Economics Assignment: Analysis of Corporate Sustainability of Umicore

This economics assignment analyzes the corporate sustainability of Umicore, a multinational company specializing in materials technology. The report examines Umicore's approach to sustainable practices, particularly focusing on cobalt procurement, waste management, and operational structures. It highlights the company's efforts to avoid child labor, ensure a healthy working environment, and implement robust supply chain and risk management frameworks. The assignment emphasizes Umicore's commitment to integrating environmental and social considerations into its business model, contributing to long-term corporate sustainability. The analysis references key aspects of the company’s operational framework, including risk management, material testing, and supplier background research. The conclusion underscores the importance of Umicore's investment in sustainable mechanisms, leading to increased profitability and a positive impact on the environment and society.

Running head: ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT
Economics Assignment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Corporate Sustainability of Umicore...............................................................................................2
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................3
References........................................................................................................................................4

2ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT
Introduction
The term “Corporate Sustainability” is a comparatively new term in the contemporary
corporate world, which poses as an alternative to the traditional profit maximization model in the
global business scenario. The notion, giving due importance to growth and profit of the
organizations, also emphasizes on the societal goals, including those of environmental
protection, equity and overall economic development, for the long run prospects of the firm. In
this context, the assignment tries to analyze the corporate sustainability of Umicore, which, as an
individual organization has gained accolades in this aspect (Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths, 2014).
Corporate Sustainability of Umicore
The Umicore N. V., with headquarter in Brussels, Belgium, is one of the primary
multinational enterprise dealing in materials technology. The company, being one of the three
global leaders in emission control materials, is also a eminent supplier for the materials for
rechargeable batteries and is also a recycler of waste material which contains valuable metals
(Eccles, Ioannou & Serafeim, 2014).
Being one of the players in the production of key materials, which are required in battery
production, the company focuses on a sustainable framework for cobalt procurement, which
includes:
 No employment of child labor or forced labor
 Taking into account the environmental impact of the waste management and cobalt
procurement procedures
 Maintaining health and safety in the workplace

3ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT
The company takes into account the issues of extensive child labor in the mining of
cobalt as it involves 40000 children as a whole. Other problems in this aspect are the fatal
accidents and illness, which occurs in this sector. Keeping this in consideration the company
completely rules out the usage of child labor and ensures a healthy working environment for its
workers, which in turn contributes to its sustainability (Umicore.com, 2017).
The company also has a robust supply chain management, which includes a thorough
research of the suppliers’ background and including them in their operations, which increases
their effectiveness. The risk management framework of the company is also robust which
includes material testing and frequent plan visits (Searcy, 2012).
Conclusion
It can be seen from the above discussion that the Umicore, as an individual company, has
invested in building up an operational framework, which along with the targets of increase in the
profitability of the company, also focuses on incorporating environmentally and overall
sustainable mechanisms, including efficient and comparatively safer ways of extraction of
cobalt, waste management and operational structure. This in its turn has contributed in the
corporate sustainability of the company to a considerable extent in the long run.

4ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT
References
Benn, S., Dunphy, D., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Organizational change for corporate
sustainability. Routledge.
Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). The impact of corporate sustainability on
organizational processes and performance. Management Science, 60(11), 2835-2857.
Searcy, C. (2012). Corporate sustainability performance measurement systems: A review and
research agenda. Journal of business ethics, 107(3), 239-253.
Umicore.com. (2017). Umicore. Umicore. Retrieved 31 October 2017, from
http://www.umicore.com/