We believe that responsibility undertaken in gold mining can play an important and positive role in supporting sustainable development, and we are working to support progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGS).
End Poverty in all it’s forms everywhere.
We provide high-quality employment with living wages and benefits which contributes to the prosperity of the middle class in our host communities. We support local businesses through the procurement of goods and services and generate significant revenues through taxes, royalties and dividends for governments to invest in economic and social development.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- In 2021, Agnico Eagle distributed over $5.8 billion in economic value across payments to suppliers, employee wages and benefits, payments to providers of capital, income and resource taxes, and community investments
- Financially supported employees unable to work at our mines due to COVID-19 restrictions (both legacy Agnico Eagle and legacy KL Gold)
- Entrepreneurial training & local business assistance
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
As part of our community investment strategy, we work alongside communities to identify and support health initiatives including those that provide people in need with nutritious food. We minimize and mitigate operating impacts on biodiversity to safeguard the sustainability of subsidence hunting, fishing and gathering. We look for innovative solutions that create synergies between mining and local agriculture.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Provide food basket and support to food banks, country food and harvest
- Bee and pollinating species programs
- In June 2020, we provided a CAD $556,321 grant to the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board, which administers 23 agencies that provide a variety of services, such as food banks
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Ensure our workforce has the knowledge, tools and training they need to perform their duties in an optimal and safe manner. Develop well-being programs to promote and support healthy lives.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Towards zero-accidents initiative
- On-site gyms and fitness opportunities
- Metal health awareness campaigns
- A long history of funding major cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, contributing over $25 million in the last ten years alone
• Donated a cumulative amount of almost $8.0 million to Blanche River Health over the past 5 years, the largest single donor in the hospital’s history
• Agnico Eagle Australia Community Partnership Program donated close to $250,000 US to support three health and wellness-related initiatives – including the Gobbé Wellness Centre and its Cancer Wellness Program to offer cancer patients complementary therapies and improve their quality of life while undergoing cancer treatment and remission
Ensure inclusive equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
We support and partner with existing educational institutions to expand access to education and we promote the education of our workforce as pathway to a better life for our employees and their children.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Student and apprenticeship programs
- Scholarships to support post-secondary education
- On-site educators in Nunavut
- Partnership with local schools and institutions, including the Research Institute in Mine and Environment (RIME) UQAT Polytechnique, NSERC-UQAT Industrial Research Chair on northern biodiversity in a mining context, the University of Sherbrooke, University of Guelph, University of Waterloo, University of Alberta, and Carleton University
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
We implement programs to promote gender equality, including efforts to recruit and retain female employees, and we support training and education opportunities focused on women in the areas where we operate.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Diversity and Inclusion Policy, Council and Action Plan
- Conversations with Successful Women
- Encouraging our female employees to undergo training opportunities for roles operating major equipment and mining processes
- Scholarship and Development Program in Memory of Dr. Leanne Baker, which was designed to support the advancement of a cohort of women through a 2-year mentorship and training program
- Proud supporter of the international women in resources mentoring program (IWRMP), an annual cross-company program originally established in 2018 to promote and empower women in the resources industry to progress their careers, overcome professional challenges and build confidence for achievement and industry leadership through mentorship
- Implemented the GECKO (Gender Equity Consultation Kick Off) at Fosterville Mine to focus on barriers to diversity and make the mining industry more appealing to women
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
Agnico Eagle’s water management program is based on three key elements: maintaining water quality in the receiving environment, collaborating with our communities of interest to ensure the fair allocation of water and using water efficiently.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Implemented a Water Management Policy and released an updated Corporate Standard for Water Stewardship in 2021
- In 2019, Pinos Altos Complex began collaborating with a local community for a water distribution network powered by solar panels to provide safe and clean water to more than 1,000 residents
- Water management strategy at Fosterville that includes use of both treated effluent and Class B recycled water from local Waste Water Treatment Plant
- Biological Water Treatment at LaRonde
- Donated 15,000 liters of clean water to the city of Iqaluit in the midst of a drinking water crisis that was caused by a problem with their water treatment
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Increasing the proportion of non-carbon emitting electricity sources is critical for Agnico Eagle to meet our long-term energy and GHG objectives. We believe that by working closely with local businesses, communities, and governments we can find solutions that not only reduce our carbon footprint but provide emission reductions for the region as a whole in addition to creating economic benefits.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Supporter of the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, Nunavut’s first land-based connection to Canada via a 230kV electric transmission system extending from Manitoba into the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, delivering reliable renewable energy and broadband internet service
- Renewable energy projects such as the Passive Solar Wall at LaRonde Mine and a Solar Power Purchase Agreement at Pinos Altos
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
We promote social economic growth in the regions where we operate by providing high-quality employment opportunities and having community investments programs that target initiatives that support local economic development, even after mining ceases. In 2021, Agnico Eagle provided over $1 billion in wages and benefits and had over 14,000 employees and contractors at end of year. Although we do not measure the direct and indirect economic impact of employee wage spending on local goods and services, it is an important factor in Agnico Eagle’s economic contributions to our host communities and regions knowing our workforce is primarily local (in many of our operating regions exceeds 90%). Local procurement spend was over a combined $1.5 billion in 2021.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Provided investments to support 7 legacy projects in Nunavut
- Provide Apprenticeship Programs and programs to potential apprentices to try work in the trade before embarking on a solid pathway to a Red Seal/Accredited trade career
- The Indigenous Mining Career Program, created in partnership with local communities, consists of a 12-week Mining Essentials education that includes life skills, an Ontario Secondary School Diploma and learning traditional skills as part of the program, followed by a 20-week work placement at Detour Lake Mine in roles across the operation
- Agnico Eagle’s Mexico team was inducted into the Great Place to Work Hall of Fame after being ranked one of the best places to work (in the category of 500 – 5000 employees) in Mexico for 10 consecutive years!
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
We work with our local communities to support sustainable growth and the development of local infrastructure and other community initiatives. We foster innovation by participating in leading-edge mining industry initiatives, as well as by investing in R&D to reduce our environmental footprint and implement new underground technology that supports our commitment to providing a safe and healthy work environment.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Examining and implementing new Long-term Evolution (“LTE”) network technologies
- Developing and implementing with OEM automation technology at LaRonde
- Establishment of the Kivalliq Inuit Elders’ Advisory Committee to provide advice on how to incorporate traditional Inuit knowledge into community engagement activities; and has worked directly with local Hunters and Trappers’ organizations on traffic management, managing environmental impacts, naming protocols, and community mapping initiatives
- Increasing energy efficiency through various programs, like a special heat recovery project in Meliadine
- Use and testing of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in mining applications as well as exploring innovative secondary life applications for our BEV batteries
- Supporting various R&D project including tundra restoration in Nunavut in partnership with Research Institute in Mine and Environment (RIME) UQAT Polytechnique; developing an integrated system for monitoring biodiversity changes in partnership with the University of Sherbrooke and several industry and government partners; and support for post-graduate work on CO2 removal
- Partnership with the Universities of Waterloo, Alberta, and Carleton for education and research into mine waste rock geochemistry
- Using and testing virtual technologies to continue optimizing training methods, expanding opportunities to use virtual and augment reality, and improving accessibility, retention and attraction
Reduce inequality within and among countries.
We strive to ensure that our presence in a region or a country enhances the quality of life in all the communities that surround our project. We have processes in place to include vulnerable groups in community engagement initiatives. Our Diversity and Inclusion policy outlines our commitment to treat each other equally, fairly, and consistently with equal access to opportunities and recognition.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Provided support to vulnerable groups throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
- Implementing Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) Policies
- Underground Training Program to expand our Inuit workforce, aligning with target 10.3
- Have specific processes to include vulnerable groups in community engagements initiatives during life of mine
- The Indigenous Supervisor Management Training program at Detour Lake Mine was created to help our employees further progress their careers and gain the knowledge, expertise, and skills to obtain supervisor and management roles across the operation as they continue their career with growth, challenges and opportunities
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Rouyn‑Noranda awarded the 2021 Contribution to Economic Development Award to Agnico Eagle Abitibi for their support and commitment to employees and the community during COVID-19
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
As early as possible in the project development phase, we engage and partner with local stakeholders and Indigenous communities to assess the levels of social acceptability and potential impacts of the project within the host community. This allows us to mitigate potential negative impacts, and discover opportunities for collaboration, avoiding potential conflict and building community relationships on a foundation of trust and transparency.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- As early as possible in the project development phase, we engage and partner with local stakeholders and Indigenous communities to mitigate potential negative impacts and discover opportunities for collaboration, avoiding potential conflict and building community relationships on a foundation of trust and transparency
- Commitment to not explore or seek to develop new mining operations in an area designated as a World Heritage Site
- Implementation of Cross-Cultural Competency Training
- Pinos Altos Complex received the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) Excellence Award for Community Engagement
- Establish local or project specific community grievance process
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
We work to minimize our use of water, land and chemicals, and to recycle and reuse our waste materials.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Meliadine Goes Greener
- Clean-up Sundays
- Heat Recovery initiatives
- 95% of the mobile equipment at Lapa mine was recovered and reused
- Optimizing water use with design and collection systems (78% of water reused and recycled globally in 2021)
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
We are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving our overall energy efficiency and by implementing low carbon technologies. In 2020, we started aligning our reporting with TCFD. We are currently working on a first Climate Action Plan Strategy and initiating climate related risks assessments.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Set a target of net-zero carbon by 2050
- Goldex Material Handling electrification
- Support masters’ project on CO2 removal
- Committed to the Energy Efficiency Agreement from 2017 to 2025 (Kittilä Mine)
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Identify, evaluate, and respond to watershed related risks and opportunities to reduce cumulative impact on other users and the environment. Take actions to mitigate the impact of shipping routes.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- In 2021, Agnico Eagle implemented a Water Management Policy and released an updated Corporate Standard for Water Stewardship that emphasizes our commitment to manage water using Best Applicable Practices with the objective to protect public health and safety, minimize harm to our employees and protect the environment
- For 15 years, Agnico Eagle Finland has collaborated with local stakeholders to maintain fish stocks and promote a thriving fish habitat in the Seurujoki river in Kittilä
- As part of our commitment to minimizing risks associated with managing tailings, mine waste, and water, our team at the Pinos Altos Mine use part of the operations’ filtered and detoxified tailings to produce paste to backfill cavities in the underground mine which allows Agnico Eagle to improve underground safety while minimizing the mines’ impact
- Marine mammal monitoring
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.
Under the Biodiversity Preservation protocol of the Toward Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative, each of our mines is tasked with finding a way to contribute to the preservation of the biodiversity and to leave as small an ecological footprint as possible.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- In partnerships with the Quebec government, Goldex’s Manitou project is rehabilitating an abandoned contaminated tailings site. As the project nears completion many species of flora and fauna have returned to the surrounding wetlands
- Partnership with the University of Guelph for education and research into innovative mine reclamation methodologies and regional caribou dynamics
- Protection of Lapland buttercups
- Terrestrial Advisory Committee (Nunavut)
- In-situ Cattle Soil Regeneration Program
- In 2020, Detour Lake Mine was honoured with the prestigious Tom Peters Memorial Mine Reclamation Award by the Canadian Land Reclamation Association in recognition of outstanding achievements in the practice of mine reclamation in Ontario
- Partnership with the University of Saskatchewan for developing terrestrial tundra restoration techniques that can be applied at the Meliadine Mine and elsewhere in Nunavut
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.
Our governance practices guide our behaviour and performance, helping to ensure we act in an ethically responsible manner, uphold our core values and fulfil the commitments of Agnico Eagle’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. We also subject our company to the scrutiny of national and international organizations with respect to our business and human rights practices.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Adopted the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHRs) and became formal members in 2017, results are verified by 3rd party and reported publicly annually
- Communicate the importance of compliance with the VPSHRs to all subcontractors by implementing mandatory induction training
- Adopted and implemented the World Gold Council’s (WGC) Conflict-Free Gold Standard (CFGS), results are verified by 3rd party and reported publicly annually
- Implemented our Supplier Code of Conduct which sets the minimum level of responsible business conduct and commitment to corporate responsibility expected from those wishing to do business with, or on behalf of, Agnico Eagle and include clauses specific to human rights, health & safety, environmental protection, discrimination and conflict of interest, confidentiality and business ethics
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable developments.
We partner and collaborate with organizations and stakeholders at the global, regional, and local level to support the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Examples of Specific Initiatives:
- Public disclosure of support and performance against the UN SDGs
- Stakeholder Advisor Committee
- Members of Mining Association of Canada, World Gold Council and other industry associations
- Partnerships with various indigenous, community, academic, and other institutions that support various targets