Management Approach
ICL manufactures products on four continents and markets them to thousands of customers in more than 180 countries, meeting the evolving needs of millions of people around the globe. To accomplish this, the company uses various natural resources such as raw materials, energy, and water. ICL is committed to being a skilled, responsible company that strives to minimize the environmental impact of its operations.
A clear commitment to be in the top tier in safety performance and environmental responsibility
As a chemical and mining company, ICL is aware of the potential impact of its operations and products. Environmental, safety, health and security performance is a core value of ICL. Thus, the company invests in environmental protection, preventing pollution and increasing the efficiency of its production facilities. ICL has set up both short and long-term goals for its environmental performance.
Significant efforts and resources are invested in order to comply with all environmental rules and regulations, as well as proactive health and safety initiatives.
Mission Statement: ICL is committed to eliminating EHS&S incidents and complying with all regulatory requirements by taking a proactive approach that empowers employees to identify at-risk conditions and behaviors and learn from them to minimize risk.
Significant Environmental Incidents and Environmental Enforcement within the reporting period
Incidents: In June 2018, a Bromine leak occurred from an ISO tank at ICL’s Dead Sea Bromine site. The Company’s emergency response teams immediately arrived on site to address the issue, but were compelled to await approval of the treatment methods by external fire fighting authorities. Upon receiving approval, the emergency teams took immediate action and performed a complete turnover of the ISO tank with a crane. The tank was then sealed and the Bromine was pumped into another tank, and the incident ended, after several hours, with no injuries. Over the course of the incident, measurements were made of bromine concentrations on the plant’s perimeter fence. Throughout the entire incident, the measured bromine concentrations remained below values hazardous to human health. In spite of that, the authorities decided on the temporary evacuation of farmers from the area, temporary closure of Route 90 and a temporary order to Neot Hakikar and Ein Tamar residents to remain indoors. These measures were cancelled after several hours and an “all clear” announcement was issued. Such an incident is extremely rare – an incident of this type has never occurred at the site previously. The incident was analyzed together with the ISO tank supplier. The root cause of the leak was identified. Consequently, the annual examination and testing procedures for ISO tanks were changed, in order to ensure the intactness of the inner lining as well as the tank’s structural integrity. Furthermore, new rapid sealing mechanisms were put into use, designed to accelerate sealing and reduce the effects of any future potential leaks. Moreover, coordination meetings were held with police and firefighting authorities, in order to familiarize them with the unique treatment methods required in an incident involving this material, and to ensure optimal coordination between the parties in the future.
Fines: During 2018, a fine at the amount of 6,000 ILS (=~1,700 USD) and a warning letter were issued to ICL’s facility at the Ashdod seaport, due to a minor pollution (small stain in seawater) that occurred during maintenance works by a contractor operating on behalf of the Company. The Company conducted an inquiry of the issue, following which lessons were drawn and supervision was enhanced on contractors working within the port on behalf of ICL. This included, among else, enhanced supervision on the deployment of tarps for dust prevention.
As part of ICL’s EHS&S policy, the company engages in initiatives aimed at reducing its environmental impact. The efforts are taken in multiple dimensions, such as the responsible use of natural resources, energy efficiency, reducing air pollution and wastes, and the responsible use and ‘end of life’ of our products. The company also acts to promote an ongoing, honest dialogue with our stakeholders.
Some of ICL’s products are potentially harmful to the environment and the health and safety of the public as a result of the effluents, air emissions and waste that are generated during their production as well at other stages of the products’ life cycle.
Environmental, safety, health and security performance is a core value of ICL
ICL’s environmental guidelines take a proactive approach characterized by the voluntary adoption of advanced international environmental management principles and programs, e.g. participation in the “Responsible Care” program administered by the International Council for Chemicals Association (ICCA) and founded on principles of Product Stewardship. ICL incorporates the “precautionary principle” in its operations and in its development and sales of the company products.
91% of ICL’s global production sites are certified to ISO 14001 or an equivalent standard for environmental management systems.
15 major energy-consuming ICL sites have implemented ISO 50001 for energy management.
These form 32% of all global production sites. In addition, ICL also has implemented internal standards and management systems concerning environmental responsibility and performance.
ICL’s direct impact is from its operations. The reported performance data includes all production sites with operational control. Information regarding biodiversity and mining is relevant only to five of ICL’s sites. In addition, ICL’s products have the potential for both positive and negative impact, if not used correctly. Read more on ICL’s products and solutions. This management approach is relevant to all material environmental topics. In case there is more relevant information, specific to a given material topic, additional details can be found in that topic section within this report.
Implementing a Sustainability Data Management System
ICL’s need for a sustainability reporting system arose over the past several years due to a growing expectation by ICL’s stakeholders that the company commits to periodically and systemically report on numerous sustainability issues. These reports include both regulatory reports (such as PRTR) and voluntary reports (such as the Company’s annual corporate responsibility report, CDP, ‘Maala’, Responsible Care and others). On top of these, there are regular internal reports for tracking environmental and safety performance. These reports require the continuous collection of thousands of data points from all of ICL’s facilities - including data related to energy and water consumption, air and waste emissions, environmental and safety incidents, and other fields. To do so efficiently, ICL has implemented a globally leading sustainability reporting cloud-based system called “SoFi”, as a central tool for sustainability data collection and reporting. The system has been implemented in all 43 ICL Production sites and in some major ICL logistic companies and offices worldwide.
