Adoption of the charter is a landmark step for the zinc industry and follows an earlier decision to embrace the principles of sustainable development in IZA's activities and a 2-year programme of strategy development. IZA has also made important revisions to its own mission statement to reflect the organisation's focus on sustainable development.
In inviting IZA member companies to adopt the Charter, Chairman, Andre R. van der Heyden (Padaeng Industry) said, "This is a serious commitment from our industry. It must be carried through to our daily business decisions and activities - the future of the zinc industry will be much stronger when we fully embrace this Charter".
The Charter states that IZA should "work 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".
The Sustainability Charter sets out eight principles that companies will follow. IZA will develop a series of Guiding Principles to assist companies in implementing the Charter.
Doug Horswill (Teck Cominco) chaired the working group that generated the Charter. In presenting the Charter and first Guiding Principles to the IZA AGM he emphasized " IZA has a leadership position here in the metals industry. Now we have to turn the Charter into action - both through our own efforts and through effective co-operation with others".
Further development of the zinc industry's sustainable development strategy is already underway, with a series of initiatives to consult zinc industry customer groups on the industry's approach. Consultative meetings with steel, galvanizing, die-casting and zinc chemicals sectors are planned - with feedback to be used to guide further actions.
The full text of IZA's Sustainability Charter and revised Mission Statement can be viewed at www.zincworld.org
