OVO's projects embody the same values as Umicore

Umicore is a global materials technology and recycling company with expertise in materials science, chemistry and metallurgy. Headquartered in Brussels, the company employs close to 12,000 people at some 60 production sites and research centres on just about every continent. Umicore has been a core member of OVO since 2006. After the OVO congress on 22 November, we had a conversation with Wouter Ghyoot, Vice President Government Affairs at the company.

Why does Umicore continue to support OVO?

Because we simply stand behind the organisation's objectives. The projects we support are projects that embody the same values as we do. Ultimately, it's about supporting people, the planet and communities. At the time, before my time at Umicore, Umicore decided to support OVO because we could identify with the organisation's objectives and operations. And this is still the case, after all these years.

Do you also support other projects?
Besides our presence at OVO as core members, we also support about two projects a year.
Currently, these are a reforestation project in Senegal and a project on photovoltaic activity in El Salvador. They usually involve durations of 2-3 years. Our donation committee meets regularly to decide which projects we support. The amount we spend is a certain percentage of our turnover, which allows us to support multiple projects, including those with longer durations.

Are these an extension of your industrial activities?

We try to identify projects that have something to do with the company. This could be where we operate or have a link to the technology for which we supply materials. To be clear, Umicore does not make finished products, we do supply materials that our customers can use to make a product such as batteries for electric cars. On the other hand, that link with our business is not always necessary, it can also be projects that are in line with our values.

Which values do you attach great importance to?

Let me give an example. Umicore is one of the largest processors of cobalt-containing substances in the world. Some of the cobalt we buy also comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the country that has about 70% of the world's supply of cobalt. Umicore itself no longer has any mines; it stopped doing so at the end of the last century. In 2004, our company decided to introduce strict conditions around the safe and ethical mining of raw materials, wherever they are found. Europe has now issued procedures stating that companies are responsible for the value chain and must know the origin of materials.  So we have been doing that since 2004. That means knowing who you are working with on site and doing an audit so they know how they work. That way, of course, you exclude suppliers. If we exclude someone, it means they are not working in a responsible way, not socially and not in terms of environment and safety. We don't want unsafe working conditions in our supply chain. Our customers know that only materials mined responsibly are in our supply. That does mean you have to be able to offer alternatives, because the people there need an income. That's why we also support projects that address, for example, workplace safety issues.