Albemarle's Commitment to Sustainability
Albemarle’s Commitment to Sustainability
SHARE Charlotte is excited to partner with Albemarle for our first ever Environmental Sustainability Community Event on September 27. This community event allows attendees to meet and network with nonprofits who are working to create a zero-waste, low-carbon future and ensures that our surrounding rivers, land and wildlife are being protected.
We believe Albemarle is the perfect partner to collaborate on this effort given their commitment to advancing sustainability – let’s explore how they are supporting sustainability efforts both here in Charlotte and across their global footprint.
Q: What is Albemarle’s commitment to protecting our environment and why is this important to your organization?
Headquartered in Charlotte, Albemarle leads the world in transforming essential resources into critical ingredients in four key areas: mobility, energy, connectivity and health.
Sustainability is a core part of Albemarle’s strategy and our operations in communities around the world. As responsible stewards of the environment, we monitor and manage our global environmental and social impacts around energy, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, waste, minerals, freshwater and biodiversity. We encourage you to view our annual Sustainability Report and accompanying webcast to hear more from our leaders about our steadfast commitment to a sustainable future.
In June 2023, Albemarle proudly became the first lithium producer, and only the third mine site globally, to complete an independent audit and have its audit report published by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). IRMA is a system of stringent standards to ensure mining activities are done in the most responsible way possible. IRMA is recognized throughout the electric vehicle supply chain by producers, purchasers, labor organizations, communities and NGOs alike.
At our site in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, we are implementing “IRMA-Ready” standards – special guidelines for mine sites in exploration phase. As Albemarle continues to explore restarting our hard rock mine in Kings Mountain, we have used IRMA as our guide in the pre-development process and have committed to complete an IRMA self-assessment and third-party audit in the event mining operations restart at that site.
Q: How do you invest in sustainability efforts either financially or through volunteer efforts? Can you provide an example of a partnership with an environmental nonprofit here in Charlotte and the impact of this partnership?
A critical ingredient to executing our sustainability strategy is our commitment to pioneering innovative products and technologies. For example, we recently launched MercLok™, a game-changing remediation technology designed to rapidly stabilize mercury found in a range of soils and industrial waste that, if left untreated, can create environmental and health hazards.
We also recently announced an initial investment of over $180 million to establish the Albemarle Technology Park (ATP) in North Charlotte. Once completed, ATP will be a world-class facility designed for advanced materials research, process development and product innovation right here in Charlotte. Each of these investments are proof points of our efforts to make the world safer and more sustainable.
Also key to our sustainability journey are partnerships formed through the Albemarle Foundation and its numerous volunteer opportunities for our employees. In 2022, we distributed $5.7 million in grants through the Albemarle Foundation to nonprofit organizations, and our employees gave more than 12,500 hours of their time to volunteering in their local communities last year.
Many of these volunteer opportunities centered on environmental sustainability efforts, including the following:
- Members of our Black Employees CONNECT and Faith CONNECT employee resource groups partnered with Victory Christian Center School in Charlotte to prepare an unused portion of a playground to serve as a sustainable garden plot and greenhouse site, where middle and high school students will learn to sow, grow and harvest vegetables and herbs in hydroponic systems.
- Our Kings Mountain site team built and continues to maintain a nearly 2,000 square-foot pollinator garden and habitat, which achieved a Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) Conservation Certification in 2020.
- Our employees in Qinzhou, China spent a day planting mangroves, a critical part of the ecosystem in the area where our Qinzhou factory is located.
- Albemarle teammates gathered to plant 500 saplings to help restore forests in the Harz Mountains near our Langelsheim, Germany, site.
We look forward to our continued partnership with Share Charlotte and many other impactful organizations as we aim to make a positive, sustainable difference in our communities.
Join Our Team!
At Albemarle, we come together to enable a more resilient world for people and planet, both today and tomorrow. Interested in joining a team that is dedicated to transforming essential resources to better serve the way we move, power, connect, and protect? Learn more here.