Case study: How Yara creates economic value for its stakeholders
Yara is the world’s leading crop nutrition company and a provider of environmental and agricultural solutions, combining production and marketing of crop nutrition products and solutions with a farmer-centric approach. Value generation and distribution is a top priority for Yara Tweet This!, which manages and measures its value creation along four pillars: People, Planet, Prosperity, and Governance.
This case study is based on the 2021 Sustainability Report by Yara, 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
In 2021, USD 4,051 million was distributed by Yara to its employees, shareholders and other providers of capital, paid in taxes to governments, or retained in the company (USD 709 million). In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Yara took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for shareholders
- create economic value for governments
- create economic value for banks
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Yara has identified;
- How Yara proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Yara to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Yara identified a range of material issues, such as occupational and process safety, climate change, business integrity, leadership and employee enablement, diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainable farm management. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Yara.
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 Yara engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics Yara engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees | · Internal channels and townhalls · Training and coaching · Employee surveys · Regular job appraisals · Engagement with trade unions |
| Distributors and retailers | · Regular, direct dialogue · Commercial teams and agronomists worldwide |
| Farmers | · Commercial teams and agronomists worldwide · Customer satisfaction surveys and feedback in key markets · Farmer meetings, crop clinics, field meetings, and · demonstrations/trials |
| Suppliers | · Regular, direct dialogue · Integrity Due Diligence process · Strategic collaborations and long-term relationships |
| Investors and lenders | · Stock exchange releases, press releases, and presentations · Roadshows, conferences and meetings |
| Regulators and policy makers | · Engagement in policy-making processes and provision of analyses and studies · Dedicated advocacy resources in Oslo (Norway), Brussels (EU), Washington DC (USA) and Ottawa (Canada) · Engagement in industry associations by leaders across the company’s different locations · Visits, social events, and conferences |
| Food industry | · Partnerships, joint initiatives, projects, and trials · Partnering in industry coalitions · Visits, meetings, and seminars |
What actions were taken by Yara to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Yara reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, Yara paid USD 1,270 million in employee wages and benefits. Every employee received extraordinary USD 1,000 bonuses for 2020 and 2021, acknowledging their exceptional efforts during the pandemic.
- Creating economic value for shareholders
- In 2021, Yara paid USD 1,578 million to shareholders.
- Creating economic value for governments
- In 2021, Yara paid USD 351 million in income taxes to governments.
- Creating economic value for banks
- In 2021, Yara paid USD 138 million in interest expenses to banks.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2021, Yara paid USD 5 million in donations and sponsoring, largely related to pandemic relief, food security, and inclusive growth.
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 Yara, 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:
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