Social statements

1. ¹ Ratio between the number of monitoring results exceeding the Umicore target value, defined for relevant hazardous substances, and the total number of monitoring results.

-

In total, 86 consolidated sites are included in the HR related notes of the social reporting (S2 to S5). This is a decrease of 4 sites from 2019 and attributed to 4 site closures: Beijing (TFP), Wickliffe, Bagnolet which relocated to active site Paris and Brentwood which relocated to active site Hertford. The sites report full year data for the social indicators. The indicators presented are based on data from fully consolidated companies.

GROUP DATA

Workforce: Number of employees on Umicore payroll at the end of the period in fully consolidated companies. The number includes part-time and temporary employees but excludes employees with a dormant contract, employees on long-term illness and sub-contracted employees.

Temporary contract: Umicore employees with a temporary contract, included in the workforce of fully consolidated companies.

Full time equivalent: The FTE of a worker is calculated by dividing the actual working regime, hours, shifts by the regime, hours, shifts of a full-time worker at the end of the period in fully consolidated companies.

This applies to all hourly paid, monthly paid, managers and interns on Umicore’s payroll at the end of the reported semester including part-time and temporary employees but excludes employees with a dormant contract (career interruption, parental leave, etc.), employees on long-term illness (country specific length of continuous absence) and early retirees.

TOTAL WORKFORCE

The total workforce decreased by 809 employees to a total of 13,319. For the fully consolidated companies, the workforce decreased by 293 people to 10,859, mainly due to a decrease in the Asia-Pacific and North American regions.

Amongst the associated companies there was a decrease of 516 employees, mainly due to the reductions in personnel at sites in Germany, Ireland, South Africa and United Kingdom in Element Six.

The FTE of 10,576 (consolidated) comes very close to the reported headcount of 10,859, illustrating that most of Umicore employees are working on a full-time basis.

TEMPORARY CONTRACTS

Temporary contracts as a percentage of the workforce of fully consolidated companies decreased slightly to 3.19% in 2020.

GENDER SPLIT

The percentage of women was 21.68% as a proportion of the workforce of fully consolidated companies. It has increased slightly from 2019.

GENDER SPLIT – SENIOR MANAGERS

While the total percentage of women employees has remained rather stable compared to 2016, the percentage of women managers has shown an increase from 22.11% in 2016 to 23.06% in 2020. The percentage of women in senior management dropped slightly from 2019. Overall, in the last five years the percentage increased from 9.09% in 2016 to 10.74% in 2020. While we did not achieve the ambition to reach 15% of women in senior management functions by end of 2020, increasing the number of women in senior management remains a target for the next coming years.

WOMEN IN “BUSINESS OPERATIONS” MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

To monitor career development, we have defined the notion of “business operations” management functions, referring to those in the fields of operations, sales and general management. These are functions that present a pipeline of talent to senior management. Within the senior management group, the business operation functions represent 52% of the group in 2020.

We have monitored the share of women managers in “business operations” functions since 2016. In 2020, the share of women within this management group employed in business operations functions decreased slightly to 14.43% compared to 14.9% in 2019. Overall, compared to 14.27% in 2016 it has slightly increased.

NON-EUROPEAN REPRESENTATION IN SENIOR MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

Since 2016 we have also monitored the share of non-European representation in senior management functions, as an indicator for diversity. In 2020, this share increased to 20.13%, from 2019 at 18.49%. Over the last five years, the percentage has shown a steady increase from 16.67% in 2016 to 20.13% in 2020.

REGIONAL DATA

BUSINESS GROUP DATA

GENERAL OVERVIEW OF SITES AND EMPLOYEES

Figures in brackets denotes “of which associates and joint venture companies”. Where a site has both production facilities and offices (e.g. Hanau, Germany), it is classified as a production site only. Some of our production sites and R&D/technical centers are located on the same site but are counted separately.

GROUP DATA

Training hours: Average number of training hours per employee, including all types of training (formal, training on the job, E-learning, etc.) in which the Company provides support, and which are relevant to the business unit or the Company. The total number of training hours is divided by the total workforce of fully consolidated companies.

Voluntary leavers: Number of employees leaving the Company of their own will (excluding retirement and the expiry of a fixed-term contract). This figure is related to the workforce from fully consolidated companies.

REGIONAL DATA

BUSINESS GROUP DATA

TRAINING HOURS

In 2020, the average training hours per employee decreased to 36.33 hours from the previous year. Globally, training hours were primarily impacted by COVID-19. Where possible, trainings were organised differently: in smaller groups respecting social distancing and online trainings. A part of the trainings were postponed or cancelled. In all regions training hours dropped, except for region South America where it increased in Brazil. This was mainly due to a high number of “on the job” training hours for employees who were hired, changed jobs or took on additional responsibilities in some sites. The amount of “on the job” hours differentiated based on job role, complexity of processes and tasks. The training hours for “on the job learning” are not consistently captured or registered in all sites.

Data shows that managers training hours (26.98 hours) are lower than for other employees (38.62 hours).

YEARLY APPRAISAL

In 2020, 93.42% of all employees from fully consolidated companies had an appraisal interview to discuss their development at least once a year.

VOLUNTARY LEAVERS

In 2020 the voluntary leavers rate decreased to 4.20% from 5.99% in 2019. Although the rate dropped for all regions, still significant regional differences can be observed with Asia Pacific reporting the highest voluntary leaver rate (9.25%) and Africa (0.84%) the lowest. The high voluntary leaver rate in Asia Pacific is not unique to Umicore and can be explained by a highly competitive and fluid labor market.

VOLUNTARY LEAVERS – GENDER

Of the 4.2% of voluntary leavers worldwide, 18.78% were women, down from 19.47% in 2019.

GROUP DATA

REGIONAL DATA

BUSINESS GROUP DATA

UNION AND COLLECTIVE LABOR AGREEMENT

In total, 66.38% of Umicore employees belong to a trade union organization and/or the level of their wages are negotiated through a collective bargaining agreement. On a regional basis, there are significant differences in union representation, with the highest representation in South America and Europe and the lowest in North America.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT

In 2007, Umicore signed a Sustainable Development Agreement with the International union IndustriALL, which was renewed for 4 years in 2015 and in 2019. In this agreement, Umicore commits to a number of principles including: the banning of child labour and forced labour, recognizing the right to its employees to organize themselves and to participate in collective bargaining.

All sites are screened internally each year. This screening showed that none of Umicore’s sites demonstrated a particular risk of infringement in any of the principles of the agreement.

Umicore has a systematic Group-wide internal reporting on Code of Conduct issues since 2011. In 2020 a total of 35 cases were reported, involving a total of 45 employees. The type of action taken varies from a warning letter to dismissal.

The Group EHS Guidance Note (hereafter ‘EHS Guidance Note’) is Umicore’s central EHS management system. It describes the groupwide environmental, health and safety requirements and expectations. It is based upon ‘The Umicore Way’ and provides a framework for the business units and sites to putting it into effect. The structure of the guidance note is consistent with the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 management systems and explicitly references those frameworks. The EHS Guidance Note is a basis for the Corporate EHS audit program which focuses both on compliance with the guidance note and compliance with relevant local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. The business units (BUs) and sites develop a clear action plan on the identified areas for improvement and Corporate EHS follows-up on this action plan to ensure proper progress and timely completion.

As stipulated in the EHS Guidance Note, and in line with Umicore’s decentralized organization:

• Umicore’s BUs and sites are responsible for translating the EHS Guidance Note into their own EHS management systems and procedures while respecting the requirements and expectations defined in the EHS Guidance Note.

• Umicore’s BUs and sites are responsible for identifying risks and impacts of their activities, in normal operational conditions and potential emergencies. These assessments include potential for occupationally-linked health symptoms and diseases, hazards, injuries due to accidents, and toxicity or ecotoxicity of chemical substances. Each site must have a process in place to evaluate and document those aspects and impacts of their operations which are linked to both the workplace and the environment, including the operations of contractors working on Umicore sites.

• Umicore Corporate EHS staff, in consultation with the BUs and sites, advise on company-specific EHS standards including biological target values, safety and occupational exposure targets.

• Each BU and site develops a safety policy in line with the Group Safety Policy. The health and safety management system must ensure that employees, contractors and visitors are protected against harmful effects of working with chemicals, processes or machinery. The system includes: workplace assessments of potential hazards; operating procedures for employees and contractors; training programs on the hazards of chemicals, processes, and on prevention and safety; hazard communication for employees and contractors related to exposure potentials, control systems, emergency situations and specific health risks ; the need for personal protective equipment; ergonomics; storage, loading and unloading of hazardous products; machine-guarding programs to protect workers from exposure to moving parts; electrical safety; work permits and a lock out – tag out programs to protect employees or contractors working around equipment during repair or maintenance activities; etc.

• Umicore has a risk competency practice in place at the sites designed to empower workers to evaluate the hazards and risk at the workplace and feedback to their supervisor. Workers, in coordination with the supervisor, can suggest risk management options which can include stopping a job, having it re-evaluated and adding new measures prior to resuming the job if necessary.

• All sites must have a written occupational hygiene and occupational health programs. Sites are encouraged to implement specific preventative programs, for example around smoking cessation or avoiding workplace risks resulting from use of drugs and alcohol, and must provide access to occupational health services via a licensed occupational physician or another occupational health organization.

• All new employees follow a Group health and safety induction training during the initial phase of their employment. Specific training plans are developed for new and temporary employees (including managers and contractor employees).

• Each accident, incident and significant near miss must be investigated and control measures taken to prevent reoccurrence. Additionally, the investigation needs to include where and why the EHS management system failed and to record recommended appropriate measures. Contractors are required to investigate accidents and incidents on Umicore premises, where not addressed by the Umicore site. The Group Safety Policy includes an incident investigation in a ‘no-blame atmosphere’.

Umicore has also committed to worker health and safety in the context of the IndustriALL Global Framework Agreement. To view Umicore’s IndustriALL Global Framework Agreement, visit: umicore.com/industriALL

All consolidated industrial sites where Umicore has operational control, are included in the scope of the occupational health reporting., In 2020, following Umicore’s internal reporting procedure 56 sites were required to report their occupational health data.

The information in this note only relates to Umicore employees. Data on subcontractors’ occupational health are not included. Additional information on Umicore’s approach to occupational health can be found in the corresponding section of Management Approach and in above note S6.

GROUP DATA

1. ¹ Ratio between the number of monitoring results exceeding the Umicore target value, defined for relevant hazardous substances, and the total number of monitoring results.
2. ² The exposure ratio of a specific metal is defined as the ratio between the number of employees with a biological monitoring result exceeding the Umicore target value for that specific metal and the total number of employees exposed to that metal. The Umicore target values are based upon recent peer reviewed scientific data and regularly re-evaluated in the context of new evidence.

By 2020, it was Umicore’s objective to have no exceedance for the biomarkers of exposure for the metals listed below. The following target values have been defined:

• Cadmium: 2 micrograms per gram of creatinine in urine

• Lead: 30 micrograms per 100 ml of blood

• Cobalt: 15 micrograms per gram of creatinine

• Indium: 1 microgram per liter of plasma

• Arsenic and nickel: 30 micrograms per gram of creatinine in urine

• Platinum salts: no new cases of platinum salt sensitization

The number of occupational diseases is the number of employees with a newly diagnosed occupational disease or occupationally linked symptoms during the reporting year.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed some biological monitoring campaigns in the 1^st half year, by the end of 2020, all employees were submitted to a full program as required by Umicore’s internal health guidance notes.

In 2020, a total of 7406 biological sampling procedures took place from employees with an occupational exposure to at least one of the metals mentioned above (platinum salts excluded). 122 readings showed a result in excess of the internal target value. This brings the total excess rate to 1.6%, comparable to the 1.8% excess rate of 2019. All occupationally exposed employees are regularly monitored by an occupational health physician in line with regulatory requirements and Umicore occupational health guidance.

LEAD

Occupational lead exposure represents a potential health risk, mainly in the business group Recycling. In total, 8 of the 1,385 occupationally exposed employees exceeded the target value of 30μg/100ml, decreasing as such the excess rate for lead exposure to 0.6% compared to 0.9% in 2019.

The decrease in excess readings is the result of continued improved workplace hygiene measures at the lead refinery at the Hoboken site (Belgium, Recycling). The site improved its ventilation systems, while instructions and training resulted in better compliance with personal protective equipment requirements.

ARSENIC

Occupational exposure to arsenic is possible in the business groups Energy & Surface Technologies and Recycling. In total, 8 employees or 0.8% of the 967 occupationally exposed workers had an excess reading during 2020, the same excess rate as in 2019.

All workers occupationally exposed to arsenic are submitted to a medical surveillance program to closely monitor their health condition.

COBALT

In total, 2,034 employees are occupationally exposed to cobalt, mainly in the business group Energy & Surface Technologies. The number of employees exceeding the target value was further reduced to 55, resulting in an excess rate of 2.7%, down from 3.4% in 2019.

In the business unit Rechargeable Battery Materials we noticed an excess rate of 1.2% in 2020, the same number as in 2019.

The excess readings in the business unit Cobalt & Specialty Materials decreased from 11.1% in 2019 to 10.5% in 2020.

The sites in Cheonan (Korea, Rechargeable Battery Materials) and Jiangmen (China, Rechargeable Battery Materials) continued and maintained their comprehensive ‘zero dust’ management plan. In the last quarter of 2020, the site in Cheonan achieved a zero-excess rate during the biological monitoring campaign. This ‘zero dust’ program focuses on equipment improvements and workers’ behavior. Concrete actions include awareness programs, regular industrial hygiene campaigns, excellent housekeeping and improved maintenance of critical equipment.

The business unit Cobalt & Specialty Materials continues to further develop their dust reduction program with focus on technical improvements, encapsulation of equipment, enhanced ventilation systems and strict application of personal protective equipment procedures including respiratory mask fit testing for each exposed employee. While over the past years progress has been made,the sites in Olen (Belgium, Energy & Surface Technologies), Fort Saskatchewan (Canada, Energy & Surface Technologies) and Grenoble (France, Energy & Surface Technologies) continue to report the highest excess rates.

For workers exposed to cobalt, both business units Cobalt & Specialty Materials and Rechargeable Battery Materials have implemented Umicore’s occupational health guidance for cobalt, including biological monitoring and medical surveillance. For the site in Jiangmen (China, Energy & Surface Technologies), the medical staff of the new occupational health center has been set up and implemented a cobalt health and hygiene program in line with Umicore’s internal guidelines and compliant with Chinese regulatory requirements.

CADMIUM

Occupational exposure to cadmium represents a potential health risk in the business groups Energy & Surface Technologies and Recycling. Cadmium in urine is an excellent biomarker for lifetime exposure. In 2020, a total of 449 employees had an occupational exposure to cadmium.

Only 1 employee recorded a cadmium in urine reading in excess of the target value. This resulted in an excess rate of 0.2%, the same as in 2019.

NICKEL

The business groups Energy & Surface Technologies and Recycling have occupational exposure to nickel. In 2020, a total of 2,380 employees were exposed to nickel. In 2020, 47 of the exposed workers exceeded the target level resulting in an excess level of 2.0% compared to 1.8% in 2019.

In the business unit Rechargeable Battery Materials, we noticed an increase in excess readings from 0.9 in 2019 to 2.4% in 2020, mainly related to an increased exposure at the site in Jiangmen (China, Energy & Surface Technologies). Increased production volumes and a reduced compliance with the site’s personal protective equipment policy contributed to the increased number of excess readings. The site intensifies its training programs for newcomers and continues to invest in technical improvements.

The excess readings in the business unit Cobalt & Specialty Materials significantly decreased from 12.2% in 2019 down to 5.5 % in 2020. While the closure of the site in Wickliffe (USA, Energy & Surface Technologies) significantly contributed to this reduction, the dust management programs at the sites in Subic (Philippines, Energy & Surface Technologies) further strengthened this trend.

For workers exposed to nickel, both business units Cobalt & Specialty Materials and Rechargeable Battery Materials have implemented Umicore’s occupational health guidance for nickel, including biological monitoring and medical surveillance. For the site in Jiangmen (China, Energy & Surface Technologies), the medical staff of the new occupational health center has been set up and implemented a nickel health and hygiene program in line with Umicore’s internal guidelines and compliant with Chinese regulatory requirements.

INDIUM

The business group Energy & Surface Technologies has exposure to indium. Indium in plasma is an excellent biomarker for lifetime exposure.

In 2020, 191 employees were exposed to indium. 3 employees had an excess reading for indium in plasma, at the site in Balzers (Liechtenstein, Energy & Surface Technologies) resulting in an excess rate of 1.6% compared to 1.9% in 2019. All these workers had a current or former exposure at the bonding workplace. The working conditions at this workplace have been improved and an extensive medical surveillance program, in line with Umicore occupational health guidelines, has been implemented.

PLATINUM SALTS

The business groups Catalysis and Recycling have workplaces with exposure to platinum salts.

In 2020, we had 1 newly diagnosed employee with a platinum salt sensitization at the site in Hoboken (Belgium, Recycling). The worker has been removed from the workplace. All workers exposed to platinum salts are being monitored through an occupational health program, following a Umicore health guideline and are being regularly checked for platinum salt sensitization.

OTHER OCCUPATIONAL RELATED DISEASES

In 2020, 1 employee developed a musculoskeletal disorder due to his occupation. 3 employees developed a noise-induced hearing loss. All people concerned are being followed-up by an occupational health physician.

Over the past years, Umicore has been confronted with several burn-out cases that led to long-term sickness with impact on both the individual and the organization. The Umicore sites in Belgium continue their program consisting of primary prevention of burn-out combined with early recognition of symptoms and case management support. Concrete actions included awareness campaigns via leaflets, e-learning, workshops, training for supervisors and managers and individual coaching in case of burn-out symptoms. Similar programs have been implemented at Umicore sites in other countries such as Germany.

During the lock-down periods following the pandemic, many office employees had to work from their home office for longer periods. Many sites took measures to ensure the wellbeing of their employees. These measures included regular virtual contacts among team members, leaflets on the company’s intranet with tips and tricks to organize your home-working, online social events etc.

In 2020, 92 consolidated sites, of which 58 are industrial sites, are included in the safety reporting. This number also includes commercial offices.

Additional information on Umicore’s approach to safety can be retrieved in the corresponding section of Management Approach and in above note S6.

The Umicore information in this note only relates to Umicore employees. Data on subcontractors’ occupational safety are being reported separately. Umicore strives towards an accident-free workplace.

GROUP DATA

Umicore employee: a person belonging to Umicore’s total workforce. A Umicore employee can be a full-time, part-time or temporary employee

Sub-contractor: a person not belonging to Umicore’s total workforce, providing services to Umicore in one of its premises under terms specified in a contract

Fatal accident: a work-related accident with fatal outcome

Lost time accident (LTA): a work-related injury resulting in more than one shift being lost from work

Recordable injury (RI): a work-related injury resulting in more than one first aid treatment or in a modified working program but excluding lost time accidents

Frequency rate: number of lost time accidents per million hours worked

Severity rate: number of lost calendar days due to a lost time accident per thousand hours worked. Accidents to and from work are not part of the scope of the safety data

REGIONAL DATA

BUSINESS GROUP DATA

A sensitivity analysis of the safety numbers demonstrated that the lockdown periods did not change in a significant way the number of hours exposed, an indicator used to calculate both the Group’s frequency and severity rates.

In 2020, 49 lost time accidents have been recorded, down from 90 in 2019. This resulted in a frequency rate of 2.52, down from 4.62 in 2019.

Any satisfaction we might have derived from the reduced number of lost time accidents is wiped out by the fatal accident at the site in Subic (Philippines, Energy & Surface Materials). An employee got seriously injured during the operation of a forklift truck. He was transferred to the hospital for emergency surgery but a week later succumbed to his injuries. Immediate actions were taken to prevent this type of forklift handling and a global safety alert has been sent to all business units with clear instructions and deadlines for the implementation of a detailed improvement plan on powered forklift trucks, stationary machinery and equipment.

In total 9,176 calendar days were lost due to lost time accidents including the 7,500 default days lost following the fatal accident. This resulted in a severity rate of 0.47, more than a doubling compared to 2019.

There were 119 reported recordable injuries, down from 158 in 2019. The RI frequency rate for 2020 was 6.13 compared to 8.07 in 2019. 17 lost time accidents were registered for contractors compared to 25 in 2019 .

During 2020, 83% of the reporting sites that were operational throughout the year operated without a lost time accident. 54.4% of the sites were certified using the occupational health and safety management system OHSAS 18001 or ISO 45001.

38 lost time accidents, or 77% of lost time accidents, occurred in Europe. Of these, 28 lost time accidents occurred at Belgian sites and 6 at German sites. The Asia-Pacific sites accounted for 6 accidents. 4 lost time accidents happened in North American sites and 1 in a South American site.

Umicore counted only 14 lost time accidents during the 1^st half year (1^st of January through the 30^th of June). We believe that the COVID-19 pandemic may have led to an increased scrutiny of the workplace conditions by all employees to protect themselves and their fellow co-workers of getting infected at the workplace. In addition, a consistent and a more coaching communication style on the health and hygiene measures to be taken by the sites may also have contributed to an increased risk awareness.

In 2020, the business group Catalysis recorded 7 lost time accidents compared to 11 in 2019. Following a safety culture survey at the end of 2019 the business unit Automotive Catalysts has implemented additional safety behavioral actions including risk competency projects in several of its sites. All Automotive Catalysts production plants are required to be certified against the ISO 45001 or OHSAS 18001 management system. At year-end, the site Tsukuba (Japan) recorded more than 10 years without a lost time accident or recordable injury to Umicore staff and no lost time accident to contractors on site. The sites in Port Elizabeth (South-Africa), Himeji (Japan) and Rayong (Thailand), had operated over 5 years without lost time accident or recordable injury to Umicore staff and no lost time accident to contractors on site. The sites in Auburn Hills (USA), Karlskoga (Sweden); Shirwal (India) and Tokoname had operated more than 3 years without a lost time accident or recordable injury to Umicore staff and no lost time accident to contractors.

The business group Energy & Surface Technologies recorded 8 lost time accidents, down from 14 in 2019. The sites further deployed their safety actions around 3 main pillars: ‘men’, ‘machines’ and ‘methods’. At year end, the sites in Dundee (UK) and Tsukuba (Japan) have been recognized for their excellent and sustained safety performance, recording over 10 years without any lost time accident or recordable injury to Umicore staff and no lost time accident to contractors. Balzers (Liechtenstein) operated more than 5 years without any lost time accident or recordable injury to Umicore staff and no lost time accidents to contractors. The site in Manaus (Brazil), Hsinchu Hsien (Taiwan), La Vergne and Quapaw (USA) operated more than 3 years without any lost time accident or recordable injury to Umicore staff and no lost time accidents to contractors.

The business group Recycling had 34 lost time accidents compared to 62 in 2019. The site in Hoboken (Belgium, Recycling) reported 27 lost time accidents compared to 57 in 2019. The site has continued the implementation of its ‘Safety @ Precious Metals Refining’ action plan under the leadership of a senior management steering committee. During 2020, the site has among other measures intensified its safety observation tours by all managers and supervisors. At year end, the site in Markham (Canada) and the UMS site in Bangkok (Thailand) operated 3 years without any lost time accident or recordable injury to Umicore staff and no lost time accident to contractors.

There were no lost time accidents in general services and corporate offices, including Corporate Research & Development.

Umicore is reviewing it global safety strategy and actions under the leadership of a newly hired Group Safety Director.

In 2020, the Umicore Group process safety activities focused on executing process risk assessment studies to ensure that all our processes are being operated in the acceptable risk zone. At year end, over 70% of the production processes had received specific process hazard and risk assessments compliant with Umicore standards, compared to 60% in 2019. A detailed timeline has been reviewed for completion of the remaining studies in the coming years, giving priority to the processes with high risk profiles.

Due to COVID-19 travel and meeting restrictions in 2020, an alternative audit program of remote process safety compliance audits and quality review of process risk assessments was established.

Umicore continued its process safety training program in 2020 with online HAZOP leader training sessions and hydrogen safety webinars.

Following a major fire incident at the Hoboken production site, a fire investment plan is established in collaboration with independent fire risk experts and the fire insurance company. The site intensified fire inspections and emergency response planning in close collaboration with the local authorities.