Since the launch of Endeavour Silver almost two decades ago, we've taken important steps to manage our business with integrity, and operate our mines in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
It's an approach that endures to this day. And it's at the heart of our three year Sustainability Strategy.
This strategy has three areas of focus:
- To increase positive social impacts for people;
- To elevate our environmental stewardship of the planet;
- And to lead a healthy, long-term business.
This past year we rolled up our sleeves to execute Year One of the strategy, turning our commitments into actuality. Our progress is discussed in our 2022 Sustainability Report.
For example, we aligned our health and safety practices with the latest ISO standards to align to international best practices for health and safety at work.
As a result of our safety culture and evolving programs, we had exceptional safety performance in 2022, continuing. a four-year downward trend, as our reportable injury rate dropped by 28%.
Last year we also took important steps to increase employee development and inclusion. We revamped our onboarding process to set up new hires for success, and provided an average of 30 training hours for employees and contractors
We amplified our community investments in Mexico by 17%, to support local needs in health, education and economic development.
And marked the sixth anniversary of the Endeavour Scholarship Program in Mexico, with 713 scholarships granted since inception.
Addressing climate change is an important part of our Sustainability Strategy and we're committed to reducing our environmental impact. In 2022, we engaged staff across the company, as well as external experts, to help us better understand and address climate risks and opportunities.
The results are highlighted in our first 'climate action' report published this year. It outlines our approach to climate change and aligns with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
While managing climate risks are certainly top of mind, there are also great opportunities in front of us. As a silver mining company, we can bring unique value as the world faces the climate crisis, as a vital provider of metals that support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
We are committed to responsible stewardship and among other highlights last year, we recycled over 90% of the water used in our operations, minimizing our reliance on fresh water.
We also restored areas around our mining sites, planting over 61,000 trees through our reforestation program.
Through our Sustainability Strategy, we're also strengthening the critical foundations that create long-term business sustainability.
For example, we're elevating inclusion across our company, with a target to have 30% women on the Board of Directors by 2024. We're also working to ensure there is at least one women candidate for senior management openings. For a number of reasons, mining lags other sectors in gender equality. We aim to change that.
We've also strengthened our commitment to respect internationally recognized human rights. We published a Human Rights Policy in 2022 and launched specialized human rights training for our workforce.
That's just a glimpse of our activities from 2022. We're building Endeavour Silver for the future and evolving the way we do business.
This forward-looking approach is not new for us. But it is particularly meaningful today as we face significant shifts in the global economy, our industry, and as the needs and priorities change of our diverse stakeholders.
There's much more work to do, to make our sustainability goals a reality. But I'm confident that Endeavour Silver is on an exciting path, uniquely enriched by our past and engaged in our future.
We have a clear strategy.
We have concrete targets.
And we have an unwavering commitment to sustainability – as we live our mission to create value for our stakeholders by mining in a sustainable way.
Read our 2022 Sustainability Report and the Sustainability Strategy 2022-2024
