PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AdvanSix (NYSE: ASIX) continues to build a broad platform for sustainability and corporate social responsibility across its organization and with stakeholders. A focus on continuously improving performance and core values of safety, integrity, accountability and respect propelled the company’s progress and achievements in 2020.
“Our sustainability efforts continue to mature in concert with our strategic priorities of operational excellence, enhancing portfolio resiliency and strong capital stewardship,” said Erin Kane, president and CEO of AdvanSix. “At AdvanSix, environmental, social and economic sustainability is essential to our business, especially in our relationships with key stakeholders, as we make products the world values. We embrace more every day about what it means to be a sustainable organization, leading, learning and collaborating across the chemical and broader industry environment.”
AdvanSix is a long-time, proud member of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and manages its operations in a safe, secure and sustainable manner in accordance with the Responsible Care® Guiding Principles. In addition to the ACC, AdvanSix was proud to join this year with other industry leaders in global initiatives:
Together for Sustainability
In November, AdvanSix joined Together for Sustainability (TfS), a global, procurement-driven initiative that delivers a groundbreaking framework with robust tools to assess and improve the sustainability performance of chemical companies and their suppliers. TfS delivers the de facto global standard for environmental, social and governance performance of chemical supply chains. The program is based on the UN Global Compact and Responsible Care® principles. AdvanSix is one of 29 multinational TfS member companies.
Operation Clean Sweep®
Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) is the stewardship campaign organized by the Plastics Industry Association and the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division designed to achieve zero pellet, flake and powder loss, and help keep material out of the marine environment. AdvanSix signed the OCS pledge in September, highlighting its commitment as a leading nylon resin provider in the North American plastics industry, and has begun to implement the program at its Chesterfield, Va. site, where employees are performing assessments and preventing chip loss at the point of origin. Additional training and process improvements are ongoing, as the team works to fulfill the pledge of the OCS campaign.
EcoVadis
AdvanSix was awarded a 2020 Gold Rating for corporate social responsibility (CSR) by EcoVadis, an independent CSR assessment agency in January. This was the first time AdvanSix participated in the assessment, which includes evaluations in the areas of Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement, and was ranked among the top four percent of chemical industry peers.
Several governance initiatives drive the organization’s approach to CSR and sustainability:
Health, Safety, Environmental and Sustainability (HSE&S) Committee of the Board of Directors
In February, the Board of Directors established the HSE&S Committee of the Board with primary responsibilities to include overseeing, reviewing and providing guidance on HSE&S management systems, reporting processes and systems of internal controls, climate change, and social and public policy programs to ensure compliance and consistency with business strategy and creation of stakeholder value.
Sustainability Council
Our Sustainability Council, which reports regularly to the HSE&S Committee, is comprised of subject matter experts throughout the organization. Part of the Council’s mission is to advance our path forward by remaining true to our core values, serving as a responsible corporate citizen, adapting to the needs of our stakeholders and delivering innovative ideas for a sustainable future.
AdvanSix publishes a Sustainability Report annually, providing an overview of the company’s environmental performance, corporate social responsibility and ethics and governance policies, and as a way to advance and engage in a dialogue among employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and other stakeholders. This year’s report was developed in alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards Core, supplemented with disclosures using guidance of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) as well as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
About AdvanSix
AdvanSix is a leading manufacturer of Nylon 6, a polymer resin which is a synthetic material used by our customers to produce fibers, filaments, engineered plastics and films that, in turn, are used in such end-products as carpets, automotive and electronic components, sports apparel, food packaging and other industrial applications. As a result of our backward integration and the configuration of our manufacturing facilities, we also sell caprolactam, ammonium sulfate fertilizer, acetone and other intermediate chemicals, all of which are produced within unit operations across our integrated manufacturing value chain. More information on AdvanSix can be found at http://www.advansix.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that our management intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," “outlook,” "project," "strategy," "intend," "plan," "target," "goal," "may," "will," "should" and "believe" and other variations or similar terminology and expressions. Although we believe forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict, which may cause the actual results or performance of the Company to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: general economic and financial conditions in the U.S. and globally, including the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and any resurgences; the scope and duration of the pandemic and pace of recovery; the timing of the development and distribution of an effective vaccine or treatment for COVID-19; governmental, business and individuals’ actions in response to the pandemic, including our business continuity and cash optimization plans that have been, and may in the future be, implemented; the impact of social and economic restrictions and other containment measures taken to combat virus transmission; the effect on our customers’ demand for our products and our suppliers’ ability to manufacture and deliver our raw materials, including implications of reduced refinery utilization in the U.S.; our ability to sell and provide our goods and services, including as a result of travel and other COVID-19-related restrictions; the ability of our customers to pay for our products; and any closures of our and our customers’ offices and facilities; risks associated with increased phishing, compromised business emails and other cybersecurity attacks and disruptions to our technology infrastructure; risks associated with employees working remotely or operating with a reduced workforce; risks associated with our indebtedness including compliance with financial and restrictive covenants, and our ability to access capital on reasonable terms, at a reasonable cost or at all due to economic conditions resulting from COVID-19 or otherwise; the impact of scheduled turnarounds and significant unplanned downtime and interruptions of production or logistics operations as a result of mechanical issues or other unanticipated events such as fires, severe weather conditions, natural disasters and pandemics including the COVID-19 pandemic; price fluctuations, cost increases and supply of raw materials; our operations and growth projects requiring substantial capital; growth rates and cyclicality of the industries we serve including global changes in supply and demand; failure to develop and commercialize new products or technologies; loss of significant customer relationships; adverse trade and tax policies; extensive environmental, health and safety laws that apply to our operations; hazards associated with chemical manufacturing, storage and transportation; litigation associated with chemical manufacturing and our business operations generally; inability to acquire and integrate businesses, assets, products or technologies; protection of our intellectual property and proprietary information; prolonged work stoppages as a result of labor difficulties or otherwise; cybersecurity, data privacy incidents and disruptions to our technology infrastructure; failure to maintain effective internal controls; disruptions in transportation and logistics; our inability to achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits of our spin-off including uncertainty regarding qualification for expected tax treatment; fluctuations in our stock price; and changes in laws or regulations applicable to our business. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by such forward-looking statements. We identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the risk factors in Part 1, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as updated in subsequent reports filed with the SEC.