CEO’s Statement

For many years already, SABIC has recognized how critical sustainability is. So we at SABIC make sure to keep track of our sustainability performance through a number of key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs are based on measurements related to various physical volumes (e.g., greenhouse-gas emissions, freshwater use, and material loss) and to energy production and consumption. And as we approach our 2025 targets, we have significantly reduced almost all materially relevant KPIs since the baseline year of 2010.

There are many other aspects of sustainability that SABIC seeks to uphold, but given our legacy and stature in Saudi Arabia, among the most important are those related to Saudi Vision 2030. Here too, we are on track. In particular, we have aligned our circularity and carbon-neutrality ambitions with the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI), an extension of Vision 2030 that addresses renewable energy, forestation, the production of clean hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. SABIC is proud to be a part of the SGI, doing our part in launching various impactful projects, including one to address plastic marine pollution in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf.

But we are extending these efforts throughout all our global operations, because we have to prepare our business to thrive in a world that prioritizes smaller carbon footprints as well as renewable or recyclable products. Accordingly, we are developing products and solutions predicated on circularity and carbon neutrality, in particular through our TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio. In fact, we made a public commitment at the start of 2023 to process at least one million metric tons of TRUCIRCLE products from bio based or recycled feedstock annually by 2030. We also recently joined Together for Sustainability, a global initiative for assessing, auditing, and improving procurement practices. Our participation should help us ensure that our suppliers are following appropriate processes and that our products’ value chains have lower indirect, Scope 3 emissions.

Inside SABIC, employment conditions are also important. We go to great lengths to offer an attractive employee value proposition that takes employees’ well-being into account. And I am pleased to note that our focused internal efforts have once again been recognized in 2022 as well. The Top Employer Institute, a globally accredited certification body, has given SABIC “Top Employer 2022" awards in five of its key Asian markets: China for the twelfth year, and India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea for the past nine years. I am proud of four SABIC women employees who were honored with Manufacturing Institute’s 2022 STEP Ahead awards for their exemplary leadership in manufacturing. And I would add that SABIC retains its Ethisphere Compliance Leader Verification™ status in large part because of the way it handles employee oversight, training, and communication.

Even in an economically turbulent year like 2022, we continued to invest in the communities where we are based. SABIC invested US$ 28.9 million in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs through charitable donations, sponsorships, partnerships, and volunteer service in 20 countries. These investments were focused on our four CSR priorities:

– water and sustainable agriculture;

– environmental protection;

– science and technology in education; and

– health and wellness.

All the 2022 achievements I have mentioned boost our overall environment, social and governance (ESG) performance. In fact, 2023 had barely begun when we were honored, for the second time running, with the “Best ESG Award” by the Saudi Capital Market Forum. But we must not rest on our laurels. We must further develop ESG systems and processes that deliver continual improvements year upon year.

Since 1976, SABIC has adapted to changing circumstances. And now, as we enter 2023, we once again are evolving to adapt to the challenges that lie ahead. Our years of investments and planning have prepared us for this moment. We are well-placed to grow to win through sustainability.