Case study: How NOVA Chemicals creates economic value for its stakeholders
Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with operations in Alberta and Ontario in Canada and Louisiana in the U.S., NOVA Chemicals develops and manufactures ethylene and polyethylene for plastic products and packaging that are essential to making everyday life healthier and safer. Meeting the expectations of its stakeholders and creating sustainable value for them all, is a top priority for NOVA Chemicals. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2021 ESG Report by NOVA Chemicals, 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.
Abstract
NOVA Chemicals is committed to generating, through its operations, shared value for a wide range of stakeholders, including employees, governments, and communities. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders NOVA Chemicals took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for governments
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) NOVA Chemicals has identified;
- How NOVA Chemicals proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by NOVA Chemicals to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 ESG Report NOVA Chemicals identified a range of material issues, such as climate care, inclusion and diversity, plastics circular economy, air emissions, employee and contractor safety. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for NOVA Chemicals.
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 NOVA Chemicals engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics NOVA Chemicals engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Communities and Indigenous Communities | · Callout system · Conversations · Community advisory panels · Neighbour events/ open houses · Volunteer activities · Newsletters · Website community information · Responsible Care verification |
| Employees
| · Newsletters · Employee sessions · Quality conversations · Engagement surveys · Intranet and direct emails · Volunteer opportunities |
| Customers
| · Direct engagement (meetings and events) · Joint development programmes · Collaboration · Product information · Training/technical support · Innovation · Conferences |
| Suppliers
| · Meetings · Joint development programmes · Training · Technical support |
| Owner
| · Board meetings · Board site visits · Regular correspondence · Reports |
| Governments/Regulators
| · Reporting · Periodic conversations · Policy advocacy |
| Providers of Capital
| · Conference calls · Reporting · Conversations |
| Industry Associations
| · Industry association meetings · Conferences · Industry surveys |
What actions were taken by NOVA Chemicals to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 ESG Report NOVA Chemicals reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, NOVA Chemicals paid $472 million in employee salaries and benefits.
- Creating economic value for governments
- In 2021, NOVA Chemicals paid $15 million in income and property taxes.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2021, NOVA Chemicals spent $2.2 million in community investments.
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
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References:
This case study is based on published information by NOVA Chemicals, 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:
https://www.novachem.com/wp-content/uploads/ESG_Report_2021.pdf
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