The hard work of Evolution Energy Minerals Ltd (ASX:EV1) in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space has paid off, landing the graphite stock a ‘BBB’ rating following 12 months of de-risking initiatives.
EV1’s revitalised rating comes after it updated its submission to Digbee ESG™, the mining industry’s leading ESG disclosure platform.
Back in February last year, Evolution’s initial submission netted a ‘B’ rating, indicating it still had a way to go to evolve its ESG initiatives.
Today’s BBB rating covers both project and corporate activities. Evolution secured a ‘BB’ and ‘A’ rating for the respective domains.
EV1 sees the upsized rating coming in handy as it progresses financing discussions for its Chilalo Graphite Project in Tanzania, recently lauded for its high-margin, low-cost, development-ready potential.
“Making headway in ESG integration”
Evolution MD Phil Hoskins said his company was on a mission to supply sustainably sourced graphite products and battery materials.
“We recognise that a commitment to ESG is central to delivering on that vision,” he explained.
“We signed up to Digbee when Evolution was formed as a means of obtaining an independent and transparent assessment of our ESG performance.
“Since receiving the initial report from Digbee earlier this year, we have addressed key areas for improvement and made material progress in integrating ESG considerations throughout our business more broadly.
“We recognise the increasing emphasis being placed on ESG by project financiers and capital markets as a key factor in their financing and investment decisions.
Working with Digbee is critically important as we seek to position Chilalo for development and align with the requirements of ESG-focused financiers.”
Since last year’s B rating, EV1 has made headway on several ESG initiatives, including:
- A tailings test-work program, confirming that tailings storage is no longer required;
- a resettlement action plan, approved by the Tanzanian Government in August 2022;
- several ESG studies;
- establishing board committees;
- enacting grievance procedures;
- constructing a doctor’s residence; and
- planting a tree nursery.
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