Orica (ASX: ORI) has been recognised for its sustainability efforts in the 2024 Australian Financial Review (AFR) Sustainability Leaders awards.
The company secured top honours in two significant categories: Resources, Energy, and Utilities, as well as the Overall winner for Impact.
The AFR Sustainability Leaders list celebrates Australian companies making substantial progress in addressing sustainability challenges while delivering business value.
The rigorous assessment process, overseen by an expert panel in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), evaluates each organisation’s impact on non-financial outcomes and its alignment with competitive advantage and business value.
Operating within the hard-to-abate manufacturing sector, Orica has been acknowledged for its commitment to responsible mining and infrastructure development, aimed at facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The company’s efforts are informed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and include the adoption of innovative low-carbon technologies at its Kooragang Island ammonium nitrate plant in Newcastle, Australia.
These initiatives help customers achieve their sustainability goals and support society’s transition to a decarbonised future.
Orica’s significant progress in addressing environmental challenges is exemplified by the ‘Kooragang Island Decarbonisation Project,’ a $37 million private-public investment involving Orica, the NSW Government, and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Completed in 2023, the project successfully commissioned and operated an Australian-first tertiary catalyst abatement technology across three nitric acid manufacturing plants on site.
This technology is expected to reduce site emissions by approximately 45 per cent and Australia’s total chemical industrial sector emissions by about 11 per cent, making it one of the largest industrial decarbonisation projects in the country.
Additionally, the project has injected over $12 million into the Hunter Valley economy and will help future-proof the Kooragang Island manufacturing facility, ensuring the continued reliable supply of critical products to various sectors, including mining, medical, agricultural, and food and beverage.
Orica’s President – Australia Pacific and Sustainability, Germán Morales, expressed pride in receiving the awards, highlighting the team’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and collaboration across Orica, government, and partners.
Morales emphasised that economic growth and environmental stewardship can coexist and that Orica is focused on installing the same proven technology at its Yarwun facility this year.
This effort aligns with Orica’s accelerated climate targets to reduce net operational Scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 45 per cent by 2030, from 2019 levels and is a step towards achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Orica’s recognition in the AFR Sustainability Leaders awards underscores the company’s dedication to sustainability and its role in shaping a more sustainable future for the industry and society.