megatrends, the integrated reporting process, and the corporate scorecard. A key topic for 2020 was the socio-economic impacts of and company response to the pandemic. As a result of this process, Yara updated its strategic priorities, as presented on p. 16.
Our Material Topics
This report covers materiality as also accounted for in Yara's Integrated Report 2020. In addition, this Sustainability Report covers topics we consider to be of significance to our stakeholders.
We have defined material topics as belonging to four main areas: megatrends, key value drivers, company capabilities and position, and license to operate. The topics' boundaries are discussed and defined in Yara's Sustainability Network, and disclosed in the Report scope and details chapter on p. 114.
Megatrends
Megatrends shape our industry and markets, and constitute both risks and opportunities. They have been prioritized according to their relevance to Yara's business model, and to company ability to interact with such megatrends. The identified megatrends did not change during 2020. These are presented in full in the Global megatrends section on p. 12 and therefore only briefly listed here. Three megatrends are of a bio-physical nature: climate change, soil degradation and water stress. Four megatrends are of a socioeconomic nature: dietary shifts, circular economy, food industry integration, and digitalization.
Key value drivers
Covid-19: The outbreak of the global pandemic had significant socioeconomic impacts.
Nitrogen fertilizer prices: Changes in global and regional fertilizer production and capacity impact fertilizer prices and our profitability.
Natural gas prices: Hydrocarbons, mostly natural gas, are Yara's main raw material and our main cost. Affordable access to natural gas is therefore a competitive advantage, and energy price swings impact Yara's costs.
Availability of raw materials: Our fertilizer production plants depend on consistent supplies of raw materials, most notably phosphate and potash.
Food prices: Increasing food prices can support higher investments in agriculture and sustainable crop nutrition solutions.
Regulatory changes: A wave of new regulatory and political initiatives addressing climate change is coming, which has both upside and downside risks for Yara.
Company capabilities and position
Knowledge margin: Yara's deep understanding of crop nutrition, farmers, and industrial markets allows us to sell highly profitable premium products and solutions that also benefit society.
Production reliability: Increased plant reliability is a key driver of organic growth in our production system.
Global scale and presence: We operate across six continents, in various commercial segments, and in 28 production plants and mines. Our global distribution network allows us to optimize product flows and plant in-puts across geographies and to adjust production volumes to match market conditions.
Infrastructure and logistics: Yara operates 200 in-frastructure points across the world and has 10,800 Yara-branded retail outlets worldwide, providing an unmatched market reach.
Human capital: We have a passionate workforce. This enables the company to take on new tasks, drive prof-itability, optimize productivity, and propel innovative thinking. In our markets, digital technology is making rapid progress, a trend in which Yara actively engages based on our knowledge and a diverse, talented workforce.
The Yara Brand: Our brand represents our values and the company personality. Embodying our knowledge, quality, vision, mission, and values, the brand rep-resents the trust we earn from partners, customers, and suppliers.
Connection to Farmers: We sell to more than 20 million farmers and we have almost 15 million hectares under management through our digital platforms. This uniquely positions us to drive the development of the food system in a way that works with, not against, the farmer.
License to operate
Health and safety: We value our employees, and safety is therefore a key priority at Yara. Our employees represent a knowledgeable and diverse workforce, and every one of them has the right to a safe working environment. A safe and healthy work-place is good for business. We believe that all accidents are preventable, and our goal is zero injuries.
Product stewardship: Ensuring that the right product of the right quality arrives safely to the farmer is fundamental to building trust. Through our Product Steward-ship principles and a dedicated security function, Yara carries out extensive work to determine the best and safest way to transport, store and apply fertilizers and indus-trial products. Our work on quality review and the monitoring and handling of our products is the foundation of industry standards.
Environmental performance: Yara expects increased awareness of sustainable agri-cultural practices and an increasing pressure on sustainability from governments and regulations globally. Soil degradation, water stress, biodiversity loss, and nutrient pollution are issues which will impact Yara's operations and value chain. Yara's strat-egy to become the Crop Nutrition Company for the Future responds to these trends.
Ethics and compliance: With operations in more than 60 countries and sales to about 160 countries, Yara is exposed to different cultures, traditions, labor conditions, and threats. We are dedicated to responsible business conduct throughout our own op-erations and value chain. This means respecting recognized labor and human rights, existing laws and regulations, and having safeguards in place for combating corrup-tion. Responsible business conduct is crucial in earning the trust of our stakeholders and key to our success.
We sell to more than 20 million farmers and we have almost 15 million hectares under management through our digital platforms.
CEO message Global megatrends How we create value Our strategy
Our stakeholders Our material topics
Strategy case
02 PERFORMANCE
03
GOVERNANCE
04
FRAMEWORK AND ASSURANCE
CASE
Carbon Cropping
Targeting carbon- and sustainability-focused business lines, Yara has launched a pilot project to create a sustain-ability income for farmers by paying them to store carbon in their soil and avoid emissions in their fields.
The agriculture sector faces major climate challenges, as the food value chain contributes a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions and is also negatively impacted by a changing, more vari-able climate. For Yara, this presents both challenges and opportuni-ties, and the company is acting on both.
To fight climate change, Yara is cutting emissions from production, transport, and use of its fertilizers. At the same time, Yara is working with farmers to generate carbon credits - value - by reducing agricul-tural emissions and sequestering carbon.
Unlocking nature's potential
Nature-based solutions are earth systems that are managed to provide environmental, social, and economic benefits simultaneously. Soil carbon sequestration is one such solution.
Soils are one of the most important carbon sinks. Human activities can positively affect these processes by helping to ensure carbon is stored and not released over time. This also creates soil health benefits in the long-term. However, human activity such as extended cultiva-tion and disturbance can also do harm to soil's natural ability to store carbon if it is not managed carefully.
What if farmers were paid to store carbon in their fields? That is exactly what Yara aims to do in a new US pilot project. Together with about 20 farmers managing 50,000 acres, Yara will create a new income stream for farmers based on storing carbon in their soil, helping to offset the risk and cost of switching to climate-positive farming practices through improved financial incentives and agronomic support, and lay the foundations for a sustainable business for the next generation of farmers.
Yara is developing sustainability assets including agriculture-based carbon credits which are units for measuring the carbon stored or emissions avoided on farms.
The farmers in Yara's US pilot project will be able to generate carbon credits by transitioning to cli-mate-smart agriculture practices such as improved tillage management, use of cover crops, and improved nitrogen use efficiency. A third-party verifier will quan-tify and certify the credits to ensure real value is being created for the environment.
An agriculture carbon market
In addition to paying farmers for implementing sustainable practices and storing carbon, this credit scheme will offer companies looking to offset some of their harder-to-reduce or -avoid emissions, an avenue to reach their climate commitments while supporting farmers and sustainable food production.
Devin Moon, one of the Carbon Cropping pilot farm-ers, has joined the project to be in the vanguard whensustainable farming becomes the norm. "Our hope is to get on board with carbon sequestration not only before certain practices are mandated, but to beat the flood of folks to market who jump in when the carbon price rises. We will be set up and hit the ground running if and when it becomes manda-tory for certain businesses to purchase carbon offsets," Moon says.
Although it's early days, the potential is massive. Analyses show up to one gigatonne of CO2 storage potential anda possible USD 10 billion market poten-tial. Starting with the US pilot, Yara is now positioning itself to take a leading role in this fast-growing market and expects to generate the first millions of carbon credits over the next 2-3 years. When an agriculture carbon market is fully developed, we will not only be re-sponding to the one of the greatest chal-lenges we face, but we will be building the foundation for sustainable food production and a sustainability income for millions of farmers.
PERFORMANCE
How we perform
Leveraging our leading position on sustainable agricultural practices implies that we also require excellence in our own operations.
We strive to outperform our competitors by focusing on operational excellence and best-in-class safety performance. In response to increasing expectations on People, Planet and Prosperity dimensions, we report diligently on how we measure progress.
CFO MESSAGE
Sustainable value creation driven by our purpose
When looking in the rearview mirror of 2020, I think we can safely say that it was a year like none other, during which our society was put under immense pressure and the suffering from the pandemic was rampant.
The world was faced with the Covid-19 pandemic starting already in the first quarter of 2020. This disease severely disrupted society, markets, businesses, and most importantly, millions of peoples' lives. At Yara, as part of the food chain, we prioritized safeguarding people, behaving responsibly and in accordance with government guidelines, and to keeping the business running in order to help feed the world.
Integrated management
This crisis created a strong case for why it is important for businesses to work in an integrated manner. To me, as a CFO, it is crystal clear that as companies, we must move performance management well beyond safeguarding cash flows and balancing the budget. It is my strong belief that long-term shareholder value creation is best opti-mized through a holistic approach to people, planet, and prosperity.
As Yara employees, we are united behind a strong company purpose: responsibly feed the world and protect the planet. The 2020 perfor-mance shows that there is no trade-off between safeguarding people and the planet, while improving prosperity.
01 STRATEGY
We also continued to improve our employee engage-ment, reduce our emissions, and improve our safety performance.
Despite all the hurdles of the pandemic, with restric-tions and uncertainty, our teams have also kept the underlying production running slightly above the 2019 level. 2020 deliveries were slightly up from 2019, and we delivered the tenth consecutive quarter with improved capital returns, a free cash flow of USD 2.3 billion, and committed NOK 52 per share in share-holder returns.
This was made possible through a can-do attitude, strong competence, and high engagement from our employees.
The Yara Improvement Program has continued its roll-out, though slightly more cautiously than before, in order to not cause disruption in production due to pandemic-related outages.
A shift in finance 2020 also brought what seems to be a tipping point. Yara was not the only purpose-driven company to manage the crisis situation in a strong way. Investors recognized that companies with high ESG perfor-mance also tended to do better. Legislators, with the EU and its Green Deal in the front seat, have also delivered significant signals to the markets.
At the onset of the pandemic, many were convinced that given the economic, social, and human crisis sit-uation, other global issues such as climate change and nature loss would need to become second priorities.
What we have witnessed is quite the opposite. The already strong trend of investors in search of green or sustainable assets did not diminish - it has trended upwards. The speed and spend brought by regulators in making sure the economic recovery also supports a more sustainable future is remarkable. As a CFO, I have never before fielded so many questions on how we, as a company, manage sustainability.
I am pleased to say that we were well prepared, and we had taken significant additional steps towards the full integration of sustainability already ahead of the curve. Our strong company purpose dates back to the onboarding of our CEO and President in 2015, coin-ciding with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris agreement.
Governance changes
In the CFO area, we initiated integrated reporting as a process for the 2019 report, also co-organizing the financial and non-financial performance management and reporting. Through the process, Yara's Board ap-proved an updated mandate for the Audit Committee, changing it into the Board's Audit and Sustainability Committee (BASC).
While sustainability reporting has long been part of Yara's annual reporting, this shift indicates that the emphasis we put on extra-financial reporting will be as strong as for the financials. Through the BASC, the way extra-financial performance is organized within the financial department is connected to the Board's structure of work.
Similarly, the core processes of Yara are undergoing updates to reflect this integrated perspective on how we work. The Capital Value Process has a strengthened sustainability focus, including an internal carbon price for large investment projects.
We have also set up a system of establishing internal ownership of indicators, in order to allow for system-atic follow-up and improvement against best practices. This also covers diversity, which I believe is a key di-mension for future success: diverse teams make better decisions than homogenous teams.
Therefore, diversity and inclusion is embedded into our strategy. In addition to our ambition of having 35% women in senior leadership positions by 2025, we aim for more diversity in Yara in all its forms and for hav-ing an inclusive work environment in which employees feel safe to be themselves.
I sometimes get questions about the conflicts of interest between sustainability-linked goals and Yara's profit-ability. To me, if we do not get this right, we will erode value. I see no likely future scenario in which people and companies will prosper without businesses strate-gically integrating both people and planet dimensions into how we generate value.
This is what I like to call the CFO 2.0 role, one we are shaping as we move forward.
Lars Røsæg
CFO
People
Successful implementation of our strategy depends on our knowledge and access to human capital, measured as diversity and engagement scores.
Safety is a top priority, and we set high goals for ourselves within an already industry-leading level, based on our belief that all accidents are preventable.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Safety comes first
We value our employees and contractors, and health and safety is therefore a key priority at Yara. Our belief is that all accidents are preventable, and we set high goals for ourselves within an already industry-leading level. We care for our employees' and contractors' physical and mental health, which we consider equally important in our ability to be productive and make good decisions.
Performance measures
• Strive towards zero accidents
• Preventing serious incidents
• Process safety
• Sickness rate
Strive towards zero accidents 2025 target: <1.0
TRI rate
2.5
0
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
2.5
2025
Total recordable injuries (TRI) is the sum of loss time injuries (LTI), restricted work cases (RWI) and medical treatment cases (MTC).
The TRI rate is calculated as the TRI per million hours worked for employees and contractors combined.
Strive towards zero accidents
Our commitment to health and safety is firmly anchored in our corporate strategy and continuous work to achieve operational excellence. This was emphasized in the 2020 strategy update as our goal is to drive our TRI rate down to 1.0 and increase the focus on process safety and the mental health of our employees.
Since mid-2013, Yara has been working to further improve its safety performance through the implementation of the program Safe by Choice. Yara's TRI rate is al-ready low compared to industry standards. It has steadily declined since the program was launched, from a TRI rate of 4.3 in 2013 to 1.3 in 2020. We have paid particu-lar attention to safety among contractors, which have historically been more prone to accidents and injuries than Yara employees. Hence, we are satisfied to see the TRI rate for contractors reaching the same level as that of Yara employees.
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
» Safe by Choice, p. 92
01 STRATEGY
Preventing serious incidents
In 2019, Yara initiated the Potential Serious Injuries and/or Fatalities (PSIF) program to work more sys-tematically on the prevention of incidents with the potential for severe injuries and/or fatalities. This new way of working was rolled out in 2020 along with a new KPI of maintaining a PSIF rate of less than one. We measure the PSIF rate as the number of potential serious PSIF incidents per million hours worked for employees and contractors. In 2020, we recorded 56 incidents with potential for severe injuries and/or fatal-ities and a PSIF rate of one.
» PSIF program, p. 92
Process safety
The process safety management system in Yara is based on Risk Based Process Safety. Steering docu-ments, guidelines and risk assessment tools are created and available in the Yara Steering System to support the implementation of process safety. Yara recorded no severity 1 or 2 process safety incidents in 2020.
TRI per million hours workedSickness rate
The pandemic had deep impacts on our employees' work situation and personal lives in 2020. Yara man-aged well through the year and we were able to run our operations without material interruptions. Yet, we recognize that challenges and demand both from private life and work may be difficult to manage, and that the pandemic has amplified this.
In order to better support our employees in this area, we launched the Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework in 2020. A key element of this framework is to provide employees in all locations access to coun-selling to support mental health. We will also devel-op tools for employees and managers for managing fatigue and stress.
» Worker health, p. 92
1) Cartagena and Galvani operations included in 2016.
2) Serra do Salitre construction site included in 2017.
3) Babrala operations included included in 2018.
4) Cubatão operations included in 2019.
6) TRI 2020 target was <1.4. There were no fatalities
5) Figure updated as it was incorrectly reported in 2019.
(either employees or contractors) in 2020.
Priorities
• Continue our quest for zero injuries through the Safe by Choice and/or Potential Serious Injuries and Fatalities program
• Strengthen process safety
• Roll out the Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework across all locations
ENGANGEMENT
Passionate people
Our purpose-driven and loyal people are our greatest asset. Surveys consistently show that our employees are proud of working at Yara, that they are engaged, and that they would recommend Yara as an employer. We rely on their passion and eagerness to take on new tasks and drive innovation and productivity. Their engagement will be ever more important in the coming years in building a culture of entrepre-neurship and continuous improvement.
Performance measures
• Engagement of our employees
• Engaging with union
Engagement index 2025 target: Top quartile
%
80
81
79
40
60
20
0
2025
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Employee engagement is measured through surveys done by an external third party, provid-ing a data-driven analysis against international benchmarks. The KPI was updated from previously being >80% to being in the top quartile. This threshold was at 76% in 2020. The 2017 score is drawn from a different supplier database and is therefore not directly comparable to later years.
Engagement of our employees
The pandemic influenced all areas of engagement at Yara in 2020, and we focused our actions on the primary health, safety, and well-being of our employees. Line managers were encouraged to increase their engagement with employees through active partnership on managing the Covid-19 situation through local initiatives.
Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, the 2020 Engagement Index survey shows no decline in employee experience for the company as a whole. On the contrary, the score improved considerably in many areas. The survey points to increased clarity on the goals and objectives of the organization, indicating that employees have a better understanding of how their day-to-day jobs contribute to these goals and objectives. It is also clear that most employees feel treated with respect. Given the overall posi-tive employee experience, significantly more employees feel proud to work for Yara and significantly more employees are effective advocates of the organization.
The 2020 survey had a response rate of 74% among all permanent employees, a significant increase from 69% in the 2019 survey.
01 STRATEGY
Engaging with unions
Yara values its good relationship with employees and their organizations and engages with them on a regu-lar basis. Each region and location have autonomy to establish relations with unions, building good relation-ships and respecting local legislation and requirements.
In 2020, about 66.8% of Yara employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements.
» Human rights due diligence, p. 74
Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements (percentage)
2019
27.4%
14.2%
91.4%
80.2%
6.7%
29.4%
69.8%
2018
30.5%
8.8%
100.0%
78.7%
6.5%
29.7%
70.7%
2017
2016
24.8% 22.2%
14.3% 17.8%
98.8% 99.9%
80.7% 83.7%
6.5% 6.5%
30.5% 33.1%
72.5%
74.0%
Priorities
• Continue to address the engagement among our employees and implement tools for simultaneous tracking and response
• Implement a common change management methodology, supported by leadership training
• Continue to build mutually supportive relationships with union
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Appreciating all
At Yara, we believe that creating a diverse and inclusive work environ-ment is not only the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do. A diverse and inclusive work environment in which employees feel valued for their uniqueness and feel safe to speak up benefits our business. Not only do companies that commit to diversity perform better financially, they are also more innovative and have a higher employee engagement. While we have had gender diversity on our leaders' agenda for quite a few years, Diversity and Inclusion is now firmly anchored in Yara's updated business strategy.
Performance measures
• Diversity and inclusion index
• Gender mix
• Female senior managers
• Gender pay gap
• Discrimination
• Employee benefits
• Parental leave
Diversity and inclusion index 2025 target: Top quartile
%
80 60 40 20 0
2018
73
74
74
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2025 2016
Below target
On target
Above target
The Diversity and inclusion index is measured through surveys done by a third party, provid-ing a data-driven analysis against internation-al benchmarks. The threshold for being in the top quartile was at 74% in 2020.
Female senior managers 2025 target: >35%
2017
2019 2020
2025
Below targetOn targetAbove target
The female senior managers indicator is measured as the percentage of top positions defined in Yara's position level system held by women. Our 2020 target was 20%, and the 2025 target has been raised from 25% to 35%.
01 STRATEGY
Diversity and Inclusion index
Results from the Diversity and Inclusion index point to positive developments from the actions we have taken to promote diversity and inclusion in our workforce. While we reached our target in 2020, further actions are needed to maintain and improve this level and to tap into the business value that diverse teams can bring.
We implemented a number of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiatives in 2020, including:
• D&I organizational set-up with over 400 ambas-sadors and communication management aligned with Yara's regional set-up. Yara's CEO is the global sponsor and is committed to driving our D&I agen-da, influence leaders across the organization, and represent Yara externally on D&I matters.
• Development of a global Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework for launch in Q1 2021
• Expanded e-learning offerings on topics such as: Inclusive Leadership, Understanding and Tackling Gender Bias, Tackling Race Bias at Work, Becoming Disability Confident, Trans and Non-binary Aware-ness and The Effective Bystander
• Launch of an Inclusive Talent Acquisition Guide
• Celebrations on dedicated UN days to raise aware-ness, e.g., the International Women's Day, the International Day of People with Disabilities, and Pride Week
• Numerous local webinars and virtual workshops to raise awareness and build knowledge
During 2020, our regional and local D&I ambassa-dor networks continued to raise awareness and build knowledge about minority groups and selected D&Itopics. Following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent increased awareness of racial inequalities and systematic racism worldwide, we established our Black Talent Initiative. The aim of the Initiative is not only to create the right conditions for open conversa-tions about race and ethnicity, but to build an inclusive culture where Black talent at Yara is fully appreciated, valued and able to thrive. It is not a project, but rather the first step on our journey to becoming a high per-forming, racially diverse, inclusive organization.
We follow up succession candidates to senior man-agement positions based on gender and nationality/ ethnicity, and seek to grow diversity through our talent review and succession management processes.
» Talent and leader development, p. 46
Gender mix
The chemical industry has traditionally been a field dominated by men. Yara currently employs too few women across all areas, with the exception of admin-istration. At the end of 2020, 22% of Yara employees in permanent positions were women, unchanged from 2019. The ratio of women to men in non-permanent positions was higher at 31%. Among permanent em-ployees the representation of women is highest in Latin America and lowest in Africa.
We aim to increase the overall share of women at Yara. In 2020, 30% of new-hires were women. Of newly hired employees under 30 years of age, 33% were women. The representation of women varies between our operational regions. Of newly-hired employees in Latin America andEurope, 37-39% were women. In Asia and Africa, how-ever, only 17-19% of new-hires were women.
Women's share of exits in 2020 (22%) was on par with their representation in the workforce. There were more exits in Europe (32% women) than in Asia and Brazil (17% each).
Gender mix by region
%
100
40
80
60
20
0
28 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 |
80 | 80 | 82 | 83 | ||
72 | 77 | ||||
Latin America
EuropeBrazil
Gender mix by contract
% 100
40
80
60
20
0
22 | 31 |
78 | 69 |
Permanent positions
Gender mix by new hires
%
100
MenAsia & OceaniaNorth AmericaMenWomenWomenNon-permanent positionsAfricaMen
Women
40
80
60
20
0
34 | 34 | 19 | 17 |
81 | 83 | ||
61 | 63 | 66 | 66 |
Latin America
EuropeBrazilAsia & OceaniaNorth AmericaAfrica
01 STRATEGY
Women senior managers
We focus on two indicators to monitor the representa-tion of women among managers and we will introduce a third in 2021:
• Female line managers refers to the percentage of po-sitions with direct reports that are held by women. At year-end 2020, we had 2,222 line managers at Yara.
• Females in senior management positions refers to the percentage of positions graded 15 or above by our global grading scale that are held by women. At yearend 2020, this included the top 406 positions.
• In 2021, we will sharpen our focus on gender diver-sity among line managers at the top three levels in the company, currently 253 managers. We aim to introduce a practice in line with peer companies and benchmarkable with industry indices. In this subset of the broader group of senior management posi-tions, 23.7% were women at the end of 2020.
We have decided to address the gender diversity im-balance more assertively and have raised our ambition to have a minimum of 35% women in senior man-agement positions by 2025. Our previous goal was a minimum of 25%. The new target has been cascaded to all regions and functions, and progress is tracked and reported on both a monthly and quarterly basis.
While the share of women in senior management positions remained unchanged at 20% from 2019 to 2020, we saw an increase in women line managers from 20% to 22%. At the year-end, 40 of the top 210 management positions in Yara were filled by women.
74 were held by Norwegians, 89 by other Europeans, 8 by North Americans, 26 by Latin Americans, 7 by Asians, and 6 by Africans. 56% of the position holders were age 50 years or older, 44% were between 30 and 50 years of age.
At year-end 2020, the Management team consisted of ten members, of whom four were women. Six man-agement team members were Norwegian, one was French, one was Chilean, one was Spanish, and one was British. Yara does not have a corporate assembly, and the shareholders' representatives on the Board of Directors are therefore elected directly at the Annual General Meeting.
Yara's Board of Directors consists of ten members, with six shareholder-elected Board members and four employee-elected Board members. Three of the share-holder-elected and one of the employee-elected Board members are women.
Gender pay gap
In 2020, we recorded a gender pay gap of 3.96%, which we intend to close by 2025. The gender pay gap was identified in a study of 16 countries covering more than 5,000 employees. The scope of the study was non-tariff contract employees, as tariff schemes provide strong protection against gender bias. The gaps reported ranged from zero in Finland to 14% in Colombia, and the overall weighted average gender pay gap was 4%. Yara did a similar analysis of six countries in 2018, identifying gender pay gaps in Yara ranging from 2.1% in Norway to 16% in Colombia. In 2020, the gap on a like for like basis for the originalsix countries had closed from 5.5% to 4.8% since the 2018 study.
Yara is committed to paying employees fairly, regard-less of personal beliefs or any individual character-istics. Individual remuneration will vary based on specific factors such as country, employment market conditions, position, performance, and competence. We are committed to closing the gender pay gap and have implemented stricter rules for salary review and recruitment. The rules apply to both men and women in order to prohibit negative discrimination. Addition-al targeted actions by regions will be implemented in 2021.
» Compensation Policy, p. 89
Discrimination
In 2020, Yara's Ethics and Compliance Department received a total of 49 notifications classified as harass-ment or discrimination. Of the 49 notifications, 42 were resolved within the reporting period and 13 of these were substantiated.
The cases resolved within the reporting period had the following outcomes:
• 4 employees were dismissed
• 3 employees were given a written warning
• 3 employees were given a verbal warning
• 2 employees received coaching/training
• 1 case without disciplinary measures
01 STRATEGY
Employee benefits
We provide a wide range of benefits to our employees, including disability coverage, flexible working hours, health care facilities, and life insurance. Provisions of benefits vary between regions and locations. There are also some variations in benefits provided to permanent employees as opposed to temporary employees, as shown in the chart below. The percentages represent
Permanent employees
Temporary employees
Disability coverage
79.4%
82.8%
Flexible working hours
69.9%
42.9.%
Health care facilities / subsidies
the share of employees eligible for a selection of com-monly offered benefits across our operations. Other benefits provided to employees in certain countries are educational assistance, matched savings plan, and paid matched vacation.
» Employee benefits, p. 100
Life insurance
91.9%
91.3%
93.2%
Paid maternity above the legal requirements
20.9%
84.8%
Retirement / pension plan
81.0%
11.8%
Stock ownership
14.6%
81.6%
2.1%
Parental leave
In late 2020, we announced a global standard for parental leave with the launch of our new Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework. This global standard entitles all Yara employees to six months full pay for primary caregivers and one month full pay for secondary caregivers.
A relatively high share of Yara employees who take parental leave return to work after the leave ends. In 2020, this return to work rate was 98.6%. Similarly, a large share of those who return to work from parental leave remain with us a year after their return, giving a retention rate of 98.7%.
» Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework, p. 102
Still employed 12 months after
Returned to work after | their return from parental | |||
Entitled to parental leave | Took parental leave | parental leave ended | leave | |
Female | 246 | 189 | 169 | 155 |
Male | 586 | 433 | 444 | 430 |
• Continue to roll out Diversity & Inclusion initiatives to build a high performing, diverse, and inclusive organization
• Increase the use of data analytics to gain further insight and develop measures to close the gender pay gap
• Progress with Black Talent initiative, including awareness training and audits to gather insights and track progress
• Roll out the Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework
• Launch a pilot program to build a strong pipeline of women talent in the agronomy field
• Raise awareness through global Diversity & Inclusion days and celebration of initiatives such as Women's Day and Pride week
SKILLS AND DEVELOPMENT
Investing in upskilling
We need new commercial, digital, and continuous improvement ca-pabilities to fulfill our strategic ambitions. Dynamic upskilling is key, and we aim to achieve this by providing opportunities for the upskill-ing and reskilling of employees and leaders.
Performance measures
• Regular job appraisals
• Talent and leader development
• Learning and training
• Transition programs
Regular job appraisals
No. of employees
10,000
WomenMen
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Yara aims to give all employees the opportunity to participate in regular performance and career development reviews. We run these job appraisal processes in annual cycles, and completed 11,172 reviews in 2020.
Regular job appraisals
Yara runs all major people processes globally and on all levels of the organization. These processes are sup-ported by Yara PeoplePath, our global HR platform. All employees and managers have access to this plat-form, which serves as a tool and hub for job appraisals and people and talent development.
» Internal competence development, p. 100
In 2020, all Yara employees had the opportunity to take part in the Performance Management and Talent Development processes. These job appraisal process-es follow an annual cycle with formal development discussions early in the year and follow-ups concen-trated in the summer months when career and develop-ment discussions are taking place. Managers are also expected to follow up and provide frequent feedback, coaching, and support to the employees.
Talent and leader development
In 2020, we also strengthened the talent review and succession management process across the entire orga-nization. 4,640 employees were included in an annual talent review, assessing potential and performance, and of these, 1,179 employees were nominated as suc-cessors to positions or nominated to succession pools. Diversity was in focus in this process, with age, tenure, nationality, and gender all being monitored.
Yara normally runs various Leadership Development programs to further develop and grow our leaders. Many of these were postponed due to the pandemic in 2020.
01 STRATEGY
Learning and training
Yara PeoplePath also serves as our interactive learning platform. It offers a single repository for all global learning programs and contains a wide range of train-ing material. Of the 15,500 employees and contractors that have IT accounts, about 14,500 undertook train-ing on the PeoplePath Learning platform in 2020. All in all, the consumption of e-learning courses rose by 175% from 2019 to 2020, as acceptance of e-learning increased and the online offerings were expanded.
In addition to interactive courses, our operations around the world conduct a number of regional and local training activities. These include mandatory training related to, for example, HESQ and leadership development adapted to local or regional needs.
In 2020, Yara spent approximately USD 4.9 million on external training, equating to approximately USD 320 per employee. This was a reduction from the USD 6.3 million spent in 2019, as Covid-19 restrictions ham-pered many external training activities.
In addition to the investment made in external train-ing, Yara also launched globally customized internal training programs, as well as project and people man-agement courses available to the employees who have this as development actions in their development plans.
Knowledge is a strong part of the Yara culture and key to our future success. To this end, we will invest an additional USD 15 million annually in competence development, effective from 2021. This will enable an expansion of our learning offerings and their reach,as well as an evaluation and implementation of new technologies.
Transition programs
Yara operations have the autonomy to tailor their pro-vision of transition assistance programs to local needs, regulations, and expectations. The tables below show the share of countries that provide assistance programs in our regions of operation and the types of assistance offered across all countries.
Percentage of countries that provide assistance programs
Africa
Asia & Oceania Brazil
Europe
Latin America North America Yara
33.3% 50.0%
2019
28.6% 30.8%
00.0% 00.0%
40.0% 64.0%
22.2% 10.0%
66.7% 66.7%
44.4%
• Implement new Learning and Development strategy along with new upskilling initiatives
• Adopt a community approach in which employees involved in designing, building, and delivering learning can come together to share best practices
• Start shaping the project to build our own Yara Academy in Porsgrunn, designed to deliver both physical and virtual training
• Increase efforts to build digital skills and dexterity to increase the penetration of new technologies across our organization
• Step up investments in competence development, develop our learning programs, and exploit technology to expand the reach of our learning activities
Permanent
Permanent
Yara Marine Tech
Total permanent
Non-permanent
Non-permanent
Total non-permanent
Total permanent and non-permanentPosition contractor
Position contractor
Yara Marine Tech
Total position contractor
Total permanent, non-permanent and position contractorsExternal contractorFemale
Male
96 476
333 1,333
572
33 1,699
Female
1,046 4,201
1,401 4,591
363 927
116 3,364 524 12,043
112 145
5,247
6,104
1,290
640 15,552
13 26 39
Male
33 47 80
611
1,779
Female
194 372 566
107 311 418
35 100 135
8 390
20 876
28 1,266
5,813
6,522
1,425
668 16,818
3 17
Male
2 5 1
20
8
631 1,787
49 193
2
3 59 priority, and measures were taken to ensure operational continuity.
9 224
87 88
329
2
5,813
6,851 1,427
93
12 371
680 17,189
807
777
303
7 4 1,991
Figures in this table were updated after the performance indicators were calculated. A manual data control led to a headcount of 18 being removed from the data set post calculation of indicators. This might imply an error at the scale of 0.1% due to rounding on people indicators. Yara Marine Technology is not included within the scope of people indicators as they are an autonomously managed unit and do not use the corporate global HCM solution, PeoplePath.
At the end of 2020, Yara had 16,818 employees worldwide, of which 15,552 were employed on a permanent basis, representing an increase of 581 employees compared to the previous year. The main increases are in Asia (202), Brazil (261), North America (216) accompanied by a decrease in Latin America (211).
The headcount increase overall is partially attributable to the pan-demic, where the health and well-being of employees was the mainFurthermore, growth in job functions related to the focus on market expansion, digital offerings, and farming solutions, cornerstones of Yara's strategy, contributed to this rise.
Any worker whose duties are being directed by an external supplier/ vendor and is not on a Time and Material contract will be considered an External Contractor. Any worker who has an approved position in the organization chart, is integrated in the team, and receives specific instructions from a Yara employee, covers a temporary position or a temporary project role, is considered a Position Contractor.
01 STRATEGY
New employee hires
Total number of new employee hires in 2020, by age, gender, and region
Gender
Age groups
Asia & Africa Oceania
Employee turnover
Brazil
North Latin | Grand | Asia & | Grand | ||||||
Europe America America | Total | Gender | Age groups | Africa | Oceania | Brazil | Total | ||
243 | Female | Under 30 | 1 | 11 | 60 | 28 | 5 | 8 | 113 |
248 | Female | 30-50 | 4 | 9 | 60 | 83 | 5 | 23 | 184 |
14 | Female | Over 50 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 33 | 2 | 42 | |
505 | Total Female | 8 | 21 | 123 | 144 | 12 | 31 | 339 | |
497 | Male | Under 30 | 8 | 39 | 180 | 52 | 7 | 18 | 304 |
625 | Male | 30-50 | 22 | 59 | 350 | 102 | 27 | 59 | 619 |
32 | Male | Over 50 | 7 | 8 | 74 | 156 | 19 | 5 | 269 |
1,154 | Total Male | 37 | 106 | 604 | 310 | 53 | 82 | 1,192 | |
1,659 | Grand Total | 45 | 127 | 727 | 454 | 65 | 113 | 1,531 |
North Latin
The rate is calculated as the number of permanent staff terminations in the period divided by the starting permanent employee headcount. The global figure incorporates substantial variability, as each labor market has different characteristics. For 2020, Yara regions had the following turnover rates: Brazil, 15%; rest of Latin America, 12%; Asia & Oceania, 9%; Europe, 8%; North America, 7%; and Africa, 8%. The overall turnover is a result of the 1,531 terminations divided by the headcount at the start of 2020 (14,775)
Employee exits
Total number of employee exits during 2020, by age, gender, and region.
Turnover rate
Europe America America
Number of permanent staff terminations in the period divided by the starting perma-nent employee headcount
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
10.4 | 14.4 | 11.4 | 17.3 | 10.5 |
Pandemic response:
• Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework
• Income security for employees and contractors
• One-off bonus to all employees
CASE
Lessons from lockdown
How 2020 taught us that people's well-being is intimately linked to business performance, and why this lesson is here to stay at Yara.
Work-life balance
Throughout the pandemic, Yara has managed to run its operations without significant disruption. However, the immense pressure on people's personal and professional lives left many feeling vulnerable, not only physically and financially, but also psychologically.
Months in home office, reduced social interaction, and heightened concern for family and friends took a toll on the mental health of Yara employees at all levels of the organization.
Yara's observance of Mental Health day in October 2020 brought these issues to the surface, and in De-cember, we announced a comprehensive work-life bal-ance framework, one that will outlast the pandemic.
The framework notably includes giving all employees access to counseling, ensuring 6 months parental leave for primary caregivers globally, and support for flexible working. This will not only help to safeguard the
01 STRATEGY
Health and safety
Engagement
Diversity and inclusion
Skills and development
Workforce
PLANET
Climate change
Circular economy
Water stress
Environment
Planet case
mental well-being of Yara employees, but also position us to deliver on our human capital KPIs post-pandem-ic. Ensuring that employees can do their job and take care of themselves and their families is essential to attracting - and keeping - top talent, and is especially important to attract more women, a key goal for Yara.
An engaged workforce
It was also the hope that Yara taking a more active role in ensuring the well-being of employees would positively affect employee engagement. This has shown to be the case.
The most recent employee survey, published in January 2021, and measuring the overall employment experience and effectiveness, covered parameters such as motiva-tion, pride, and employee loyalty. This survey showed a positive development, with an overall engagement score of 79%, up from 73% in 2019.
It's also well above the industry benchmark of 66%, and 6 percentage points above the average for "High Performing" companies.
Meeting the moment
Being a forward-leaning company that ensures the work-life balance of its employees is key to attracting top talent, and vital to realizing the full potential of each employee. As a company whose competitive ad-vantage is knowledge, what could be more important?
Yara's Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework:
• Mental health initiatives: All employees will get access to counseling. New and improved tools for employees and managers to deal with mental health.
• Reduced travelling post-pandemic
• Follow-up after extended leave
• Multipurpose rooms at all locations for praying and breastfeeding etc.
• Parental leave: New global parental leave standard of 6 months full pay for primary caregiver and 1-month full pay for secondary caregiver.
• Family caregiver leave
• Toolkit for support in domestic violence situations
• Flexible working when it increases productivity for the employee and Yara
• Reduction in standard meeting times from 30 and 60 minutes to 25 and 50 minutes to encourage more frequent breaks
Planet
Global challenges are real and will not vanish on their own. Climate change is affecting our way of life. The world's population continues to increase. We have more mouths to feed, limited land to farm and less resources to draw upon.
At Yara, we believe in meeting these challenges head on. There is no trade-off between building a profitable business and solving global challenges. Environmental performance is a vital part of our license to operate.
04 FRAMEWORK AND ASSURANCE
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate neutral by 2050
Climate change is a major global challenge and a serious threat to agricultural productivity in many parts of the world. The quest to decarbonize food has long been underway, but efforts are stepping up, driven by new regulation and consumer demand. We are contributing along two main avenues: reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our own operations, and offering and exploring new, sustainable solutions for farmers and food companies as well as for a clean hydrogen and ammonia-based economy. Our ambition is to become climate neutral by 2050
Performance measures
• Hectares under management
• GHG emissions, intensity
• GHG emissions, scope 1 and 2
• Energy intensity
• Energy consumption
• Energy management system certification
Hectares under management 2025 target: 150 million hectares
Mha 150
150
120
90
60
30
0
Knowledge transfer to farmers is a lever which can contribute to multiple benefits, in-cluding improved productivity, farmer income, and environmental performance. Yara is establishing its digital farm services, and until 2020 the performance is reported as Hect-ares owned by farmers, who have registered them in our digital tool(s). The 2025 KPI is measured as millions of Ha under active management, which adds an activity qualifier to the indicator. As of Q1 2021 the reporting of the indicator will be updated in accordance with the new definition.
GHG emissions intensity 2025 target: 2.7 t CO2e/t N
t CO2e/t N
3.5
3.1
2.9
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
2.0
0.5
2.5
1.0
1.5
0
2016
2017
2018 1)
2019
2020
1) From 2018 onwards, Scope 1 emissions from own generation or electricity has been included.
Below target
On target
Above target
2.7
2025
Yara's goal is to reduce our carbon intensity by 10% or more from 2018 to 2025. We measure GHG intensity as tonnes emissions of CO2e per tonne nitrogen in Yara's own produced products. The CO2e emissions include scope 1, scope 2 (purchased electricity consumption), and scope 3 (emissions from purchased ammonia only). Since 2018, we have reduced the GHG intensity by 2%. The effect of the GHG emission reductions from planned initiatives are expected from late 2021 onwards.
01 STRATEGY
GHG emissions, scope 1+2 2030 target: -30% from a 2019 baseline
Million tonne CO2e
20
18.5
18.5
17.7
10
15
0
5
2016
2017
2018 1)
2019
2020
2030
Below target
On target
Above target
Yara has established a goal of reducing absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions (market-based) by 30% by 2030 from a 2019 base-line. We achieved a 4% reduction in these emissions from 2019 to 2020. To learn more about how we calculate scope 1 and 2 emis-sion, see the full carbon reporting on p. 56.
1) From 2018 onwards, Scope 1 emissions from own generation or electricity has been included.
Energy intensity 2023 target: 32.7 GJ/tonne ammonia
GJ/t NH3
35
34.3
34.0
34.4
34.1
33.8
20
30
25
10
15
0
5
2019
2016
2017
2018
2020
2023 1)
Below target
On target
Above target
We measure energy intensity as the amount of energy used to produce one tonne of am-monia, expressed as GJ/tonne, as ammonia is the starting point for all nitrogen fertilizers and the most energy intensive step in their production. The indicator includes all energy used in ammonia production, including elec-tricity and steam consumption, and energy used during shutdown and startup periods. In 2020, we used 2% less energy per tonne produced ammonia than we did in 2018.
1) 2023 target excludes 51% of Tringen reflecting Yara ownership share in JV, while Cubatão and Babrala are out of scope. Performance numbers reflect Yara sites of operational control.
Energy consumption
Million GJ
350
301
285 279
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2016
2017
2018 1) 2019 2020
Yara records its energy consumption in production in million gigajoules (GJ). From 2019 to 2020, we saw a 2% reduction in our overall energy consumption.
1) Babrala and Cubatão plants included from 2018 onwards.
01 STRATEGY
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
For more than a decade, Yara has made good progress in reducing its carbon footprint. Our most significant initiative to reduce GHG emissions so far is the devel-opment and installation of N2O catalyst technology in our nitric acid plants. This technology removes about 90% of the N2O emissions in Yara's plants and is also commercially available to third parties. It has enabled a circa 45% reduction of our scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2005.
In 2020, Yara's GHG emissions totalled 71.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents (CO2e) for scopes 1, 2, and 3 combined. We have reduced the GHG intensity by 2% compared to the 2018 baseline. Most of this improvement was achieved in 2020 and attributed to lower emissions from own produced fertilizer, greener sourced electricity, and a lower purchase quantity of ammonia from third parties. We are on good track to reaching the 2025 goal of a GHG intensity of 2.7 tonne CO2e/tonne N. The implementation of GHG reduction projects is expected to deliver significant decreases in emissions from 2021 and onwards.
In order to continue reducing our GHG emissions, we have systematically assessed opportunities for im-provements in our operations, developed roadmaps for each production site, and integrated them into busi-ness plans. All ammonia plants and nitric acid plants have set GHG targets up to 2025. In early 2020, we introduced the active GHG portfolio management of more than 70 GHG projects with a combined potential of bringing our 2025 within reach. The projects that had reached the execution phase in 2020 are showingpotential to realize 40% of the GHG reduction needed to accomplish the 2025 target.
Yara's European nitric acid and ammonia plants are covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). In 2020, Yara emitted approximate-ly 8.65 million tonnes CO2e from European plants. At the same time, Yara will receive approximately 8.0 million EUAs (EU Allowance unit, one tonne of CO2 under the EU ETS) in total, creating a shortage of 650,000 tonnes CO2 in 2020. It should be noted that the EU ETS figures are estimates as, at the time of publication, Yara had not received the audited figures but were not expecting significant deviations.
Yara estimates scope 3 emission based on the emission factors used in the Fertilizers Europe Carbon Footprint calculator. The same emission factors are used in the Cool Farm tool. The use phase includes calculations for formation of N2O from the use of nitrogen fertiliz-er, and CO2 from lime application via CAN fertilizers. The use phase emissions are calculated with the emis-sions factors in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (2007).
>> Climate neutral by 2050, p. 93
GHG emissions from fertilizer production and use
Scope 1: Yara production
Scope 2: Purchased electricity (marked-based)Scope 3: Purchased fuels and raw materialsScope 3: Transport (upstream and downstream)Scope 3: Use of fertilizer
The most significant climate-related phase of the fertilizer life cycle is use at farms. 60% of total greenhouse gases are formed at the farm. Despite Yara's global supply chains, transport is only a minor contributor to the total GHGs.
Yara maintains the carbon footprint calculations for its fertilizer products, using a calculation tool specif-ically designed for the fertilizer sector. The carbon footprint for the different fertilizer grades is verified by a third party. The carbon footprint values (in kg CO2/kg product) represent the carbon footprint for the specific fertilizer product and production site. Currently product carbon footprint calculations are being updated and verified covering the major prod-ucts and grades at 15 of Yara's main fertilizer sites. The major products and grades at additional sites will be calculated in 2021.
GHG scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions from Yara production plants in million tonnes of CO2 equivalents
1. In 2017, in alignment with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the European Emission Trading sector guidance, Yara included CO2 used as feedstock in on-site chemical production processes, such as urea production, in scope 1 emissions. The historical figures have been adjusted accordingly.
7. Not reported in 2016 - calculated during the development of the GHG intensity KPI using
2018 factors.
8. Incorrectly reported in 2017 and adjusted accordingly.
9. Scope 3, category 1 - GHG emissions from purchased goods and services.
2. From 2018 onwards scope 1 includes CO2 emissions from the generation of own electricity.
10. Scope 3, category 3 - GHG emissions from fuel and energy related activities.
3. The greenhouse gases relevant to Yara's production plants are CO2 from use of fuels N2O from nitric acid and NPK production and CO2 generated in calcium carbonate processing. These are calculated as CO2 equivalents using the following factors, corresponding to the emissions factors in IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (2007), that is CO2 to air: 1 and N2O to
11. Scope 3, category 4 and 9 - GHG emissions from upstream and downstream transportation and distribution.
12. Scope 3, category 11 - GHG emissions from the use of sold products.
air: 298.
13. Corrected values due to errors identified in 2019 during the development of the GHG intensity KPI.
4. Reported as 15.7 in 2019 - amended to exclude Lifeco.
14. Rounding adjustment.
5. Reference for the location-based factors used in calculations: Grid Mix 1kV-60kV, Reference Year: 2016 from GaBi v9.2.1.68, 2020.
6. Reference for the market-based factors used in calculations: 2019 Association of Issuing Bodies European Residual Mix. Location-based factors were used for calculation of non-European countries.
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
Scope 1 1),2),3) | 16.6 | 17.1 | 17.1 | 14.9 | 15.5 4) |
Scope 2 (location based) 5) | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
Scope 2 (market based) 6) | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 8) | 1.6 7) |
Scope 1 and 2 (market based) | 17.7 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 16.2 | 17.1 |
Scope 3, category 1 and 3 9),10) | 8.5 | 9.0 | 8.7 13) | 9.3 13) | 7.6 13) |
Scope 3, category 4 and 9 11) | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.5 |
Scope 3, category 11 12) | 42.3 | 43.8 | 40.5 | 34.9 | 35.7 |
Scope 3 total | 53.4 | 55.7 | 52.1 | 46.9 | 45.9 14) |
Scope 1, 2 (market based) and 3 | 71.1 | 74.2 | 70.6 | 63.014) | 62.9 14) |
01 STRATEGY
Energy
As almost 90% of Yara's energy consumption and 80% of direct GHG emissions are related to ammo-nia production (the key component in our fertilizers), we focus on optimizing the energy efficiency of these units to reduce GHG emissions. We do this by setting specific energy and GHG reduction KPIs for each plant, regularly undertaking both internal and external benchmarking activities, and by carrying out energy efficiency diagnostics and audits that result in system-atic improvement actions.
In 2020, Yara's total energy consumption in produc-tion was 279 million GJ. 87% of the energy was con-sumed as feed or fuel in ammonia production. Natural gas is the main fuel used at Yara, with close to a 94% share of the total fuel use. Brazilian units use some renewable fuels, most notably wood chips. However, wood chips make up less than half a percent of the to-tal fuel use in 2020. We purchased about 3,298 GWh of electricity for use in production, 8% of which was certified green.
Due to the dominant energy intensity of ammonia pro-duction, Yara's key energy intensity indicator is energy efficiency in ammonia production. Benchmarks show that the average energy intensity in Yara's ammonia plants in 2020 was 2.0 percentage points better than the 2016-2017 benchmark: global average of ammonia plants.
Energy efficiency and plant reliability are closely connected, and both are priorities in the Yara Im-provement Program 2.0. We pursue increases in energyefficiency in a number of ways. Our new Digital Production unit has already shown potential and rolled out new digital tools to several units in order to help operators optimize energy use. Energy efficiency diag-nostics in our plants in Sluiskil (The Netherlands) and Trinidad (Trinidad and Tobago) have also identified medium-scale projects to reduce local energy use and GHG emissions.
Yara aims to have all major production sites certified to the ISO 50001 Energy Management standard by 2022. Seven sites were certified at the end of 2020. Certification was planned for another ten sites in 2020, but only one attained such before Covid-19 related restrictions hampered progress. We plan to proceed with the remaining sites in 2021, and to complete the certification process in 2022.
» Management system certification, p. 92
Yara has a well-established Community of Practice for Energy & Environment, which brings together employees from our entire global organization, from a variety of disciplines (e.g. chemical engineers, HESQ personnel, plant operators, energy sourcing - and plant management) in bi-weekly meetings to increase energy awareness and capabilities and share knowledge and experiences across the operation plants globally.
Recognition of GHG program
"Yara's ambitions towards GHG emis-sion reduction has been stated, unified KPI's have been established and are measured at relevant units and sites. Performance is followed up by identify-ing potential gaps at planned intervals (monthly). CAPEX investments to back up the ambitions have been identified and linked to performance status. This methodology, to identify and follow up both high level ambitions and time-lines, interconnected with business unit and site level initiatives, having identi-fied resources to back it up, seems to be a strong approach - and will in-crease the likelihood of success."
DNVGL, third party auditor of Yara's management system umbrella certificate
Priorities
• Progress with GHG portfolio projects
• Continue process to attain energy management system certification for all major sites
• Focus on energy efficiency and plant reliability in the Yara Improvement Program 2.0
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Creating nutrient loops
Mineral fertilizers are made from naturally occurring raw materials. In addition to air and natural gas, Yara uses rock phosphate and potassium salts extracted from mined rock, as well as other crop nutrients that are sourced in smaller volumes. In a resource-con-strained world, we are increasingly searching for ways to use recycled materials on a more material scale and to support nutrient recycling in the food value chain. At the same time, we have to be conscious of the potential risks related to introduction of waste and waste-based materials into the food chain via fertilizer.
Performance measures
• Raw material consumption
• A circular agriculture and food chain
Raw materials: Natural gasRaw materials: PhosphateRaw materials: Potash
Natural gas
Yara uses natural gas as a feedstock to produce ammonia and, to a lesser extent, to provide process heat and energy.
Phosphate
Phosphorus (P) is a naturally occurring mineral, which we use to produce granular and feed phosphates and compound fertilizers.
1) The scope of products covered has been expanded for the 2020 figure, which is therefore not directly comparable to previous years.
Potash
Potassium salts, or potash (K), are mined from naturally occurring deposits that were formed as seawater evaporated. We use K to produce compound fertilizers.
01 STRATEGY
Raw material consumption
A large part of Yara's overall costs are variable and related to sourcing. We source a wide variety of goods and services from more than 20,000 suppliers world-wide. Close to 94% of Yara's operating expenses are related to the purchase of raw materials, energy costs, and freight expenses.
Yara used approximately 9.9 million tonnes of pur-chased materials in 2020 compared to 9.7 million tonnes in 2019. The main materials used were key fertilizer raw materials such as ammonia, phosphate rock, potassium salts, and dolomite. These represent the majority of the purchased volume.
We source natural gas, and in some cases other forms of hydrocarbons, for the production of nitrogen fertilizers and industrial products. The largest energy suppliers are Gail (India), Equinor (Norway), Engie (France), RWE (Germany), BP (UK), ENI (Italy), Na-tional Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC), Comgas (Brazil) and Santos (Australia).
Phosphorus (P) occurs in natural geological deposits of phosphate rock, which is mined from the earth's crust. Yara sources P to produce granular and feed phos-phates and NPK fertilizers. The largest suppliers are Phosagro (Russia), OCP (Morocco), and Bayovar rock via Mosaic (Brazil). Yara also mines phosphate rock in two fully owned sites; Salitre (Brazil) and Siilinjärvi (Finland). In addition to phosphate rock, Yara also sources granulated phosphates. The largest suppliers are, Maaden (Saudi Arabia), OCP (Morocco) and Mosaic (Brazil).
Potassium salts, or potash (K), are mined from natural-ly occurring ore bodies that were formed as seawater evaporated. Yara sources K for NPK fertilizers mainly from nine suppliers: BPC (Belarus), Uralkali (Russia), K+S (Germany), ICL (Israel), Canpotex (Canada), SQM (Chile), Kemira and Tessenderlo (processors based in Finland and Belgium respectively).
We also sources ten additional crop nutrients, all of them in smaller volumes and with a combined volume below that of potash.
» Circular economy and new raw materials, p. 94
A circular agriculture and food chain
Our circular economy activities are rooted in the much-needed transformation towards more efficient food systems. Today, recovered or recycled nutrients generally see little to no use as raw materials in the global fertilizer industry. Our ambition is to change this, and we are focusing on three ways in which to achieve it:
» Sustainable food systems, p. 11
1 Recycling nutrients in NPK production
We are exploring opportunities to use recovered nutri-ents as raw materials in our NPK plants. Through our collaboration with Veolia, we are targeting nitrogen from composting as well as phosphorus from wastewa-ter (see separate article below). We are also collaborat-ing with other partners and have launched a high-level program on R&D and commercial partnerships for phosphorus recycling.
Our circular economy activities are rooted in the much-needed transformation towards more efficient food systems.
01 STRATEGY
Health and safety
Engagement
Diversity and inclusion
Skills and development
Workforce
PLANET
Climate change
Circular economy
Water stress
Environment
Planet case
2 Waste based organic fertilizers
Organic fertilizers are among the avenues we explore to develop new commercial offerings. We have recently launched two organic fertilizers, one in Finland and second one in the Spanish market. Furthermore, we are looking into the use of manure, which is often applied inefficiently, causing loss of nutrients to the air and waterways. New farming practices and tools can help to solve these issues and add to the upsides of using manure.
3 Address the key concerns of food waste
We are also engaged in efforts to combat food waste through strategic collaborations with waste manage-ment and food companies, such as Veolia and Nestle. The Nutrient Upcycling Alliance, which we launched with Veolia and the Ellen McArthur Foundation in 2019, is an ambitious initiative, promoting the redesign of the whole value chain to enable nutrient upcycling in the agriculture and food sector. It is now supported by several key food value chain players.
As fertilizers are input materials to the food chain, safeguarding food and animal feed safety always comes first. Most of the materials under research are, as of today, not yet accepted fertilizer component ma-terials in the CE labelled fertilizers in Europe, which is seen as the main market for such products. Wider commercialization of these products depends on the future amendments of the European Fertilising Prod-ucts Regulation to allow such materials.
Yara - Veolia Collaboration Our collaboration with Veolia is bearing fruit. We set out to lead nutrient recovery and revalorization across markets and to promote industrial symbiosis. In 2020, two projects have reached the early commercial stage:
Together, we are also exploring the use of phosphorus from sewage sludge ashes in our production processes. Lab trials are positive and work continues to confirm the full-scale potential. Another project addresses the recovery and use of food waste from cities for organomineral fertilizers. | Priorities
|
WATER STRESS
Promoting efficiency
Water stress is a major global challenge and a threat to crop produc-tion. Water is also essential in our fertilizer production processes, but it is primarily used for cooling, which means that we return nearly all of the water unpolluted. With agriculture consuming 70% of the global freshwater resources, our largest opportunity for contributing to solving the global water challenges occurs in the fields, at the hands of farmers across the world. Proper crop nutrition has a positive effect on water use efficiency, and we share knowledge and offer solutions that support better water management in agriculture.
Performance measures
• Water consumption
• Water risk assessments
• Water discharges
• Water use efficiency in agriculture
Water consumption in Yara's production sites
Megalitre
100,000
80,000
60,000
86,816
40,000
20,000
0
2020
While we use some water for steam and to produce liquid products, the majority of the water we withdraw is used for cooling pur-poses. In 2020, our total water withdrawal amounted to 905,877 megalitres of which 92% was returned. The decrease in con-sumption in 2020 was a consequence of the increased volume of fresh water returned to a watercourse downstream of the Salitre mine. The volume returned is determined by the environmental agency.
Water withdrawal in water stressed areas
%
4.0
3.5
4
2016
2017
2018
2019
2.0
3.0
0.5
2.5
1.5
1.0
0
2016
We use the WRI Aqueduct risk atlas tool to determine areas of high or extremely high baseline water stress. In 2020, only 2% of our fresh water withdrawals were in water stressed areas.
2017
2018
2019
2020
01 STRATEGY
Water risk assessments
Yara's plants are located across several continents, and operate under highly variable environments. Our sites have undergone an initial wa-ter risk screening using the WRI Aqueduct water risk atlas tool. This tool includes aspects related to the availability of water and risks of flooding as well as risks of eutrophication of receiving water bodies.
Fifteen of the 28 production sites have been assessed as having a high or extremely high risk of either riverine or coastal flood. Four sites were identified as extremely high or high risk with respect to baseline water stress. A detailed assessment will be carried out for those. These four sites accounted for 14% of the total water consumption, but only 2% of the total fresh water withdrawn.
» Environmental performance and compliance, p. 94
Water discharges
In Yara's production, water is primarily used for cooling purposes, and to a lesser extent, for steam production and the production of liq-uid products. Thus, nearly all the water that we withdraw is returned to the water source, unpolluted. The discharges to water from Yara's production are mainly nitrogen and phosphate, both nutrients that can cause eutrophication of waterways.
All our production plants are subject to environmental permits. Com-pliance with these permits and statutory requirements is a minimum expectation for all our operations. The control of emissions complies with each site's environmental permits and is continuously monitored and reported to the local environmental authorities.
The sites continue to work together with local communities and other stakeholders to discuss water quality and address water risks and is-sues. This includes, for instance, flooding emergency procedures, risks related to rivers providing the main water supply, and improvements in sanitary water treatment systems.
Water withdrawal, discharge, and consumption
Total for Yara's production sites, in megaliters
2019
947,213
36%
62%
860,396
82%
86,816
1) Total fresh surface water and brackish surface water/seawater
2018
913,316
36%
61%
2%
2%
0%
0%
1%
1%
840,527
17%
17%
82%
1%
2%
0%
0%
72,788
2017
782,654
98% 1)
1%
0%
2%
722,332
15%
85%
0%
0%
60,322
2016
850,591
98% 1)
1%
0%
1%
787,165
13%
87%
0%
0%
63,426
01 STRATEGY
Health and safety
Engagement
Diversity and inclusion
Skills and development
Workforce
PLANET
Climate change
Circular economy
Water stress
Environment
Planet case
Water use efficiency in agriculture
Agricultural practices hold significant potential for better water management and im-proved water use efficiency. Our primary focus is on our downstream operations and value chain engagement. Yara engages with farmers and partners to share knowledge and collaborate on projects seeking to sustainably intensify agricultural production, including through better water management.
Our Research & Development activities have identified a fundamental and close relationship between crop nutrition and crop water productivity and has convincingly demonstrated the positive effects of crop nutrition on water use efficiency. We con-tinue to investigate and quantify the effects of crop nutrition on water use efficiency through agronomic trials, and to bring this knowledge to growers across the world.
We also offer innovative technologies to advance water use efficiency and offer solutions for water-scarce agriculture, such as the Yara Water Solution which enables farmers to irrigate on-demand and save up to 20% water. Furthermore, we have helped to develop methods for reducing emissions related to the use of mineral fertil-izer, including runoff into waterways, with tools such as the N-Sensor and N-Tester.
Nitrogen and phosphorus discharge
Total in wastewater from production sites in tonnes
2020 | 2019 | 2018 1) | 2017 | 2016 | |
Nitrogen | 3,369 | 3,606 | 4,056 | 2,292 | 2,423 |
Phosphorus | 284 | 347 2) | 470 2) | 39 | 40 |
1) The increase in both N and P in 2018 is directly related to the acquisition of the Babrala plant in January 2018 and the Cubatão plants in May 2018.
2) Values corrected from earlier reporting due to errors identified in data
The parameters for water quality correspond with the European BAT defined for the fertilizer sector. To the extent to which they are monitored, discharges and quality parameters are reported according to national regulations and sites' permits. Collected rainwater discharged from the product handling areas is only included in the figures if the site is required to collect and monitor it. Sewage water is also included in the figures, but the treatment of sewage water is not reported separately.
Priorities
• Develop environmental roadmaps for each production site, including the four sites identified as having extremely high or high risk with respect to baseline water stress
• Continue investigation of our water risks through the ongoing climate risk assessment and upcoming water scarcity risk assessment
• Continue development of solutions for increasing water use efficiency in agriculture
ENVIRONMENT
Compliance is a minimum
Yara is committed to complying with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations in the countries in which we operate. We monitor compli-ance and assess risk in order to fully adhere to changing and stricter environmental laws and regulations and we engage with stakeholders to find new solutions to satisfy their needs.
Performance measures
• Environmental compliance
• Emissions to air
• Biodiversity
• Waste management
Environmental compliance
Twenty Yara sites reported permit breaches to local authorities in 2020. Their root causes have been inves-tigated and corrective measures are ongoing to ensure future conformity. We are working continuously to reduce the number of permit or regulatory breaches, and in 2020, we launched a new strategic initiative to reduce the environmental footprint of our production plants with a specific focus on compliance with envi-ronmental regulations and permits.
Four Yara sites received fines or other sanctions from local authorities for environmental breaches in 2020, totaling USD 340,500. Three sites received fines for breaches in wastewater discharge. The remaining fine is being challenged with the environmental agency and pertained to the submission of a dam safety planrequired by the regulatory agency. Notwithstanding the issuance of the fine and its challenge, a dam safety plan was and is currently in place.
» Environmental performance and compliance, p. 94
Yara has an Integrity Due Diligence (IDD) framework implemented in all Yara companies. By reviewing potential and existing suppliers, and working with them to explain our standards, Yara manages the performance of its vendor base. In 2020, Yara did not record any significant environmental breach related to its supply chain.
» Integrity Due Diligence, p. 87
Zero
high severity environmental incidents in 2020
High severity environmental incidents, including spills, are incidents assessed as having severe environmental harm with long-lasting loss of natural value or restricted use of the area, or major environmental harm with extensive clean up, remediation, or compensa-tion measures. Our target is zero high severity environmental incidents.
01 STRATEGY
Waste from production plants
By waste type, excluding phosphate mining-related wastes, gypsum, and iron oxide
Tonne
100,000
150,000
50,000
0
0
2016
Non-hazardous waste
30,559
2017
2018
2019
2020
Hazardous waste
Depending on the activities on site, the volume of both non-hazardous and hazardous waste from year to year can vary considerably.
Waste management
Waste is less of an issue in the fertilizer industry than in many other industries. Nevertheless, we carefully manage our waste streams to minimize impacts on the environment, recycle valuable materials, and sell useful by-products. Whether it be hazardous or non-hazardous waste, a Yara sites' management of waste is risk-based and implements a typical waste hierarchy of avoidance, reduction, recycling through to disposal operations.
There are very few wastes relevant specifically to fertilizer manufacturing. Two exceptions are gypsum, generated in the phosphoric acid production, and iron
Waste handling
By waste type and disposal method, excluding phosphate mining-related wastes, gypsum, and iron oxide
Tonne
70,000
3,040
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
IncineratedLandfill
Storage onsite
Recovery operations
Non-hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
oxide, generated in the production of sulphuric acid. In 2020, we sold all of the iron oxide and part of the gypsum as by-products. Remaining volumes of gypsum were stored in on-site landfills.
Typical hazardous wastes from fertilizer manufac-turing are waste oils, catalysts removed and replaced during shutdowns, chemical residues, and other wastes from maintenance activities. Typical non-hazardous wastes are construction and demolition materials and scrap generated through investment and demolition activities. In 2020, 40% of our non-hazardous waste was recycled.
Handling of by-products
By type
Thousand tonne
1,500
1,000
500
0
Sold as by-productStored in onsite landfill
Iron OxideGypsum
Incineration treatment of waste also includes recovery of energy. Disposal methods are typically informed by the waste contractors unless default methods are known by the site.
Yara's mining operations dealt with approximately 26.7 million tonnes of materials from extractive activities. Waste rock in the quantity of 13.5 million tonnes and overburden of 0.2 million tonnes were removed to process the ores. Tailings and sludges totaled 13.0 million tonnes in 2020. These were stored in onsite tailings ponds and stock piles.
01 STRATEGY
02 PERFORMANCE
Emissions to Air
Tonne
10,000 500
NOx, SOx, NH3, Dust
8,000400
6,000 300
4,000200
2,000100
00
2016
2017
2018
Emissions to air: NOx (as NO2)Emissions to air: SOx (as SO2)Emissions to air: NH3
2019
2020
Emissions to air: FEmissions to air: Dust
Total of F
Fertilizer production causes emissions to the air. Some emissions, such as dust, can be of nuisance to local communities while others can lead to eutrophication or acidification of waterways. We continue to upgrade and invest in our production plants to limit any impacts on our neighbors and the environment.
The main emissions to air from fertilizer plants and phosphate mines are nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur oxides (SOx), ammonia (NH3), fluorides (F), and dust. All of our production plants have environmen-tal permits, which specify limits for emissions to air.
1) Emissions are included in the data to the extent that monitoring is in place at the plants.
2) The decrease in the total F from 2019 to 2020 is attributable to a plant's emissions decreasing significantly from a higher than expected level in 2019.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity impacts are regarded as material for Yara's mining operations, but not for the fertilizer production sites. Neither of Yara's two operational mining sites are in or adjacent to pro-tected areas or areas of high biodiversity, nor are either of them required to prepare a biodiversity management plan. A volun-tary biodiversity assessment at the Siilinjärvi mine is planned for 2021 as part of the site's Sustainable Mining commitment.
No significant, negative impacts on biodiversity, protected habitats, or endangered species have been identified as a conse-quence of Yara's mining operations. On the contrary, the tail-ings areas are resting and nesting areas for birds, some of which are endangered species. Meadows, wet lands and deadwood areas have been formed in the tailings areas, providing suitable living environments for various species.
Yara's total mining area covered approximately 3,300 hectares in 2020. Operation expansion disturbed approximately 25 hect-ares of new area, while approximately 25 hectares were rehabil-itated. No households were resettled in 2020, and the mines did not receive any complaints related to land use or rights.
Emissions to air: NOx
Emissions to air: SOx
Emissions to air: NH3
Emissions to air: F 2)
Emissions to air: Dust
Measure 1)
tonne NO2 tonne SO2
tonne tonne tonne
Priorities
• Develop environmental roadmaps for each production site
• Identify and develop tools to support environmental performance and achieve compliance
• Strengthen the reporting and analysis of environmental incidents
2018
2017
2016
9,400 2,800 4,800
7,800 7,600
2,000 2,000
3,500 4,900
31 3,900
44 38
3,400 4,200
GHG 2025 Program
• Yara's GHG intensity target was announced in 2019
• Currently, the GHG Program has a portfolio of more than 70 projects
• The KPI is followed up through a GHG Program
• The KPI has been cascaded to the organization and linked to Yara's incentives program
• This portfolio is on schedule to reach the GHG 2025 target, delivering approximately 2 million tonnes of CO2e reductions
• The GHG Program has a dedicated investment budget
• Current achievements and projects already commenced show a reduction of 800,000 tonnes of CO2e reduction
• Continuous support is given to business units to find new GHG reduction initiatives and projects
• The portfolio includes N2O emissions reduction as well as energy efficiency projects
CASE
Future proofing through electrification
Yara's Brunsbüttel plant makes a win-win investment which both removes GHG emissions and helps prepare future optimization such as increased capacity or flexibility for green production.
Through a USD 28 million investment, the plant will electrify a compressor. The investment has a payback time of 4-5 years, and will reduce the annual emissions by 85,000 tonnes of CO2 - equivalent to removing more than 18,000 fossil fuel cars from the road.
"The investment both eliminates emissions and removes a bottleneck for improved plant capacity or future production based on hydrogen," says Yves Bauwens, Plant Manager.
The project is quite complex as it involves many processes at the plant, and the new infrastructure equipment has to be fitted in an existing physical location.
"We have involved all disciplines from the local plant as well as ex-perts from other parts of Yara. Collaboration was key to presenting a good investment case," says Senior Site Developer Sven Kohnke, who had the original idea.
The project has been enabled in part by public funding for the reduc-tion of GHG emissions, and is ready to start execution in the last half of 2021.
Prosperity
Yara delivered its tenth consecutive quarter with improved capital returns. Our industry fundamentals are robust, as the twin challenges of resource efficiency and environmental footprint require significant transformations within both agriculture and the hydrogen economy.
Yara's leading food solutions and ammonia positions are well placed to both address and create business opportunities from these challenges.
VALUE CREATION
Delivering and adding value
In 2020, our total revenue amounted to USD 11,799 million. Of this, about 72% went to purchasing costs and other operating expenses. The remaining USD 3,348 million were distributed to our employees, shareholders, and other providers of capital, paid in taxes to govern-ments, or retained in the company.
Our value generation and distribution
USD million
11,799
8,451
RevenueOperating costsThe graph shows our direct economic value generated in 2020 of which USD 8,451 million went to operating costs and expenses. A large part of these costs were purchases of raw materials, energy costs, and freight expenses
The pie chart shows our value distribution in 2020, excluding purchasing costs and operating expenses. The retained value, 'To Yara', amounted to USD 559 million.
To Shareholders: USD 1,235 million was paid to shareholders. We aim to be an attractive investment for shareholders and were able to increase dividends in 2020, despite the pan-demic. Total dividends and share buybacks committed or paid equalled NOK 52/share.
To Employees: USD 1,136 million was paid in employee wages and benefits. In December 2020 Yara announced an extraordinary USD 1,000 bonus to every employee with the January 2021 salary.
To Yara: USD 559 million was retained in the company. According to a company assess-ment done by CICERO Shades of Green, more than 40% of Yara's revenue in 2020 was from fertilizers, products and services shaded green. 64% of 2020 investments went to asssets and activities shaded green.
To Government: USD 264 million in income taxes was paid to governments. Yara takes an operational and commercial approach to tax. We do not seek artificial tax structures, and believe tax should be paid where profit is generated.
To Banks: USD 135 million was paid in inter-est expenses to banks. In 2019, Yara signed a USD 1,100 million five-year multicurrency revolving credit facility (RCF) with margin linked to our Carbon Intensity Target.
To Communities: USD 20 million was paid in donations and sponsoring. Our biggest donation in 2020 went to Action Africa, read more on p. 79. Other donations in 2020 were largely related to Covid-19, for example cash donations to hospitals in Brazil and Thailand.
01 STRATEGY
Prosperity goes beyond profit
Yara has adopted the definition of prosperity from the WEF Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics framework: "An ambition to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social, and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature." Prosperity for us highlights the importance of prosperous societies and the role of businesses in fuel-ing economic growth, innovation and shared wealth.
What gets measured gets done
Transparency through measurement is our key tool in running an accountable business. We use metrics from both reporting standards and ratings, and have set up a system of establishing internal ownership of indica-tors in order to allow for systematic follow-up and im-provement against best practices. We are proud to be a signatory of the WEF Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, with disclosures focusing on people, planet, prosperity, and principles of governance, as we support improved approaches on how to measure and drive sustainable performance.
Guided by our mission - to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet - we integrate sustainability in every decision we make and everything we do. We take a holistic approach to measuring success.
1. Combining profit and purpose
Our company purpose goes beyond profit. We apply knowledge to address global challenges so that when we succeed, society succeeds. Sustainability is deep-ly embedded in our strategy, priorities and actions. We strongly believe that long-term shareholder valuecreation is best optimized through a holistic approach in which we help people and the planet thrive, while maintaining or increasing prosperity.
» Our strategy, p. 16
2. Contribution towards the Sustainable Development Goals
Yara is committed to doing business responsibly, a commitment expressed by us being a signatory to the UN Global Compact, and embracing its ten principles. In December 2020, the World Benchmarking Alliance ranked Yara among the top twelve performers in its World Benchmarking Alliance Food & Agriculture Baseline Assessment, a study of 350 influential food and agriculture companies and their contributions towards the SDGs.
» Strategic goals, p. 19
3. Environmental commitment
Our ambition is to become climate neutral by 2050, and to achieve a 30% reduction in our scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030. We are aligning our GHG targets with the Paris Agreement, collaborating with Nutrien along with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) on a Sectoral Decarbonization Approach (SDA) for the nitrogen fertilizer sector. We are also carrying out a dedicated climate risk and op-portunity analysis based on the framework of the Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosure.
» Climate Change, p. 93
4. Supporting local communities
We aim to create shared value for the company and society. While our most substantial contribution is to help the 20 million farmers that buy our solutions
"An ambition to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social and tech-nological progress occurs in harmony with nature."
Definition of prosperity from the World Economic Forum's white paper Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism.
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increasing their crop yield and productivity, we also engage in community projects in the regions and com-munities where we operate. An example from 2020 is our donation of fertilizer in East Africa, where we, amid Covid-19, help to turn a time of crisis into a cata-lyst for transformation in rural communities. Through Action Africa, 250,000 farmers could provide food for up to one million people for one year, while 2 million smallholder farmers were connected to ongoing advice through Yara's ground-breaking new digital platform.
» Case: A catalyst for transformation, p. 79
5. Creating a fair workplace
We create safe and secure jobs for more than 16.000 employees worldwide, and through innovative projects and initiative we also create jobs for future genera-tions. During 2020, our regional and local diversity and inclusion ambassador networks continued to raise awareness and build knowledge about minority groups and special diversity and inclusion topics. We have the ambition to increase the proportion of women working at Yara, particularly in senior management positions. We are making efforts to close the gender pay gap, and we have a specific project related to black talent. In 2020, we also announced the global Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework which will be implemented early in 2021.
» Diversity and inclusion. p. 42 » Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework, p. 102
Returns from sustainable solutions
In 2020, it became evident that we needed to sharpen our customer focus and speed up our strategic respons-es to external challenges, in particular the strong push to decarbonize the food system. As a response, our corporate strategy has two very clear strategic priori-ties: accelerating operational excellence and expanding our commercial reach and offerings, including sus-tainable solutions. Our new regional organizational structure puts the customers center-stage and by estab-lishing the Clean Ammonia unit in February 2021, we took concrete steps to enable the hydrogen economy.
» Our strategy, p. 16
Tax Policy
Yara Tax Policy is approved by the Board and executed by Yara Management. Within the framework of tax laws and regulations, Yara optimizes the tax cost in the same way as it does other costs. We seek open and transparent interaction with the tax authorities and policy makers. Our approach to tax risks is based on Yara's overall risk strategy with continuous reviews to ensure control and risk mitigation as needed. We report in line with local and global regulations and our Code of Conduct.
As set forth in EU regulation 2013/34 and in the Norwegian Accounting Act, we produce a full coun-try-by-country report. For our 2020 country-by-coun-try report, please refer to our Investor Relations annual reporting webpage.
» Yara Tax Policy on yara.com
BUSINESS ETHICS
Doing business responsibly
Success can only be celebrated when it is achieved the right way. Our way of conducting business defines who we are as a company, and doing business responsibly is the only way to maintain our license to operate.
Performance measures
• Training and awareness
• Notifications of misconduct
• Business Partner monitoring
• Human rights due diligence
• Public affairs
• Socio-economic compliance
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Face-to-face training in 2020
Participants
Americas
Asia and Africa Europe
Corporate functions
Our dedicated regional compliance managers delivered Ethics and Compliance training to 3,042 employees in 2020. This training includes anti-corruption as a distinct topic.
Training and awareness
All new hires with access to a PC are expected to com-plete the mandatory Code of Conduct (CoC) e-learn-ing within three months. Current employees repeat the training biannually. In 2020, the total number of employees who had completed the CoC e-learning was 13,621 (of the 14,635 employees who had access to the learning platform). The mandatory e-learning includes all topics covered by the CoC, including anti-corrup-tion and human rights.
Yara's key governance bodies include the Board of Directors and Group Executive Board. All members of these bodies have confirmed receipt of Yara's CoC, which they are instrumental in developing and main-taining. Twice a year, the Board of Directors receives an update on the status of Yara's compliance program from the Chief Compliance Officer. All members of the bodies are included in the online and face-to-face compliance training programs and in the biannual CoC e-learning retraining requirement.
Through Yara's Integrity Due Diligence process, the CoC for Business Partners was communicated to more than 2,000 business partners throughout 2020. On a risk-basis, certain Business Partners are selected for additional due diligence work, including training and communications.
>> Training and Communication, p. 105
Notifications of misconduct 139 notifications to Ethics and Compliance were re-corded in 2020, a decrease from 222 in 2019. The as-sumption is that the decrease was caused by Covid-19 restrictions where a large part of Yara employees are working from home. We observe that the awareness in the organization remains at a high level. 35 of the notifications were classified within the risk category of corruption and its sub-categories: conflicts of interest, bribery, and anti-trust. Of these notifications, 29 were resolved within the reporting period, and 10 were substantiated according to Yara's Investigation Proce-dure. Disciplinary actions as a result of investigations in 2020 led to 20 dismissals and 19 warnings.
>> Whistleblowing / Internal Reporting, p. 105
Business Partner monitoring
Yara had more than 30.000 active suppliers in 2020. Approximately 10% of the suppliers had completed the Integrity Due Diligence (IDD) self-assessment ques-tionnaire.
In 2020, Procurement created 436 IDDs, of which 294 were completed and approved and 10 were completed and rejected. 132 IDDs that were created were not completed, mainly due to expiration, cancellation, or still being in-process.
Approximately 1% of Yara's Business Partners are rejected annually based on adverse results from the IDD process. The purpose of the IDD process is not to reject Business Partners, but to identify integrity risks and to mitigate these to safeguard Yara's interests. If
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adverse responses are identified in the IDD self-assess-ment questionnaire, we initiate a dialogue with the Business Partner, and are committed to influencing them to uphold the same integrity standards as at Yara.
» Integrity Due Diligence , p. 87
Human Rights Due Diligence
The 2020, Yara human rights risk assessment, de-scribed on p. 108, identified 18 high-risk countries, up from 17 in 2019. All high- and medium-risk countries are monitored through the Compliance Program and specific action plans are developed to mitigate identi-fied impacts. The planned human rights impact assess-ment on selected operations in Brazil was postponed to 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.
No significant breaches or human rights impacts in-volving rights of indigenous people or related to forced or child labor were identified in 2020 either in our own operations nor in the supply chain.
Yara does not consider any of its fully owned opera-tions to be at significant risk of violating employees' right to freedom of association and the right to collec-tive bargaining, and no specific concerns were identi-fied in 2020.
The 2019 human rights impact assessment identified risk of negative human rights impact from Yara's operations in connection to contracted labor perform-ing services for Yara, especially where manual labor is combined with heat exposure. Specific concerns relate to:
• Manual labor in hot working conditions
• Piece rate pay
• Living wage, working terms and conditions
• Freedom of association, grievance channels, and right to remedy
Mitigating actions are in place to address these issues. Site-specific findings are followed up locally.
When operating in countries where the right to free-dom of association and collective bargaining is limited through local legislation, we seek to take mitigating actions in accordance with local conditions and reg-ulations. One example of this could be encouraging independent gatherings where employees can elect members to a representative committee that will dis-cuss work-related matters with management.
Yara expects its business partners to respect and up-hold their employees' freedom of association involving trade unions or similar external representative orga-nizations. This expectation is clearly stated in Yara's Code of Conduct for Business Partners, which shall be included in all contracts, and has been demonstrated with our business partner in Belarus during 2020, described in Key concerns raised in 2020, p. 27.
Yara expects its business partners to respect and uphold their employees' freedom of association in-volving trade unions or similar external representative organizations.
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Public affairs
Yara's Code of Conduct prohibits political contribu-tions. We do not allow contributions from company funds or assets directly to any political party, nor to any individual who holds or is seeking public office, or any other political, religious, or ideological entity. Furthermore, the code prohibits communication with public officials on policy matters and engagement in political activities on Yara's behalf, except in accor-dance with local law, applicable regional policy, and in coordination with Yara's Corporate Communications Department and Corporate Affairs Department.
We have resources dedicated to public and regulatory affairs throughout the business regions, and hold a modest governmental relationship capacity in Brussels,reflecting our footprint in Europe. Yara's expenditures on public affairs are listed in the European Transpar-ency Register, and reflect salaries and social charges for employees.
Yara did not register any breaches of the Political Ac-tivity and Contributions Policy in 2020.
Socio-economic compliance
Yara considers cases with a value of USD 5 million (economic loss, penalty or similar) to be of major severity, and such cases are actively followed up by the corporate level. In 2020, no fines above this threshold were registered. In total, fines of USD 235,000 have been registered for 2020 for laws and regulations other than environmental ones.
Priorities
• Yara will continue developing the Compliance Program to meet regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations on anti-corruption efforts. Preventive measures, awareness raising, and sharing knowledge are key priorities in maintaining our zero tolerance of fraud and corruption.
• Although no significant breaches or human rights impacts were identified through our existing grievance and monitoring channels in 2020, we recognize that we are likely exposed to these risks given the complexity ofour value chain and high number of business partners. We therefore continuously work to improve our due diligence processes to identify and mitigate human rights impacts, and expect the same from our business partners.
• Work to further implement human rights considerations in our supplier management process will continue in 2021. A global Work Environment Policy is under development and will be valid for Yara operations, including third parties from 2021.
RATINGS AND AWARDS
Notable external recognition
Our governance, sustainability initiatives, and performance are scrutinized each year by a number of ESG analysts and ranked in sustainability rating schemes. We see increasing interest from investors and banks in the potential risks and value impact from ESG factors, and believe that a com-pany's ESG rating will be equally important as its credit rating in the near future. Companies that score well on ESG metrics are also believed to better anticipate future risks and opportunities, and be more focused on long-term value creation.
Ratings and rankings
Years of interaction with external benchmarking initiatives and ESG analysts has helped us close several information gaps and driven trans-parency in our reporting. Not only does this increased transparency ensure more consistent and accurate scores, it helps us to evolve our sustainability approach and reporting.
Copyright ©2021 Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This section contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics. com). Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at https://www. sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers.
The use by Yara of any MSCI ESG Research LLC or its affiliates ("MSCI") data, and the use of MSCI logos, trademarks, service marks or index names herein, do not constitute a sponsorship, endorsement, recommendation, or promotion of Yara by MSCI. MSCI services and data are the property of MSCI or its information providers, and are provided 'as-is' without warranty. MSCI names and logos are trademarks or service marks of MSCI.
Yara International ASA received a CDP Climate B score, which is in the Manage-ment band. This is higher than the Europe regional and the Chemicals sector averages of C.
Score: B
Updated: 2020
Yara was recognized among 12 top performers in the World Benchmarking Alliance Food & Agriculture Baseline Assessment in December, a study covering the 350 most influential food and agriculture companies.
Score: 12 of 350 Updated: Dec 16 2020
1) The Vigeo Eiris score is unsolicited by Yara.
Awards and accolades
Yara is increasingly recognized for our holistic approach to strategy development and reporting, demonstrating how we are bridging business and sustainability to ensure future success. We also receive accolades for our consistently strong safety performance.
Wall Street Journal Top 100
In February 2021, Yara entered the Wall Street Journal's list of the top 100 most sustainably managed companies in the world. Yara was ranked at the 75th spot - and the only Norwe-gian company to be listed - out of the 5,500 businesses assessed by the business journal's research analysts. The ranking is new and focusses on companies' ability to create long-term shareholder value.
"This is very encouraging, and a great external confirmation of the efforts we all put in to live up to the company's mission and vision."
Bernhard Mauritz Stormyr
Vice President Sustainability Governance.
Prestigious safety award to Yara Ravenna
Yara Ravenna, in Italy, was awarded the International Fertilizer Association's (IFA) biennial Green Leaf Award for excellence in safety, health, and environment (SHE) in 2020. The independent, expert panel noted that Ravenna "[…] demonstrated what responsible fertilizer production should look like in 2020 [...]". This marked the third time Yara has won the IFA award since it was first launched in 2009, underlining our strong commitment to protect health, safety, and the environment.
In 2020, Yara Ravenna also won Yara's Safety Award, which was established more than 20 years ago to recognize excellence in safety. Ravenna won for their commitment and achievements in building the safety culture step by step, actively involving, and giving voice to all employees and contractors.
"This is recognition for our employees' great effort and a reward for exploring the human side of SHE."
Gianmarco Montanari
Plant Manager at Yara Ravenna
Sustainability award to Yara Asia
In 2020, Yara Asia received the Sustainabil-ity Award 2020 in the category of Sus-tainable Food & Nutrition by EuroCham, the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. In its inaugural year, the award recognized Yara Asia for its leading role in developing digital learning tools for preci-sion farming, supporting large commercial growers, as well as millions of smallholder farmers.
"Technology enables us to digitally engage and support millions of farmers, and to improve the efficiency and sustainability of food production at scale."
Fernanda Lopes Larsen
Executive Vice President, Yara Africa & Asia
Top score for sustainability reporting
In 2020, Yara shared the top spot in
The Governance Group's examination and ranking of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting of the 100 largest companies on the Oslo Stock Exchange. This was a positive recognition of Yara's Annual Report 2019, the first step on our journey towards fully integrated annual reporting.
"Shareholder values are safer and performance will improve when diversity, human rights and environmental consideration form an integral part of a company's strategy and management."
Lars Røsæg
Chief Financial Officer in Yara
Stockman Award for Investor Relations
Yara won the prize for best Investor Relations team in the Norwegian Society of Financial Analysts' annual Stockman awards. Yara was also shortlisted for the best company award, where the quality of companies' annual reports is a key assessment factor. The Stockman awards cover all companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
"Winning the Stockman prize is a credit to the entire Yara organization, representing a vote of confidence from the analyst community in both our credibility and our commitment to open and equal communication to the financial markets."
Thor Giæver
Senior Vice President, Yara Investor Relations
CASE
A catalyst for transformation
Through Yara's Action Africa: Thriving Farms, Thriving Future initiative, 250,000 farmers in East Africa are now growing food for one million people, and two million smallholder farmers are connected to updated agronomic advice.
When the pandemic hit, it threatened to destroy food systems in Africa, and push another 265 million people into severe food insecurity.
As a critical part of the food chain, Yara decided to donate 40,000 tonnes of premium fertilizer to rural communities in East Africa in order to help farmers triple the region's maize production in 2020 and provide food for one million people for one year.
Creating connectivity
Swift action today can do more than prevent permanent social and economic damage. It is also a catalyst for transformational change that can create a more resilient food system for millions of people.
"For the first time ever, Yara successfully digitally traced the fertil-izer's distribution from port to farmers in East Africa, bridging the connectivity gap in rural communities, and paving the way for the
"The partnership potential of the platform is great, and together we can deliver more support to more farmers."
Øystein Botillen
Action Africa project lead
What is Action Africa: Thriving Farms, Thriving Future?
• 40,000 tonnes premium fertilizer donated to farmers in East- and Southern Africa
• Expected to triple the region's maize production, providing food for one million people for one year
• Connecting 2 million+ farmers to updated agronomic advice
• The Action Africa platform allows other partners to join and bring more benefits to rural farmers
development of a secure supply chain across the re-gion," says Øystein Botillen, Stakeholder Relations and Business Development Manager, at Yara.
In just under 12 weeks, a team of 50 developers across 3 continents developed a digital platform to track the fertilizer distribution, and to offer 2 million farmers, half of whom are women, a first-of-its-kind resource for agronomic advice throughout the growing season.
"I got a text message. It instructed me not to put the fertilizer in the soil until after the rain falls," says Ag-nes Kemunto Atoko, one of the Action Africa farmers, exemplifying how the digital agronomic advice works.
Achieving lasting change
The fertilizer donation is the first of many opportuni-ties to reach these farmers, who could gain access to financial, insurance, market, and infrastructure sup-port when additional partners join the Action Africa platform.
In August, BRIGHT Products partnered with Yara in the Action Africa initiative. There is no digitalization without electricity, so they decided to donate 2000 solar cell lamps, bringing connectivity to off-grid female farmers in Kenya.
"The partnership potential of the platform is great, and together we can deliver more support to more farmers," says Botillen, Action Africa project lead.
A time of crisis became a catalyst for transformation in rural communities East Africa. This once again shows that by empowering farmers with agronomic knowl-edge and technology, we can help improve food securi-ty, strengthen local food systems, and bring ourselves closer to delivering on our Mission to responsibly feed the world.
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PERFORMANCE
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Sustainability governance
Codes, policies, and
key processes
Health, Environment,
Safety and Quality (HESQ)
Human Resources
Ethics and Compliance
Mining operations
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AND ASSURANCE
GOVERNANCE
How we work
Success can only be celebrated when it is achieved in the right way, and our way of conducting busi-ness defines who we are as a company.
Supporting the Davos manifesto, we see a com-pany's success and purpose as being anchored in human and societal aspirations. Good governance incorporates People and Planet topics and stake-holder responsibility in addition to Prosperity.
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Sustainability governance
Codes, policies, and key processes
Health, Environment, Safety and Quality (HESQ)
Human Resources
Ethics and Compliance Mining operations
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SUSTAINABILITY GOVERNANCE
Integrated and holistic governance
Guided by our mission - to responsibly feed the world and protect the planet - we integrate sustainability in every decision we make and everything we do.
Governing bodies
According to Norwegian corporate law, the President and CEO con-stitutes a formal corporate body. The President and CEO is respon-sible for the day-to-day management of the company. At Yara, the division of functions and responsibilities has been defined in greater detail in the Rules of Procedures established by the Board, which set the corporate governance structure. Yara has written a set of policies, procedures, and processes that help regulate the performance of man-agement and business processes, called the Yara Steering System.
The President and CEO appoints management to assist in his or her stewardship duties delegated by the Board and in the day-to-day man-agement, including the organization and operation of the company. The President and CEO determines the instructions for management after consulting the Board. The instructions for management and the function descriptions and authorizations issued to each member of management reflect the joint obligation of these members to safeguard the overall interests of Yara and to protect Yara's financial position.
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Sustainability governance
Codes, policies, and
key processes
Health, Environment,
Safety and Quality (HESQ)
Human Resources
Ethics and Compliance
Mining operations
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Yara strives to improve diversity in both corporate management as well as board composition. At year-end 2020, Yara's Group Executive Board consisted of nine members: four were women and three were non-Nor-wegians (Chilean, French and Brazilian-British).
Yara does not have a corporate assembly, and the shareholders' representatives on the Board of Directors are therefore elected directly at the Annual Gener-al Meeting. The Board's internal rules of procedure establish in more detail the Board's role in relation to managing the company and the other corporate bod-ies. The President and CEO's authority and responsi-bilities are defined to allow the Board to concentrate on the company's strategy and organization. The Board's work follows an annual plan, and it conducts a yearly evaluation of its work and procedures.
The Yara Board consists of ten members, of whom six are elected by the shareholders, and four are elected by and among the employees. Four Board members are women, and six are men. At year-end 2020, women represented 22% of Yara's employees in permanent positions and held 20% of the senior management positions.
Sustainability integration
The Board's and the CEO's procedures were updated in 2020, formally including responsibility for non-fi-nancial topics of material importance. The updates cover the company's significant stakeholders and materiality, and the short-, mid- and long-term time horizons.
In 2020, the Board's Audit Committee was renamed the Board Audit and Sustainability Committee (BASC), defining the line for reporting sustainability performance. BASC also holds responsibility for pre-paring sustainability-related topics for Board discus-sions and to propose sustainability-related governance updates, if relevant.
Yara has co-organized the responsibilities for financial and non-financial performance under the CFO area, in line with the objectives of integrated reporting. Yara measures its performance with KPIs under the themes of People, Planet and Prosperity, ensuring a holistic approach.
Yara's VP Sustainability Governance reports to the CFO and supervises the non-financial reporting pro-cesses. This work is closely aligned with the Company Performance and Risk function, which oversees key parameters on strategy implementation, risk processes, and other core business processes such as the business planning process. The VP Sustainability Governance function oversees the integrated reporting process, which also systematically embeds ESG topics into the core business processes.
Core business processes are also being aligned with the same holistic approach. The Capital Value Process (CVP) was updated, strengthening the integration of non-financial perspectives. An internal carbon price shall be applied to significant projects, which are de-fined as projects with costs above USD 25 million and which subsequently require CEO or Board approval. Yara has established a Sustainability Network, whichensures that Yara has clearly established accountabili-ty, processes, and systems in place for our ESG policies and performance indicators. The Committee includes representatives from our corporate functions: Sustain-ability Governance, Health, Environment, Safety and Quality, Human Resources, Ethics and Compliance, Communications & Brand, and Enterprise Risk Management, as well as representatives from the business line.
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Sustainability governance
Codes, policies, and
key processes
Health, Environment,
Safety and Quality (HESQ)
Human Resources
Ethics and Compliance
Mining operations
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Governance model
Board discussions and governance updates
Board Audit and Sustainability Committee Sustainability related company performance,
Presents sustainability risk, performance and governance responses to BASC
Chief Financial Officer
Strategy and Risk functions Incorporate sustainability and stakeholders' perspectives into processes and determine
Shaping sustainability performance across people, planet, and prosperity dimensions, and approving the Sustainability Report
Sustainability governance Ownership of the integrated reporting process, ESG benchmarking, andsustainability integration into core processes
the Yara materiality dimension.
Group Executive Board
Yara has established integrated and holistic performance management and governance. The Board Audit and Sustainability Committee rein-forces Board oversight. Executives' short term incentives plan is tied to performance on People, Planet and Prosperity indicators. The risk management process incorporates material sustainability issues, and lastly, the Sustainability Network connects corporate and operational functions all together.
Global Plants & Operational Excellence Reports performance on People, Planet, Prosperity KPIs in alignment with cor-porate strategy, performance and project oversight for
Planet dimension
Compliance Committee
Act as a focal point for ethics and compliance matters
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Sustainability governance
Codes, policies, and key processes
Health, Environment, Safety and Quality (HESQ)
Human Resources
Ethics and Compliance Mining operations
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AND ASSURANCE
CODES, POLICIES, AND KEY PROCESSES
Our guiding principles
Our corporate codes, policies, and processes all serve a common goal: We want to be a positive force for innovative solutions while honoring responsible business conduct.
All of our corporate codes, policies, processes, and supporting documents are published on our intranet and in the Yara Steering System, with some also avail-able at yara.com. Key documents are continuously re-vised and re-published every third year at a minimum.
• Code of Conduct
• Code of Conduct for Yara's Business Partners
• Yara HESQ Policy
• Recruitment Policy
• Compensation Policy
• Enterprise Risk Management Process
• The Capital Value Process
• Yara's Ethics and Compliance Commitment
• Performance and Development Process
• Stakeholder Management Procedure
• Integrity Due Diligence
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Sustainability governance
Codes, policies, and
key processes
Health, Environment,
Safety and Quality (HESQ)
Human Resources
Ethics and Compliance
Mining operations
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Stakeholder Management Procedure
We believe that good stakeholder manage-ment creates trusting relationships and brings better business intelligence that can spur ideas for products and services.
In 2020, we established a new stakeholder procedure. It provides a structured approach to the process by which we organise, monitor, and improve our rela-tionship with our stakeholders.
Ongoing interaction
- Create stakeholder engagement plan
- Establish responsible persons
- Identify systems for ongoing
The procedure mandates that Yara Business Units perform regular stakeholder analyses as part of their business planning, unless such analyses are triggered through other initiatives or events.
interaction and escalation
of feedback
Stakeholder management is also integrated in pro-cesses like the Capital Value Process, Enterprise Risk Management, Business Planning, and Environmental Management. Yara's Group Executive Board oversees the implementation of the procedure.
The Stakeholder Procedure provides a structured approach to the way we manage relations with our stakeholders.
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Codes, policies, and
key processes
Health, Environment,
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Human Resources
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Code of Conduct
The key principles of Yara's compliance program are defined in the Code of Conduct which outlines our position and commitments on a wide range of topics. The Code of Conduct includes our anti-corruption as well as our human rights policies.
Yara has made a clear commitment to respecting internationally recognized human rights throughout our own operations, as well as in our supply chain. We support key international human rights and labor stan-dards and conventions, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the International Bill of Human Rights, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the core conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO). As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, Yara is firmly committed to its ten core principles, which cover human rights, labor rights, environment, and anti-corruption.
The Code of Conduct applies to all Yara employees, whether full-time, part-time, permanent, or temporary, and to the members of the Board of Directors. We are proud to say that the document is available in 17 lan-guages and distributed globally. The Code of Conduct is reviewed and published on an annual basis and is approved by the Yara CEO and Board of Directors. The most recent Code of Conduct was launched 1 January 2021.
» Code of Conduct at yara.com
Our Code of Conduct outlines our stance on a range of topics, including:
• Corruption: Yara has zero tolerance for any form of corruption
• Fraud: Yara has zero tolerance for fraud
• Working with Our Business Partners: Yara is firmly committed to being part of a responsible and sustainable value chain, and will continue to work on improving our systems and processes to achieve this objective.
• Human and Labor rights: Yara has made a commitment to respecting internationally recog-nized human rights throughout our own opera-tions, as well as in our supply chain
• People: At Yara, we are committed to creating an equal opportunity workplace, free from dis-crimination and harassment
• Data Privacy: Yara is commitment to protecting the privacy of its employees, customers, suppli-ers, and Business Partners
• Fair Competition: Yara has a strict policy of conducting business in full compliance with all applicable competition laws and regulations.
• Sustainability, Our Stakeholders and
Our Community: In delivering on our Mission and Vision, Yara has an ambition of being at the forefront of developing sustainable agricultural practices and of becoming more sustainable in our own operations.
Code of Conduct for Yara's Business Partners Yara is committed to working solely with business partners that comply with all relevant laws and regu-lations as well as with our Code of Conduct for Yara's Business Partners. This code considers internationally recognized and endorsed standards in key areas such as international human rights, business ethics, and labor conditions. Yara expects its Business Partners to uphold similar standards and to require the same from its own set of Business Partners, especially those that conduct business for Yara. The Code of Conduct for Yara's Business Partners shall be included in all mate-rial contracts and is reviewed periodically. It was most recently updated in August 2019.
» Code of Conduct for Business Partners at yara.com
Integrity Due Diligence
Integrity Due Diligence (IDD) is the procedure for in-vestigating the integrity of potential, new, and existing Business Partners. Yara's IDD procedure requires an initial assessment of all potential new Business Part-ners, to determine whether they fall into one of Yara's pre-defined risk categories.
If one or more risk factors is present, the Business Partner shall complete a self-assessment and declara-tion covering key business information and compliance across many risk areas, such as anti-corruption and integrity; assessment of suppliers and partners; human resources, human rights, and labor rights; health and safety and the environment.
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Sustainability governance
Codes, policies, and
key processes
Health, Environment,
Safety and Quality (HESQ)
Human Resources
Ethics and Compliance
Mining operations
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If the self-assessment and declaration uncovers un-acceptable risks, an in-depth IDD may be required. Continued monitoring of business partner transactions is also part of the IDD procedure and consists of daily screening against sanctions and compliance databases as well as close cooperation between the business line and the Ethics and Compliance department.
Complying with and understanding the IDD procedure is the responsibility of all employees. The IDD proce-dure is included in the face-to-face training on ethics and compliance matters, as well as in induction train-ing to new hires. All employees with specific responsi-bilities in reviewing and approving IDDs have received targeted training on the process.
Yara's Ethics and Compliance Commitment Yara's Ethics and Compliance Commitment should be read in conjunction with the Code of Conduct and the Code of Conduct for Yara's Business Partners. It has been created for the benefit of all of Yara's stakeholders and was last updated in December 2020. Yara's Ethics and Compliance Commitment summarizes our risk picture and way of working through the 15 elements of Yara's Compliance Program.
» Ethics and Compliance Commitment at yara.com
Yara's HESQ Policy
Through this policy we commit to excellence in our HESQ (health, environmental, safety and quality) performance. Where public regulations do not provideadequate controls, we will work with governments, society, and businesses to shape regulations and prac-tices that work to this commitment. Compliance with the HESQ Policy is mandatory for everybody who works for Yara. The HESQ Policy was last updated and approved by the Yara CEO in September 2020 and will be subject to a review in 2021.
» HESQ Policy at yara.com
The Capital Value Process
The objective of the Capital Value Process (CVP) is to maximize value creation and manage risk by ensur-ing better decision-making and management of new projects. The CVP applies to all projects that imply evident changes to Yara's long-term commitments or resources and consequently require formal authoriza-tion to proceed. This includes projects related to plant, property and equipment (technical), mining, mergers and acquisition, divestments, joint venture and part-nerships, resource intensive change, IT/digital and venture capital investments. The Capital Value Process is approved by Yara's Chief Financial Officer.
Ethics and Compliance: Compliance requirements, particularly related to anti-corruption and human rights, are an integral part of the decision-making process for the assignment of capital for all of Yara's major investment activities. The CVP includes clear compliance requirements for all projects covered by the policy, including due diligence activities and verifica-tion by the Ethics and Compliance department.
HESQ: All projects shall adhere to Yara's HESQ Policy and our Safe By Choice process to fulfil requirements. For projects related to particularly novel areas, for example new geographies, new products, new technol-ogies, or due diligences, Corporate HESQ should be consulted to ensure that each project has the relevant HESQ competences and to verify the HESQ risk as-sessment and mitigating actions.
Carbon pricing: Projects with costs above USD 25 million, which subsequently require CEO or Board ap-proval, shall explicitly comment on ESG considerations in the decision gate memo. Specifically, they shall at least describe the current state and expected develop-ment of carbon pricing in the jurisdiction, along with a calculation of financial impacts based on Yara's internal carbon price which also covers N2O emission. When relevant, the project shall present an analysis of its impact on Yara's climate intensity KPI.
Enterprise Risk Management process
Yara's global Enterprise Risk Management process aims to identify, assess, and manage risk factors that could affect the performance of any parts of the com-pany's operation. To this end, we have implemented a continuous and systematic process to mitigate poten-tial damages and losses, and to capitalize on business opportunities.
Yara's Board of Directors is responsible for defining risk appetite for all main risk categories relevant to the company. The Board oversees the risk manage-ment process and carries out annual reviews of the company's most important risk categories and internal control arrangements.
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The Yara Board has approved in 2020 a low appetite for risk relating to and among other:
• degradation of the environment resulting from our operations or products
• process safety and product safety accidents nega-tively affecting people, environment, assets, and reputation of Yara
• exposure to non-compliance with regulatory re-quirements.
» See also Risk management, p. 108, in Yara's Integrated Report 2020.
Recruitment Policy
The Recruitment Policy governs our recruitment pro-cess and sets out roles and responsibilities to ensure we treat all candidates professionally. The policy informs employees, hiring managers, and HR about the man-datory elements of Yara's recruitment process, which, among other things, aims to hire the right talent at the right time at the right place at the right cost, and ensure a fair process and equal opportunities while promoting diversity. The policy is applicable through-out Yara, and is supplemented with local or business line policies as required.
Performance and Development Process Yara systematically manages the performance and development of employees in order to increase attrac-tion, performance, engagement, and retention, and to ensure that all employees are treated in a fair, trans-parent, and consistent way. We carry out Performance Management job appraisal processes for all employees in annual cycles, with formal discussions as well as more frequent follow-ups. Managers are also expected to provide frequent feedback, coaching, and support to our employees. We also run structured talent review and succession management processes across the entire organization.
Compensation Policy
Yara adheres to a comprehensive policy to ensure attraction, reward, and quality across all positions in the company. While individual remuneration will vary based on specific factors such as country, employment market conditions, position, performance, and com-petence, we are committed to paying employees fairly, regardless of personal beliefs or any individual char-acteristics. The Compensation Policy also outlines our handling of cases where the company initiates termina-tion of employment contracts.
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HOW WE WORK
Health, Environment, Safety and Quality
Yara's HESQ function maximizes value creation for Yara by ensuring that the company operates to industry-leading standards related to occupational health and safety, pro-cess safety, environment, quality, security, and emergency management and preparedness.
Yara is committed to ensuring that fertilizers and their raw materials, additives, and intermediate products are processed and manufactured, handled, stored, distributed, and used in a safe and secure way with regard to health, the environment, occupational and public safety and security, and quality. More specifically, this includes:
Health and safety: Yara has a responsibility to keep our employees and contractors safe and believes that all accidents are preventable. We have embarked on a journey toward zero accidents and have creat-ed a safety program that matches this ambition.
Process Safety: We consider good process safety performance a requisite for our license to operate, with the final objective of guar-anteeing - for all workers and neighboring communities - minimum exposure to the risks generated by our processes.
Environment: We are committed to excellent environmental perfor-mance and to promoting higher industry standards. We use a precau-tionary approach to identify risks and take preventive measures to
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mitigate any potential harm to people or the environment.
Product Stewardship and Compliance: From factory to field, we take responsibility for the full life cycle of our products. Our product stewardship approach ensures systematic monitoring of the quality and safety of all our products, and we are fully committed to com-plying with all relevant chemical and product related regulations.
Security and Emergency Response: We are committed to protecting life and health, infrastructure, the envi-ronment we work in, information, and our reputation by understanding security risks and proactively imple-menting mitigating measures.
Resources and responsibilities
The Vice President of HESQ leads our Corporate HESQ Organization. The Vice President of HESQ reports to the EVP Global Plants & Operational Ex-cellence and presents reports to the Board of Directors and the Board Audit and Sustainability Committee at least once per year.
The Corporate HESQ Organization consist of 47 employees globally and holds responsibility for the governing, reporting, and follow-up of overall HESQ performance and compliance. It supports the regions and units by providing HESQ resources and tools, and by serving as an internal center of expertise for prod-uct stewardship, classification of products, labelling, and the issuing of product safety information, such as Safety Data Sheets.
Corporate HESQ oversees the global Yara-wide man-agement system certification process, defines processes and standards, and runs frequent internal audits to all units to ensure compliance and continuous im-provement. Risk assessments are consistent across the corporation, and major HESQ risks are included in the Enterprise Risk Management process as a part of the business planning and strategy development.
In January 2020, we established a new central, Energy and Environment, with nine employees. The Vice Pres-ident of Energy and Environment reports to the SVP Project and Technology and to the EVP Global Plants and Operational Excellence.
Business units at all levels are accountable for the HESQ performance of their own operations, for com-pliance with legal and statutory requirements, as well as for requirements outlined in the Yara Steering Sys-tem. They are also responsible for the legal compliance of their products, raw materials, and other chemicals, for ensuring correct labelling and packaging, and for providing Safety Data Sheets to their customers.
Each region and production unit have dedicated HESQ resources supporting the management and monitoring of HESQ performance. They report through the line organization, with Corporate HESQ being ultimately responsible for providing transparent and timely infor-mation internally and externally. All production sites have a mandatory health and safety committee that covers all of the employees working on the site.
The key principles of Yara's HESQ program are defined in the HESQ Policy.
» Yara's HESQ Policy, p. 88
Each region and production unit have dedicated HESQ resources supporting the management and monitoring of HESQ performance.
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Systems, programs and projects
Management system certification
Yara is committed to the corporate-wide certification of the management system to three standards; ISO 9001 (Quality management), ISO 14001 (Environmen-tal management) and ISO 45001 (Occupational health and safety management). A total of 70 units were audited in 2020, while audits at three units were post-poned, mainly due to Covid-19 restrictions. Another 53 audits are planned for 2021, including annual au-dits of corporate functions and regional management.
Yara is also working to have all major production sites certified to ISO 50001 (Energy management). Seven sites were certified at the end of 2020. Our goal was to reach ten certifications, but progress was hindered by the Covid-19 outbreak. We plan to proceed with ther remaining sites in 2021, and to complete the certifica-tion process in 2022.
Safe by Choice
Safe by Choice is our company-wide initiative to instill a lasting safety culture to reach our ultimate goal of zero injuries. The culture we strive for is one where we all, individually and collectively, take responsibility to take care of ourselves and each other; with better quality, more ownership, engagement, and consistency in what we do all day. We have established a set of safety principles to clarify expectations for managers, supervisors, employees, and contractors. The Safe by Choice way of working ensures that all employees and contractors working at our sites receive standardized safety training, participate in regular safety meetings,and thus contribute to keeping the workplace safe.
Safe by Choice was launched in 2013 and has contrib-uted significantly to our strong safety track record, which places Yara among industry leaders in safety.
The Yara Safety Award, an integral part of Safe by Choice, was established more than 20 years ago to recognize excellence in safety. While results are essen-tial, the award aims to recognize both systematic and innovative activity intended to bring about profound improvements in safety behaviour as well as strengthen the candidates' safety culture. In 2020, Yara Raven-na won the Safety Award for their commitment and achievements in building a safety culture. Yara Raven-na was also awarded the International Fertilizer Associ-ation's (IFA) biennial Green Leaf Award for excellence in safety, health, and environment (SHE) in 2020.
» Ratings and awards, p. 76
Potential Severe Injuries and/or Fatalities program
Yara launched the PSIF program in 2019 to work more systematically on the prevention of major incidents with potential for severe injuries and/or fatalities. At its core, the PSIF program is about reviewing, investi-gating, and sharing lessons learned from incidents with high potential severity in a structured manner, and to establish effective improvement actions.
As one of the first outcomes, a dedicated task force on work at height has defined the minimum requirements and established a specific risk management process
with the objective of reducing our most critical occupa-tional exposure, that is falling hazards.
Worker health
Yara offers access to occupational health services or subsidies for such counselling in most of the countries where we operate. During 2020, Yara further devel-oped the set of operating standards for the physical and psycho-social work environment. They supplement a previously implemented standard for chemical risk. A specific procedure for the management of asbestos has also been established. Pilot workstreams and training in psycho-social risk assessments and well-being have been initiated during the pandemic and promoted throughout our organization.
» Work-Life Balance and Well-being framework, p. 102
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Climate Change
Climate neutral by 2050
In 2020, Yara proceeded with its projects to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in pursuit of our goal of a 10% reduction in GHG intensity. The intensity is expressed as CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions per tonne of nitrogen produced by 2025. We have established a new set of KPIs and a GHG project portfolio identifying more than 70 projects with an expected CAPEX in the range of USD 250-400 million. The GHG project portfolio is managed by the Energy and Environment unit. This unit holds responsibility for monitoring the progress towards the target on a monthly basis.
In addition, Yara set a new ambitious milestone in its climate neutrality roadmap: to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 30% by 2030, equal to miti-gating about 6 million tonnes of CO2e based on a 2019 baseline. We have identified and planned measures to achieve about one third of this amount in the GHG 2025 portfolio. Initiatives to target the remaining 4 million tonnes will, depending on public co-founding and the regulatory framework, likely include green ammonia, carbon and capture projects, continued im-plementation of energy efficiency projects and electri-fication of production sites. Having reduced our GHG emissions by 45% since 2005, we are well-positioned to meet the EU 55% reduction target.
Green ammonia
Yara is well-equipped to become the green ammonia champion by leveraging our strengths in production, logistics, and trading. During 2020, we continued to build a pipeline of green ammonia pilots to build knowledge and lay the foundation for full-scale plants. The three pilot projects in the Pilbara in Western Aus-tralia, Sluiskil in the Netherlands, and Porsgrunn in Norway will have a combined production capacity of close to 100 kilotonnes of green ammonia. In addi-tion, we have also announced our plan to establish a 500,000 tonnes per annum green ammonia production unit in Porsgrunn.
» Committed partnerships, p. 21
Science Based Target
To ensure that our emission reduction targets are in line with independent climate science, we will set Sci-ence Based Targets, delivering on the Paris Agreement. As global crop nutrition leaders, Yara and Nutrien, along with the WBCSD, are undertaking a Sectoral Decarbonization Approach (SDA) for the nitrogen fertilizer sector as a basis for setting the Science Based Target. The pathway for scope 3 GHG emissions will be defined through the process to establish a SDA for our industry. We expect the analysis required for deter-mining a SDA to be finalized in 2022.
Carbon marketplace
In 2020, Yara launched a carbon venture team to run a pilot on a carbon marketplace, and we aim to gener-ate the first credits in 2021. The carbon marketplace represents a new business opportunity in which weleverage our portfolio, global footprint, and knowledge about climate-smart farming to reduce emissions and sequester carbon at farms to create revenue streams from carbon credits. Our model will also reward farm-ers for climate-smart practices. Our goal is to launch the carbon marketplace by 2025.
We also continued our work to enable farmers to reduce their environmental impact and improve their productivity by providing new digital solutions and services, which are core elements in our Farming Solutions strategy. At year-end, more than 20 million farmers used our digital solutions, and we had about 15 million hectares under management.
» Case: Carbon Cropping, p. 32
Climate Risk Assessment
Yara is carrying out a climate risk and opportunity analysis based on the framework of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
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This cross-functional project takes a holistic approach with the aim of broadening our understanding of the climate-related risks and opportunities we are facing as a company, and addressing stakeholders' expectations regarding climate risk mitigation and adaptation. We have mapped climate risk and opportunities across our value chain and global activities, and are currently assessing climate scenarios to ascertain their future materiality for Yara. We also aim to identify potential management responses.
The project aims for completion in April/May 2021, and key findings will be disclosed in our 2020 CDP reporting (to be submitted in 2021).
Circular economy and new raw materials
Yara's Circular Economy unit has the goal of develop-ing business for nutrient recycling in agriculture and the food production chain. We have initiated a number of projects and entered into several collaborations to join the recovered nutrient loop and apply the princi-ples of circular economy to agriculture. Along with the environmental benefits, we see significant strategic opportunities for creating new revenue models and tar-geting new markets with organic or recycled nutrients.
» Circular economomy, p. 58
Environmental performance and compliance
In 2020, Yara established a new strategic initiative to reduce the environmental footprint of our production plants. This new initiative is a response to key find-ings in 2020. A strengthening of the monitoring and reporting of the plants' compliance with environmental regulations and permits uncovered that several plants continue to struggle with their permits and regulatory requirements.
By adapting a methodology similar to that used to create the GHG project portfolio, we will develop en-vironmental roadmaps for each production site. We are assessing the plants' performance against current and foreseen regulatory requirements in order to provide a reliable basis for an improvement program, concrete targets and resource planning in 2021. The assessment will also be supported by a water risk assessment covering risks related to water availability, quality, and accessibility.
Altogether, 70 Yara units had their environmental management system audited by the certification body in 2020, including all but one production site (the recently opened Salitre mine in Brazil) and numerous supply chain and commercial units as well as corpo-rate and management functions. The goal of corpo-rate-wide coverage of certified environmental manage-ment systems is proceeding according to plan.
Product stewardship
The principles of product stewardship are to ensure that appropriate care is taken along the whole fertilizer value chain from product development and the pur-chase of raw materials, to production, storage, trans-port, and distribution and up to use at the farm. We adhere to these principles, and have applied the fertil-izer sector's Product Stewardship programs throughout our operations (Fertilizers Europe Product Stewardship Program in Europe and International Fertilizer Asso-ciation program outside Europe), including third party certifications. The Product Stewardship programs ad-dress product safety, environmental aspects, safe food production, and security against theft and misuse.
We have assessed the health, safety and environmental (HSE) impacts of all our significant product categories: ammonia, urea, nitrates, NPKs, CN, UAN, SSP, and DAP/MAP. These HSE assessments cover the life cycle of the products in both fertilizer and industrial appli-cations and are done in accordance with requirements in the product stewardship programs and relevant legislation. In 2020, Yara recorded no significant inci-dents of non-compliance with regulations or voluntary codes concerning the health and safety impacts of its products or services.
Chemical compliance
Products in EU/EEA markets fall under the Europe-an chemicals' REACH and CLP legislations and the requirements, including a formal chemical compliance check, are referenced in Yara's Procurement Process. All relevant substances are registered accordingly.
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Yara's products and raw materials are inorganic com-modity chemicals, like ammonia, inorganic acids, and their inorganic salts. Organic chemicals of concern are not used as raw materials, products, or interme-diate materials in Yara. We avoid, whenever possible, procurement of chemicals classified as most hazardous such as carcinogenic, mutagenic, persistent, or bio-ac-cumulative. If substitution of such chemicals is not feasible, the necessity of using them on an industrial scale is strictly assessed. All chemical substances of concern are being tracked and managed centrally by Corporate HESQ, with defined responses according to the regulatory processes.
EU Fertilising Products Regulation
The new EU Fertilising Products Regulation will come into force in 2022. It will bring major changes to the production, marketing, and labelling of fertilizer prod-ucts. Yara is preparing for the new regulation through a centrally coordinated compliance assessment process to ensure timely and full compliance.
Ammonium nitrate safety
Several jurisdictions are setting stringent safety and security requirements to manage the sale, supply, and handling of ammonium nitrate to prevent accidents and potential misuse of the product. Yara has tight and continually updated standards related to produc-tion, handling, transport, and storage of ammonium nitrate and high nitrogen containing products - and an excellent history of handling ammonium nitrate safely. Nevertheless, after the devastating blast in Beirut in August 2020, we started an in-depth verification pro-cess to ensure that all units fully adhere to the estab-lished procedures. Extensive data gathering has taken place, and more than 200 site audits will be performed remotely in 2021.
Marketing and labeling
Yara provides safety data sheets for all products. The safety data sheets cover information needed for the classification of the products, including:
• Raw materials purchased and used
• Content (composition)
• Guidance for safe use
• Guidance for safe disposal
We classify and label our products according to the European CLP Regulation in the EU/EEA markets. Globally, we follow either the European CLP regula-tion or local legislation, e.g. the American OSHA and EPA standards in North America. In line with changes in chemical legislation in many countries of the world, we also classify and label our products according to the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals. Additional local require-ments, such as local fertilizer regulations or food and feed regulations, are managed by local Yara units.
In 2020, Yara was not subject to any significant fines for non-compliance with laws or regulations concern-ing the provision and use of products and services.
Security and Emergency Response
Yara's Corporate emergency response and security function develops and reviews security and emergency management practices. Security management at Yara is designed to ensure that security threats are identified and assessed, and that people, the environment, assets, and reputation are protected by appropriate measures. Our global security system includes a standardized method for assessing security risks, developing a steer-ing system for security, providing support and advice to all business units, and further improving the com-pany's emergency response practices. We have a crisis management team ready to support our employees and protect our organization and continuously mon-itor worldwide security situations to understand and implement mitigating measures to lower our exposure to risks.
Training of security personnel
Yara's own security personnel and security service pro-viders working on Yara sites are given work induction training, covering site safety and security practices, and Ethics and Compliance induction training. Secu-rity personnel employed by Yara complete the manda-tory Code of Conduct e-learning. In addition, Yara's Code of Conduct has been distributed as hard copies to 119 Yara locations around the world, with the purpose of reaching every Yara employee. All external security service providers shall comply with Yara Code of Conduct for Business Partners.
» Code of Conduct for Business Partners, p. 87
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In June 2020, Yara joined the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VP). The many different stakeholders in the Voluntary Principles Initiative will bring unique perspectives into Yara's security man-agement approach and will lift our governance in this area. A specific training program incorporating Yara's program for human rights and VP training material is currently under development and will be rolled out in 2021. The training material will be mandatory for rele-vant internal staff and contracted security providers.
HESQ Training and communication
We have developed numerous digital communication tools to enable efficient collaboration and sharing across our global organization. They have proven to be particularly valuable during the pandemic.
HESQ Academy
Yara's HESQ Academy is our common platform for the sharing of training material, toolkits and e learning exercises, all aiming to build knowledge and aware-ness about key HESQ aspects, rules and procedures. It contains numerous training modules such as Safety Leadership and Together We Learn - an interactive, modular concept where participants work together in solving exercises.
Grievance mechanisms
Yara uses several channels to collect feedback from internal and external stakeholders related to HESQ impacts, compliance, and expectations. Each case is reported and analyzed and a reply is sent back to the initiator. Corrective and preventive actions are con-sidered and implemented when necessary. Cases are followed up at management level. The key mechanisms for filing HESQ grievances are the following:
Steering system non-conformity management Non-conformities to HESQ steering standards are reported to and handled by the Corporate HESQ func-tion. Any deviations from mandatory requirements are subject to management approval.
Incident reporting system
Yara has a company-wide system in place for the re-porting and handling of HESQ incidents, i.e. accident/ breaches, near-misses, and hazardous conditions. The incident reporting system is managed by the Corporate HESQ function. All incidents are systematically inves-tigated according to defined severity levels. Procedures are in place to have independent off-site experts per-form investigations of the most severe incidents. Les-sons learned from accidents and incidents are shared among the units. Classification of personal injuries is aligned with OSHA requirements.
Employees who feel they have been treated unfairly af-ter reporting incidents or ceasing unsafe work, are free to voice their concerns with the local Human Resourc-es department, or employee representatives or through the ethics hotline portal.
Crisis Manager
Yara has a dedicated Crisis Manager on duty 24/7 who can be alerted about any severe and extraordinary sit-uation (emergencies) or threats, and assist in handling any crisis, should one occur.
International SOS
As part of Yara's emergency management, Yara is supported by International SOS to assist employees in incidents related to health, safety, or security during travels. This assistance is available 24/7 and in local languages.
Environmental/Reputational complaint management
Local production units have systems in place to man-age complaints and other feedback coming primarily from neighbors and the local community. Grievances are handled locally at each individual site and reported monthly by Corporate HESQ.
Product Quality
Yara currently has several product quality complaint handling systems which are adapted to the various business models and operations throughout the world.
Our country websites feature contact forms for anyone who wants to raise questions or provide feedback. Any deviation from what is expected - from production specification and packaging, to delivery, and even services and attention to customers - can be subject to a complaint from either the customer or the Yara sales organization itself.
Ethics hotline
Anyone - internal or external - that wishes to make a complaint related to Yara's HESQ performance can do so through our Ethics Hotline.
» Whistleblowing / Internal Reporting, p. 105
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Evaluation
The effectiveness of Yara's HESQ management is evaluated frequently both internally (e.g. by Yara Internal Risk and Audit unit and Corporate HESQ) and by third parties (e.g. management system certification, GRI verification). Improvement actions are taken based on the feedback.
Due to the Covid-19 situation, all internal Corporate HESQ audits were put on hold during the first half of 2020. Later, eight units were selected for remote audits in the second half of 2020. While visual inspections are very challenging in remote audits, we managed to develop appropriate processes and approaches. Document review audits also proved to be very efficient.
Third party ISO certification audits, both physical and remote, were performed. Some units will have physical follow-up audits in 2021. The certification audits documented good progress in the implementation of management systems and also identified room for improvement in environmental performance monitoring, compli-ance status and target setting across all regions.
In 2020, our European fertilizer activities were re-certified to the Fertilizer Europe Product Stewardship program. The new certificate is valid until 30 June 2023. Out-side Europe, certification and recertification to the IFA Protect & Sustain program continued. Apart from one, all certified units achieved the 'Excellence' level of the program.
Each year, Yara reports to numerous sustainability rating schemes, such as CDP Climate and CDP Water, along with several investor analysts' rating systems, such as Sustainalytics. Whereas we generally score high in external benchmarks, we also utilize the processes to improve our own performance and best practices.
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HOW WE WORK
Human Resources
Yara's Corporate HR function is responsible for executing the people and organizational response to Yara's corporate strategy. We focus on strengthening the company's performance culture through professional performance and talent management, by improving leadership development, and by growing diversity and inclusion at every level of our organization. Building and maintaining collaborative relations with trade unions and work councils is always a priority.
Responsibilities and resources
Organizational responsibility for the oversight and follow-up of labor practices and performance lies with the Executive Vice President of HR and General Counsel, via the Group Chief HR Officer. Regional and functional HR teams drive strategy implementation throughout the organization and coordinate their work through a structure of management forums. The Corporate HR function consists of 46 em-ployees across 7 main central teams as outlined:
Compensation & Benefits is responsible for the corporate remunera-tion policy, oversees job grading and levelling, compensation and ben-efits, our business travel policy, and disciplinary policies. It is responsi-ble for the corporate assignment policies and the HR administration of the international assignees.
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Talent Management has corporate responsibility for Employee Expe-rience surveys, the Talent Acquisition Policy, Performance and Succes-sion Management, Talent Reviews, and Talent Development process.
HR Governance & Operations is responsible for employee data pri-vacy compliance and delivers and governs global HR solutions, such as the Yara PeoplePath platform, which enables a wide range of HR processes.
Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) defines corporate-wide diversity & inclu-sion frameworks and coordinates the main D&I initiatives worldwide, in close collaboration with the regions, units, and employee resource groups.
Learning & Development is responsible for Yara's Learning strategy, employee retention, leadership development, and design and deploy-ment of training programs and guidelines.
Organizational Development & Employee Relations provides advice on the organizational impacts of initiatives, supports change manage-ment processes, and coordinates the management of relations with trade unions and works councils.
Corporate HR Business Partnering manages HR for corporate func-tions and Yara's head office, including local talent acquisition and employer branding.
Worldwide, a network of over 300 local HR employees provides support in the development and implementation of the HR strategy and resourc-es. HR employees report directly to the business units they serve.
Learn more about the principles that guide Yara's HR program in Codes, policies, and key processes, p. 85.
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Programs and projects
Diversity & Inclusion
Our efforts to grow diversity and inclusion are firmly anchored in Yara's corporate strategy. We are com-mitted to promoting equal opportunities and fighting discrimination, and also see the value-adding potential of a more diverse workforce. We aim to enhance our understanding and embrace the full concept of Diver-sity & Inclusion to achieve true collaboration, better decision-making, and evolve our culture in support of our strategic ambitions.
While our main ambition has been to increase the proportion of women in Yara, particularly in senior management positions, we are increasingly focusing on other aspects of diversity in processes like recruitment, performance management, employee development, and succession planning.
In order to grow diversity and inclusion in our work-force, we aim to:
• secure equal career opportunities, equal pay, and work-life integration
• ensure a diverse workforce and leadership, repre-senting the markets we sell to and operate in
• create a collaborative and inclusive work envi-ronment in which employees feel valued for their uniqueness and safe to be themselves
• influence our partners and become a valuable Di-versity & Inclusion discussion partner for external stakeholders
Internal competence development
Yara is going through a significant transformation. It has highlighted the need to improve the reliability of our operations, enhance project performance, and adapt our business model to a rapidly changing food value chain. Our people represent our most important asset, and we need to continuously invest in the devel-opment of our collective knowledge - both in terms of specialist competencies and management skills.
In 2020, Yara announced an additional USD 15 mil-lion annual investment in internal competence devel-opment. We commenced work on a corporate learning strategy to ensure optimal channeling of this funding, and to update our overall approach to people develop-ment. The output of this process will be finalized in 2021, but initiatives already identified include extend-ing leadership development to a larger part of the or-ganization, new online courses, more on-site trainings and workshops, regional team development as well as targeted initiatives linked to strengthening Diversity & Inclusion.
Employee benefits
At Yara, employee benefit plans are aligned with local markets and managed at country level. Our approach to benefits is to be competitive with the market me-dian, and benefit plan levels can differ from market median depending on cost or tax legislation. The value of benefits provided shall be taken into consideration when benchmarking compensation with local markets.
At a minimum, all Yara employees shall be covered with life and accident insurance, covering at least:
• Two years' salary including any social security, individual pension plans paid by the employee, and/ or company-paid pension plans
• An additional minimum benefit of one year for related accidental death or disability
HR data analytics
Since the launch of Yara's global HR system People-Path in 2018, we have adopted a more data driven and analytical approach to managing HR. A stronger focus on data quality and governance across the HR community, combined with investment in the underly-ing technology platform, has improved our reporting, insights, and analytical capabilities.
In 2020, the increased use of data analytics, deliv-ered to HR and managers in easy to use dashboards, informed and supported the decision making across a wide range of HR processes. One example is our efforts to grow diversity, to which data analytics provide insights and pinpoint areas for improvement in processes such as recruitment, performance evalua-tion, turnover, compensation, talent management, and succession planning. We also apply data analytics in following up the gender pay gap and to analyze success factors and shortcomings in our efforts to increase the representation of women in recruitment processes, from advertisement to onboarding.
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Yara International ASA published this content on 26 March 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 26 March 2021 08:16:02 UTC.
