SUMMARY
The intent of this policy is to outline Pulsar Helium Inc. and its
subsidiaries (collectively the “Company”) environmental, social and
governance (“ESG”) guiding principles in a coherent, systematic
manner, in the form of an ESG Policy, to inform stakeholders and interested
parties and to define the policies that govern our actions as they relate to
ESG matters.
DEFINITIONS
Environment, or the “E” in ESG, captures such topics as energy
efficiencies, carbon footprints, greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation,
biodiversity, climate change and pollution mitigation, waste management and
water usage.
Social, or the “S” in ESG, covers such matters as labor standards,
wages and benefits, workplace and board diversity and inclusion, racial
justice, pay equity, human rights, talent management, community relations,
privacy and data protection, health and safety, supply-chain management and
other human capital and social justice issues.
Governance, or “G” in ESG, covers the governing of the “E” and the
“S” categories, corporate board composition and structure, strategic
sustainability oversight and compliance, executive compensation, political
contributions and lobbying, and bribery and corruption.
CORE PRINCIPLES
In all our actions, we are guided by certain core principles as they relate
to responsible exploration and development of the Company’s projects. These
principles include, but are not limited to:
-
Our employees are guided by our core principles in their everyday
behaviour as it relates to their own ideals and values, or they would
not be working with the Company.
-
The Company recognizes that responsible corporate behaviour with respect
to ESG factors can generally have a positive influence on long-term
corporate performance.
-
Disclosure is the key metric that allows stakeholders and other
interested parties to better understand, evaluate and assess potential
risk and return, including the potential impact of ESG factors on the
Company’s performance.
-
The Company’s investment analysis should incorporate ESG factors to the
extent that they affect risk and return.
-
The Company acknowledges the division of authority and responsibilities
among the three parties that are core to corporate governance –
shareholders, directors and managers.
-
Employees, contractors, suppliers, federal, state and local governments
and the impacted communities have a vested interest in positive
corporate conduct and long-term business performance.
CORE VALUES
In order to live up to these core principles, the Company has defined
certain core values in our Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy that are
integral to the Company’s DNA:
Safety
The health and safety of our employees, contractors working for us, and the
public is of the utmost importance.
Environmental Responsibility
We go above and beyond what is required. We find practical solutions to
manage growth, while protecting and enhancing the natural environment.
Community Involvement
As proud members of the community, we actively strive to serve the
community’s needs, and to collectively enhance prosperity and well‐being.
Transparency
We fulfill our commitments in an open and transparent manner. We aim to be
accurate, consistent and straightforward in all information delivered to our
stakeholders.
Accountability
As part of our corporate governance, we ensure that accountability guides
all our actions, decisions, conduct and reporting.
Integrity & Performance
We hold ourselves to high moral standards and strive to fulfill our
commitments in an effective and sustainable manner.
HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY
In order to align with our core values, the Company has established safety
principles that are reflected in rigorous policies and standard operating
procedures (“SOPs”) on site for the protection of the health and
safety of people working at the Company’s projects (“Project”).
The Company believes that the health and safety of its employees is
paramount to the successful operation of its business. Work-related injury
or illness is unacceptable, and the Company is committed to the
identification, elimination, or control of workplace hazards for the
protection of all employees. The goal is to have zero lost time incidents.
The Company is committed to implementing operational improvements that offer
superior safety and occupational health management.
For the Company to succeed in fulfilling this policy, all employees must
undertake their work in accordance with the Company’s policies to the best
of their ability and to take all reasonable care for their own safety and
health, as well as the health and safety of their work colleagues.
In order to achieve these objectives, the Company is committed to:
-
Providing the expertise and resources needed to maintain safe and
healthy work environments.
-
Promoting occupational Health & Safety awareness so that it is always at
the forefront of daily operations.
-
Establishing clearly defined safety and occupational health programs.
-
Measuring safety and health performance, and making improvements as
warranted.
-
Operating in accordance with recognized industry standards, while
complying with local and international applicable regulations and laws.
-
Investigating the causes of accidents and incidents and developing
effective and immediate preventative and remedial actions.
-
Training employees to carry out their jobs safely and productively. No
employee will be permitted to commence a job without the requisite
training, including hazard recognition.
-
Providing necessary personal protection equipment, such as hard hats and
safety glasses, and instruction in their use.
-
Maintaining a high degree of emergency preparedness.
-
Requiring that contractors and vendors comply with all Company health
and safety standards.
-
Promoting the Health & Safety Policy as a way of life in all aspects at
our work sites and in our family and local community.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
The Company established environmental principles that are reflected in
robust policies and SOPs on and off site to protect the natural environment.
The Company’s commitment to the environment goes beyond just protecting the
status quo – we are actively engaged in enhancing the ecosystem in which we
operate, including implementation of a remediation project.
These principles, and the resulting policies and SOPs, will continue to be
refined as the Company’s projects advance.
This Policy is a commitment to maintain sound environmental practices in all
of its activities and to continuously improve the efficient use of
resources, processes and materials. For the Company to succeed in fulfilling
this policy, all employees are responsible for incorporating into their work
the actions necessary to take all reasonable care for the protection of the
environment, including:
-
Examine the potential impact to the environment of all proposed
activities and take steps to minimize, mitigate or, where possible,
eliminate that impact.
-
Operate in accordance with recognized industry standards, while meeting
and complying with applicable federal, state and local regulations and
laws.
-
On a regular basis, determine the Company’s impact to the environment
and, through continuous improvement, strive to attain higher levels of
environmental performance.
-
Minimize all hazardous and non-hazardous materials generation and
properly dispose of all waste materials.
-
Maintain a high level of environmental protection by applying reasonable
best practices and technologies that minimize impacts and enhance
environmental quality with respect to water, air, vegetation, and
wildlife.
-
Maintain dialogue with the communities and other stakeholders within the
area of influence of the Company’s projects in order to understand their
concerns, minimize negative impacts and to enhance environmental quality
-
Progressively rehabilitate disturbed areas where appropriate,
incorporating new technologies where practical.
-
Train and educate all employees and contractors to understand their
environmental responsibility related to all activities related to the
Company’s operations and activities.
-
Require contractors and suppliers to operate according to Company’s
environmental standards and procedures.
-
Consider environmental factors when purchasing equipment and materials
and when engaging services.
SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
The Company recognizes that its goals, and those of the communities in which
it operates, can be aligned to create mutual and lasting benefits. An
important goal for the local communities surrounding the Company’s projects
is for sustainable, well-compensated employment for those members of the
community employed by the Company. In order to deliver against these
aspirations, the Company aims to continue to encourage local hiring,
contracting, provision of supplies and services focused on local communities
in the project areas. In support of this, the Company has established an
employment goal to encourage the hiring of qualified local people and work
with nearby communities to lessen any negative social, lifestyle and
economic impacts related to the Company’s projects.
The Company will minimize the Company projects footprint and related impacts
by using existing infrastructure (paved and unpaved roads, power and water
supply) and by locating new facilities on previously impacted ground to the
maximum reasonable extent.
TRANSPARENCY & SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
The Company will take a proactive approach to Transparency & Sustainability
Reporting (“TSR”) with a goal of delivering continuous improvements
in five benchmark criteria:
ESG is in the Company’s genetics, and our leadership has a history of doing
the right thing the right way for many years, long before ESG earned a
globally recognized acronym. Now that ESG has moved to the fore of investor
and other stakeholder attention, a plethora of reporting standards and ESG
auditors has emerged that makes reporting to standardized benchmarks that
satisfy a wide audience challenging. Nevertheless, as and if the Company
advances the projects activities to development-focused activities, all of
our actions will be guided by our core principles, we will live by our core
values and we will conduct ourselves in accordance with our policies,
including those that form part of this ESG Policy.
Going forward, we will provide regular updates on our environmental, social
and governance-related actions, and will contextualize and report the
Company’s performance with respect to reporting standards that are
applicable to the resource extraction industry at various stages of the
Company’s projects as they advance.
Policy Review
The Company will review this Policy regularly to ensure that it is achieving
its purpose. Based on the results of the review, the Policy may be revised
accordingly.