Precious To Us

"Precious to us" expresses our promise and approach to corporate social responsibility.

An approach that is confirmed through five commitments we make to society and the environment.

This platform is our foundation for sharing what we do, our plans for the future, and the events and numbers that describe our commitment to being a company whose responsibility grows day by day.

Look at the updated data

Involve our stakeholders

Relations with our stakeholders are an essential part of our operations. We share our approach and priorities and listen to their needs to promote a constructive dialogue.

Work for a transparent and responsible chain

We are the centre of the precious metals value chain, and take this role very seriously. We do everything possible to ensure that our business partners act responsibly.

Contribute to local development

As "Good Citizens", we are committed to forming positive relations with the local community. We carefully assess the impact of our operations to ensure that the community benefits from our growth.

Protect the environment

Constant attention, strict limits, and collaboration are the North Star of our commitment. Every year, we work to minimise our environmental footprint and urge our partners to do the same.

Grow with our employees

The workplace plays a crucial role in our daily lives. It is therefore essential that everyone feels supported in their personal growth so that they may in turn contribute to the company’s growth. We promote individual initiative and diversity, convinced that they are the key to success.

Greetings from Heraeus Precious Metals

Dear readers,

Precious metals are essential to many industries and societies around the globe.

They are important for green hydrogen, are used to produce catalysts that reduce harmful emissions, or help secure the world's food supply when used in the fertilizer industry. We also supply the electronics industry with important precious metal components and provide financial systems and consumers with the investment products they want.

In addition to these positive attributes, our society, our customers and our employees demand more. Our industry contributes to CO₂ emissions. It is important that we take responsibility and take a more robust approach to reducing CO₂ emissions and sustainability.

At Heraeus Precious Metals, we are ready.

We are convinced that a sustainable precious metals value chain is possible, and we are setting new standards in the industry: In 2025, we will be the world's first carbon-neutral precious metals company.

Our roadmap includes a set of measures including and increased energy efficiency or the introducing new technologies. Our aim is to use 100% green electricity in all our sites worldwide. In this respect, Argor-Heraeus is a pioneer. Since last year, the company uses only green electricity in its Mendrisio facility.

We have started raising awareness among all our employees and introduced an emissions-based bonus system for all managers worldwide. Although we will need to rely on offsetting measures to achieve our medium-term targets, we have a clear goal of moving away from fossil fuels completely and producing zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2033.

In addition to our path to carbon neutrality, we will be guided by responsibility in our business operations and the design of our products and services. In doing so, we will also involve our business partners more closely. The aim in the coming years will be to advance CO₂ reduction at the mines and to expand our portfolio of recycled precious metal products. In the mining of gold, we want to work with NGOs to find ways to expand our cooperation with artisanal and small-scale mines and make their operations sustainable.

How Argor-Heraeus is living its sustainable values and how the company is building its path towards net zero is described in its latest sustainability report.

Argor-Heraeus has already set a decisive course here.

Enjoy the reading.

André Christl

President Heraeus Precious Metals and Chairman Argor-Heraeus SA

Message to our stakeholders

Argor-
Heraeus

"The Golden Link"

Formed in 1951

Headquarters:
Mendrisio
Canton Ticino, Switzerland

Worldwide presence

Switzerland

Germany

Italy

Chile

Hong Kong

Heraeus Group

Argor-Heraeus is part of the Heraeus Precious Metals Global Business Unit (HPM) of the German technology group Heraeus, the largest global supplier of precious metals.

Precious solutions

Precious metal refining

Smelted and minted products

Semi-finished products for the high-end jewellery and watch industry

Financial and accessory services

Our raison d’être

Responsibility is the essence of what we do.

We form lasting relations with our stakeholders to ensure long-term success.

What

We offer our clients what we call "Precious solutions", combined, integrated and personalized solutions based on completely traceable metals

Our main operations:
– Refining of gold, silver, platinum and palladium
– Cast and minted bars
– Products for the electronics and chemical industry
– Semi-finished products and solutions for the high-end watch and jewellery industry
– Services for the physical trading and hedging of precious metals

How

We aim to form long-term relations by creating opportunities for our partners all along the chain by generating added value

We are and will continue to be pioneers in corporate social responsibility in the precious metals industry

We value our employees and promote a culture of diversity throughout the entire Argor-Heraeus business line

We maintain positive relations with all of our stakeholders to ensure sustainable success (suppliers, authorities, clients, shareholders, NGOs, media, etc.)

Why

Precious to us. Precious to our clients. Precious to our stakeholders. We want to be the main provider of long-term solutions for our clients, thereby contributing to their success

Acting responsibly is the basis for everything we do

Responsibility as the gate keeper of the precious metals industry, Good citizenship and public legitimacy

Governance

Responsible behaviour at all levels

Argor-Heraeus’s governance system guarantees conformity to all laws, regulations, standards, and internal policies and guidelines.

Executive Level

Internal and external auditors (private bodies and government authorities). Audits and checks of process quality management system
Social checks Public opinion, NGOs, mass media

Role

Define company strategy and governance

Assess risks

Support management and the rest of the company in daily operations

People

Shareholders Meeting

Board of Directors

Board of Directors Delegation

Risk audit committee

Managerial Level

Internal and external auditors (private bodies and government authorities). Audits and checks of process quality management system
Social checks Public opinion, NGOs, mass media

Role

Manage allocation of resources to profit and service centres and check their use

Check correct application of guidelines, national and international regulations, and internal rules

Assess responsibility of potential new partners

People

Internal compliance committee

Credit and Risk Committee

Credit and Risk Office

Personnel committee

Operative Level

Internal and external auditors (private bodies and government authorities). Audits and checks of process quality management system
Social checks Public opinion, NGOs, mass media

Role

Assess quality of work performed in each department

Monitor quality of products and processes

Monitor safety at the workplace and company’s environmental impact

Check quality of precious metals

People

Technical and quality control offices

Control and quality laboratory

Full-time safety, quality, and environment managers

Culture