Case study: How Albemarle creates economic value for its stakeholders
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly engineered specialty chemicals. Albemarle is firmly grounded in its approach to sustainability investments and activities that generate long-term value for all its stakeholders, making substantial progress towards its sustainability goals.
This case study is based on the 2021 Sustainability Report by Albemarle, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Driving greater stakeholder value, generating lasting value and benefits for the wider society, is a top priority for Albemarle. Tweet This! In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Albemarle took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for suppliers
- create economic value for the government
- create economic value for shareholders
Subscribe for free and read the rest of this case study
Please subscribe to the SustainCase Newsletter to keep up to date with the latest sustainability news and gain access to over 2000 case studies. These case studies demonstrate how companies are dealing responsibly with their most important impacts, building trust with their stakeholders (Identify > Measure > Manage > Change).
With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Albemarle has identified;
- How Albemarle proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Albemarle to create economic value for its stakeholders
Already Subscribed? Type your email below and click submit
What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Albemarle identified a range of material issues, such as diversity, equity and inclusion, energy and greenhouse gases, safety, resource stewardship. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Albemarle.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Albemarle engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics Albemarle engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees | · Daily updates to Albert, the company intranet, and frequent updates to the corporate website · Quarterly town hall meetings hosted by the CEO and GBUs that are recorded and posted to Albert · Written memos · In-person meetings (where possible) · Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) |
| Shareholder/Investment Community
| · SEC filings · Publicly available quarterly earnings calls · Presentations to industry and investor groups that are webcast and available for viewing on Albemarle’s website · Analyst events · Conferences · Direct outreach to address investor concerns and answer questions |
| Industry and Trade Associations
| · Participation in trade and industry associations globally, such as the American Chemistry Council · Collaboration with global trade associations to conduct and publish peer-reviewed, scientific research |
| Government and Regulators
| · Engagement with governments and regulators via phone, email, or in-person meetings (when possible) · Political contributions |
| NGOs
| · Engagement with global, regional, and national NGOs on environmental, social, and governance issues to demonstrate the benefits of Albemarle’s products and the sustainable operation of its facilities |
| Media
| · Press releases · Interviews |
What actions were taken by Albemarle to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Albemarle reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, Albemarle paid $530 million in employee wages.
- Creating economic value for suppliers
- In 2021, Albemarle paid $2.2 billion to suppliers.
- Creating economic value for the government
- In 2021, Albemarle paid $185 million in taxes.
- Creating economic value for shareholders
- In 2021, Albemarle paid $178 million in dividends to shareholders.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.
Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.
7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started
Any size business can start taking sustainability action
GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom (venue: London School of Economics)
- Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
- Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
- Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP.
- Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement
See upcoming training dates.
References:
This case study is based on published information by Albemarle, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
Note to Albemarle: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.