Sustainability Charter

Members of the International Zinc Association produce, distribute, use and recycle zinc to satisfy human needs for shelter, transportation, infrastructure, consumer products and food production.  Zinc is a material that is necessary for modern society and is essential to human, animal and crop health and well-being. The International Zinc Association works to enhance zinc’s contribution to society and to ensure that its production and use are in harmony with the natural environment and the needs of society, now and in the future. In order to contribute to the betterment of society and build value for our shareholders, our business decisions and activities are guided by the following principles :

• We recognize society’s desire for economic prosperity, environmental protection and social progress.  We will balance and align our activities in keeping with society’s goals.

• We believe that our activities can create opportunities to raise people’s standards of living and improve their quality of life, enabling communities to prevent or reduce environmental degradation and alleviate poverty.

• We are committed to ethical business practices and conduct our affairs in ways that demonstrate respect for human rights.

• We acknowledge that neither our products nor our operations should present unacceptable risks to people or the environment.  We advocate the safe use and responsible management of zinc and products that contain zinc.

• We obey all applicable laws and regulations and when local standards do not exist or are inadequate, we will establish and meet standards that protect human health and the environment.

• We believe that decision-making should be based on scientific information and we therefore support research and monitoring to advance understanding of the impacts of the production, use and recycling or disposal of our products.

• We encourage and support waste minimization through recycling and the recovery of zinc from the waste stream.

• We value public consultation and citizen participation, and promote transparency and openness in our relationships.  We treat our workers, business partners and communities in a fair and respectful manner, recognizing that cultures, priorities and working conditions differ from country to country.

IZA will develop a series of Guiding Principles to assist member companies in the implementation of this Sustainability Charter.

Adopted unanimously by IZA members during the Annual General Meeting, London, U.K., October 25, 2001.