A message from ICL’s Chairman of the Board and ICL’s President & CEO

It is with great satisfaction that we present our 2021 Corporate Responsibility (ESG) report. Our efforts and achievements are especially noteworthy in light of the stormy weather building up globally on many environmental, social, and economic fronts, including the global food and other industry-related markets ICL is involved with. We are living through a period of uncertainty that serves as a test to any organisation. However, ICL also recognizes this period of peril as a time to bring about a paradigm shift towards a more sustainable and secure future for the communities we serve. It is also an opportunity for us at ICL to strengthen our sense of purpose and align our operations with these future-fit goals.  

2021 was a year during which ICL launched a broad range of activities and investments intended to align the company with the rapidly changing societal needs, while continuously adapting to the various challenges we’ve encountered as the global economy emerges from the disruptions caused by a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Thus, we worked with suppliers and service providers to solve logistical bottlenecks but also challenged them to join our efforts to increase supply chain sustainability through the Together for Sustainability program. To date, over 500 suppliers have joined our efforts. In parallel, ICL ensured continued employee health and safety remains a top priority but did not neglect our long-term ESG commitments either and we remain on course to see 25% of our senior management positions held by women no later than 2025. Sustainability was very much a part of our financial strategy as well. A 250 million Euro sustainability-linked loan issued by 5 international banking institutions, aligned with the ambitious goals of ICL’s decarbonization roadmap, that is designed to cut our 30% of our emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutral emissions by no later than 2050. The loan specifically links preferred interest rates to achieving a total GHG emission reduction of 20% by 2025 (compared to the 2018 base year). To achieve this ambitious trajectory, while allowing for continued growth, a flurry of projects have been launching that include everything from internal efficiency programs, fuel and refrigerant replacement, process redesigns, employee training and internal pricing of greenhouse gas emissions, to delivering a number of unique investments that secure ICL’s low-carbon future. Teams across the organisation have been drawing up plans and working to execute various short and longer-term initiatives from purchase of electricity and gas from renewable sources across Europe, the Americas and Israel to assessing the feasibility of a green hydrogen production mega facility fed by solar energy in the Dead Sea region. Such programs will enable transforming our energy profile towards our goal of 100% renewable energy. But the climate crisis isn’t solved with renewable energy alone, especially in the food and agriculture markets we serve. Significant investments in climate-friendly agricultural solutions must be made to alleviate the outsized impacts current agricultural practices have on our climate and ecosystems. One good example of such investments we’re focusing on is our new production plant in St. Louis, inaugurated in December 2021, that is now producing plant-based protein fibres that provide a versatile and tasty alternative to meat and is all-vegan, allergen-free, kosher- and halal-certified, as well as non-GMO. These new capabilities are now augmented by our recent investment in Plantible Foods – a food technology start-up developing the most functional and applicable plant-based protein in the world by harnessing lemna: one of the most sustainable and nutrient-dense plants in the world.  

Our proactive approach of past years towards society’s sustainable development goals, and our culture of innovation are now fuelling our current efforts. Many of these efforts will be unveiled and reported during 2022 – a year that has been declared by ICL as The Year of Sustainability. During this year, an elaborate set of new activities, intended to further embed ESG thinking into our corporate culture and operations, are being undertaken, promising to keep us on course, despite the stormy weather we expect ahead.  

The challenge to reach a sustainable future for humanity is a global journey that has only just begun. ICL’s ESG journey is no exception, but we are determined to take a leading, proactive position on these matters, both within our industry and across the communities we serve. Thus, we urge you, our stakeholders, to review this past year’s Corporate Responsibility (ESG) report, share its highlights and engage us with your comments, suggestions, and insights – we believe this is a journey we must navigate together.  

Pleasant reading!