About this Report
Materiality
Our COI survey forms the basis of our materiality assessment. It helps us define and analyze the impacts of our business on COIs. By listening, we learn about the issues COIs see as important, which enables us to adjust the way we work to more effectively manage these issues. It also allows us to align our goals and priorities with those of our COIs. This process both strengthens our relationships with COIs and makes us a better company. Other factors considered in our materiality assessment include global trends, significance of a topic to the mining industry, Pan American Silver’s business priorities, and our ability to influence the topic.
For reporting purposes, the topics covered in this report include Pan American Silver’s most significant environmental and social impacts and topics of high importance to our COIs. We consider these topics to be material.
While material topics may have impacts on COIs internally, externally, or in the value chain, the reporting boundary for each identified topic is limited to our operations and local communities. Our approach to managing material topics is through the sustainability management implementation system and framework, which is connected to our core business strategy.
Materiality Process
2019 Material Topics
We have amalgamated material topics into 11 high-level topics. The subtopics listed include the 10 most important topics to our COIs and the topics most relevant to our industry. For ease of reference, we have included the GRI indicator associated with the topic or subtopic.
| Material Topics | Sub-Topics | Associated GRI indicator |
| Responsible Business | ||
| Business ethics and anti-corruption | Tax transparency | 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption 205-3 Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken |
| Community | ||
| Impacts on local communities | Managing environmental impacts Managing social impacts Response mechanisms | MM6 Numbers and description of significant disputes relating to land use, customary rights of local communities, and indigenous people MM7 The extent to which grievance mechanisms were used to resolve disputes relating to land use, customary rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples, and the outcomes |
| Community investment and sustainable development | Economic impact Local hiring and procurement Socio-economic development | 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed 203-1 Infrastructure investments and services supported 203-2 Significant indirect economic impacts 204-1 Proportion of spending on local suppliers 413-1 Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs 413-2 Operations with significant actual and potential negative impacts on local communities communities and indigenous people |
| Human rights | Security personnel | 407-1 Operations and suppliers in which the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining may be at risk 408-1 Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of child labour risk 409-1 Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labour 410-1 Security personnel trained in human rights policies 411-1 Incidents of violations involving rights of indigenous people MM5 Total numbers of operations taking place in or adjacent to indigenous people’s territories and formal agreements made MM8 Number (and percentage) of company operating sites where artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) takes place on, or adjacent to, the site; the associated risks and the actions taken to manage and mitigate these risks MM9 Resettlement |
| People | ||
| Health and safety | Safety performance | 403-2 Types of injury and rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and number of work-related fatalities |
| Emergency preparedness and business continuity | N/A | N/A |
| Employee attraction, retention, and development | Employment conditions and benefits Inclusion and diversity Labour relations Non-discrimination and pay equity Training and development | 202-2 Proportion of senior management hired from the local community 410-1 New employee hires and employee turnover 404-1 Average hours of training per year per employee 405-1 Diversity of governance bodies and employees 405-2 Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men 406- 1 Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken MM4 Number of strikes or lockouts exceeding one week’s duration |
| Environment | ||
| Water | Water quality Water use | 303-3 Water withdrawal 303-4 Water discharge |
| Climate, energy, and greenhouse gas emissions | Climate change Energy use Greenhouse gas emissions | 302-1 Energy consumption within the organization 305-1 Direct Greenhouse Gas (Scope 1) GHG emissions 305-2 Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions 305-3 Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions 305-4 GHG emissions intensity |
| Biodiversity and mine closure | Biodiversity management Mine closure | 304-1 Operational sites owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas 304-2 Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity 304-3 Habitats protected or restored MM1 Amount of land disturbed or rehabilitated MM2 Total sites requiring biodiversity management plans MM10 Number and percentage of operations with closure plans |
| Tailings and waste management | Tailings facility management Waste rock dumps and heap leach facilities Industrial and domestic waste management Spills | 306-2 Waste by type and disposal method 306-3 Significant spills MM3 Total amounts of over burden, rock, tailings, and sludges |
By listening, we learn about the issues they see as important, which enables us to adjust the way we work to more effectively manage these issues.