Human Resources and Rights

 

The People at Century

 

 

The Century Commitment

With over 2,000 employees in three countries, we are united in our commitment to delivering consistent, high-quality aluminum products to our customers. Our teams bring together unique skills, backgrounds, and perspectives to solve challenges and meet market demand for responsibly produced, high-quality primary aluminum.

 

 

Every employee plays a role in helping us reduce and manage our environmental impact and carbon footprint. Our priority is to take care of each other and build a culture that values the health and safety of our employees, our community, and our environment.

 

 

 

 

 

Safety, Health, and Well-being

 

 

Advancing Our Safety Culture

Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our employees and their families. We strive for zero injuries and accidents. We foster systems and processes aimed at continuously improving our health and safety performance, and we integrate risk management relating to health and safety into all aspects of our operations. Teamwork gets us home, every day, because safety is our first priority.

 

We are on the path to an interdependent safety culture at all of our operations. We are committed to aligning our HSE structures, training materials, and processes, as well as roles and responsibilities across the entirety of our Century operations. Each plant is reviewing HSE procedures against the Corporate HSE management system and making adjustments to align these procedures accordingly.

 

We remain focused on strengthening our safety culture and advancing our processes in place to support it. We take an all-hands-on-deck approach to safety: We require employees to stop work immediately when they recognize a potential hazard and to report it to the appropriate members of their teams. We investigate incidents at our facilities according to internal policies and procedures, and of course any applicable laws and regulations.

 

We recognize the importance of upholding these high standards in our daily commitment to keeping each other safe. Accordingly, we equip employees with the knowledge and training needed to respond appropriately to a variety of possible incidents, including fire response, confined space rescue, emergency medical response, HAZMAT response, man overboard training, and AED/CPR training. We provide training and workshops on high-risk topics to aid in hazard recognition and hazard management for our employees in addition to our leadership training.

 

 

 

Incident Review Board (IRB)

The Incident Review Board (IRB) reviews HSE incidents and near misses at all of the Century operations. The IRB brings together leadership from across all Century sites, providing an opportunity to share event details, corrective actions, and learnings in a discussion format as a team. Feedback is invited and welcomed as an avenue for each site to learn from the others and to share critical knowledge and systems that may have been discovered through the occurrence of any such events. Through this process, we work to identify the root cause and appropriate corrective actions to be implemented and shared amongst all Century teams.

 

Safety Leadership Training

In 2022, we conducted Safety Leadership Training at all U.S. plants. The leadership training objectives are meant to align leaders to our vision and values, advance our HSE culture, ensure clear communication on the importance of safety, analyze human performance factors, and instruct how to conduct incident analysis.

 

Managing a Culture of Safety

Our goal is to maintain a safe work environment and culture through focus and continued investment in our safety programs and risk reduction initiatives. Century’s HSE Vision and Values, HSE Policies, and our Health, Safety, and Sustainability Policy, as well as other individual facility and internal policies, set forth expectations designed to provide a safe work environment for all employees.

 

At each of our facilities, we have a performance-linked incentive system for employees that considers safety and environmental factors. For our executive management team, we link payouts under our annual incentive plan to the achievement of certain pre-established safety performance targets.

 

 

Employee Health and Well-being

Century works to help employees ensure they are physically fit to perform the requirements of the job by conducting health screenings and by providing well-being services to our employees and their families. These well-being efforts supported by the Company include:

 

 

  • Health screenings for incoming and existing employees at all operations
  • Beryllium health screenings in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulatory standards at our U.S. locations
  • Physical fitness evaluations at all operations
  • Medical support and treatment on-site at each of our operations
  • Drug and alcohol testing programs at each of our operations
  • Hexavalent chromium screenings and crystalline silica screening per OSHA regulatory standards at our Kentucky operations
  • Employee financial assistance at all locations
  • Resources for any Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)/Short-Term Disability (STD) claims at our U.S. locations
  • Seminars in the workplace regarding health and well-being
  • In 2022 Health fairs were held for all US locations, promoting good health and giving employees access to health resources

 

Heat Stress Safety and Monitoring Program at Our U.S. Smelters

Each year, our employees at our U.S. smelters are faced with high temperatures and humidity, especially during the summer months. We have put in place heat stress programs at Mt. Holly, Hawesville, and Sebree. Each summer we provide a hydration program in which we hire people from the local community to distribute water and other hydration products to our employees across the facility. We also hire local emergency responders at Sebree to monitor employees throughout the workday in an effort to prevent any medical conditions that may arise due to heat stress. The emergency responder monitors blood pressure, pulse rate, pulse oximetry, and temperature of the employee, as well as his or her reaction and recovery time. We have a strict set of guidelines that helps determine who may be at risk of suffering from heat stress symptoms, and we have on-site medical staff at each facility to respond to any concerns.

 

Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion

Century recognizes the importance of actively fostering workforce diversity and promoting an environment of cultural inclusion. Bringing together people with different backgrounds and experiences is critical to our success and ability to solve problems.

 

We seek to provide a workplace that reflects the communities in which we operate. In Iceland, we have focused on gender balance with some promising results. As an example, 43% of the summer hires at Norðurál were women, for roles traditionally dominated by men. Our Norðurál plant has implemented the Equal Pay Standard ÍST85:2012 and has received certification with the PwC Gold standard. The certification verifies that Norðurál employees are paid salaries according to responsibility, expertise, and work contribution, not gender or origin.

 

We looked across Century’s operations in Kentucky with diversity at the forefront of our minds and recognized that there was a significant potential workforce of Hispanic/Latino descent in the surrounding communities. With the help of interpreters, we hired Spanish speaking employees that enrich the workplace.

 

We are committed to promoting equal employment opportunity in all of our operations. It is the Company’s policy that we do not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or genetic information as defined in the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, whether or not such discrimination violates law, and to comply fully with all laws prohibiting discrimination and promoting opportunity and advancement in employment. This policy extends to all aspects of employment opportunity, including recruitment, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, transfer, layoff, recall, reduction in force, termination, retirement, placement, training, and all other privileges, terms, and conditions of employment.

 

 

A Culture of Talent and Training

 

Opportunities

Century provides employees with education and training opportunities that begin on their first day in a new role and continue throughout their career advancement. To foster the development of our employees, we offer a wide range of experiences that support and encourage professional growth and continuous learning.

 

Training and development are overseen by Century’s Human Resources departments. Our training and development processes include ongoing conversations between managers and employees, centred on performance feedback and career development. All permanent, salaried employees are invited to a performance appraisal at least once a year. During the review, employees are provided with the opportunity to discuss their career aspirations with management and develop a plan of action to achieve their goals.

 

Attracting Incoming Talent

We recognize the importance of bridging the generation gap between employees in order to continuously drive innovation and growth within Century. In 2022, we implemented several initiatives focused on attracting and retaining a more diverse demographic, including marketing and specific job placement efforts.

 

We also engaged corporate recruiters and local community colleges to attract graduates from mechanical and electrical programs. This included attending recruiting events at universities and institutions including Clemson University, Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Citadel, and Western Kentucky University.

 

Century participated in the GO FAME program, the Greater Owensboro Chapter of KY Fame, a group of manufacturing companies offering apprenticeship-style programs. This program blends classroom instruction with on-site work experience for an Associate’s Degree in Mechanical Maintenance. A maintenance apprenticeship program began at Mt. Holly in 2022.

 

Training and Education

Century is invested in providing employees with education and training that supports them in their current roles and in their career advancement within the Company. To encourage development, we offer a wide range of experiences that support and encourage our employees’ professional growth and continuous learning.

 

We require all incoming employees to participate in orientation and onboarding processes that introduce new team members to our company and culture. These extensive sessions cover topics such as our HSE policies and protocols, emergency preparedness and response, and risks associated with the employee’s work activities. All salaried employees also receive regular, mandatory training on the Code of Ethics, Anti-Corruption Policy, Insider Trading Policy, Human Rights Policy, Health Safety and Sustainability Policy, as well as employee handbook policies, including training on discrimination and harassment. This specific training reinforces the importance of our values and outlines our expectations for how employees should handle certain interactions, transactions, and business opportunities. Employees may also be required to participate in job-specific training for an average of three to five weeks at the onset of employment, depending on their role and prior work experience.

 

Training Subjects May Include:

 

  • Heat Stress Safety
  • Molten Metal Safety
  • Crane Safety and Operation
  • Mobile Equipment Safety and Operation
  • Machine Safety and Operation
  • Lock Out-Tag Out
  • Confined Space Entry Procedures

 

We believe that training is key to ensuring our employees understand the risks and the challenges they may face in their specific roles at our facilities.

 

Our training is geared toward the roles that an employee is serving and the circumstances with which they may be faced. All of our employees are expected to complete on-the-job training regularly; such training varies by role and location.

 

Supporting Our Rising Leaders in Kentucky

In 2022, Century participated in the Western Kentucky University Continuing Education kickstart program. The intent of this program is to help acquaint our employees with the concept of continuous education as well as to begin the process of developing our supervisors and managers. This is a seven-month program with classes held one day per month and two classes taught each day. Our HR and Plant Management teams identify supervisor and manager-level candidates to participate in this program. At the end of 2022 more than 120 employees have gone through the program.

 

We also partnered with Michigan State University to offer a 12-week certificate program in Supervisory Management. This program is designed for companies promoting technically proficient employees who require leadership and management training. 30 supervisors received training through the program.

 

Attracting and Developing Talent in Iceland

In 2022, Norðurál employees received approximately 12,700 training hours in total. Training programs in 2022 included Incident investigation, safety procedures, management training,  and team building for all employees.

 

Approximately 6,000 training hours focused around presentations and micro-presentations for review and retraining on topics such as traffic safety, fire protection, GDPR, molten metal, etc.

 

Norðurál operates a Heavy Industry School (HIS) with a curriculum that awards credit points toward the Icelandic school system. The HIS provides between 15 to 17 students at a time with the opportunity to further their education. Around 200 employees have graduated from the Industry School since 2012. Eighty percent of these graduates are still working for the company, and many employees have continued with further education.

 

 

Human Rights and Collective Bargaining

 

Labor Rights

We recognize and respect our employees’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Our Norðurál labor agreement is effective through December 31, 2024. Our Vlissingen labor agreement is effective through May 31, 2024. Sebree and Hawesville labor agreements are scheduled to expire on October 28, 2023, and April 1, 2026, respectively. There were no labor disruptions at any of our operations in 2022.

 

Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining

Approximately 59% of our workforce was covered by union representation in 2022. Approximately 86% of Norðurál’s workforce is represented by five labor unions, governed by a labor agreement that establishes wages and work rules for covered employees. All of Vlissingen’s workforce is represented by the Federation for the Metal and Electrical Industry (FME), a Netherlands’ employers’ organization for companies in the metal, electronics, electrical engineering, and plastic sectors. The FME negotiates working conditions with trade unions on behalf of its members, which, when agreed upon, are then applicable to all employees at Vlissingen. Approximately 43% of our U.S.-based workforce is represented by United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial, and Service Workers International Union. Mt. Holly employees are not represented by a labor union.

 

Our Plant Managers and HR Managers, along with our Legal Team, are ultimately responsible for overseeing labor relations. Our plants hold Labor/Management meetings regularly. During these meetings, management discusses the current state of the business and key performance indicators. The intent is to help employees understand the business and how they play a part in the success of the company. Any employee with concerns or grievances related to freedom of association or collective bargaining can submit those anonymously through our independent third-party reporting system, Ethical Advocate. We are not aware of any instances in which the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining was violated in 2022.

 

Human Rights

We are dedicated to the protection of human rights and the prevention of human trafficking and forced labor, and we are committed to providing a workplace that is fair, equitable, and free from harassment of any kind.

 

Our Human Rights Policy lays out our values and expectations and requires full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations. While parts of our Human Rights Policy are reflective of our review of certain human rights standards promulgated by others – including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises – this Human Rights Policy represents our own interpretation of such human rights standards and reflects our own values.

 

Our Human Rights Policy works alongside our Code of Ethics as well as our Code of Ethics for Suppliers and Business Partners. Our Human Rights Policy reiterates our commitment to a harassment-free work environment. Century does not tolerate any form of harassment, which may include, but may not be limited to: (a) jokes, insults, bullying, threats, or other inappropriate actions involving a person’s race, color, gender, age, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, citizenship, disability, veteran status, social/economic status, or education; (b) unwelcome advances, verbal or physical conduct, or displaying objects or pictures, of a sexual nature; and (c) any conduct which may create a fearful or hostile work environment for a director, officer, or employee of the Company. In 2022, we found no substantiated evidence of any such discrimination.

 

Non-Discrimination, Child Labor, Forced or Compulsory Labor

Our Code of Ethics, Human Rights Policy, and Code of Ethics for Suppliers and Business Partners set out our values and standards regarding human rights and the standards that we expect from those with whom we do business.

 

We are committed to promoting equal employment opportunity in all of our operations. All Century employees receive regular, mandatory training on the Code of Ethics which includes training on human rights, anti-discrimination, and anti-harassment.

 

We comply with all laws regarding child labor and forced or compulsory labor, primarily through careful vetting of all Century employees and human rights training of all Century employees, and by communicating our Code of Ethics for Suppliers and Business Partners to our vendors and business partners. In 2022, we were not aware of any instances of any violations of laws regarding child labor and forced or compulsory labor.

 

 

Good Governance

 

A Commitment to Best Practice

Century is committed to leading with sound corporate governance that promotes long-term value for our stakeholders while holding ourselves accountable to the highest ethical standards. Many of our corporate governance practices have evolved through ongoing collaboration and open communication with our various stakeholders. Our strong governance begins at the top with our Board of Directors, who set high standards for our employees, officers, and directors. The Board, which oversees all business affairs of Century, defines corporate policies, sets strategic direction, and oversees management responsible for Century’s day-to-day operations.

 

To assist it in carrying out its duties, the Board has established four standing committees:

 

  • Health, Safety, and Sustainability
  • Audit
  • Compensation
  • Governance and Nominating

 

Each committee has a written charter that outlines its roles and responsibilities within Century’s corporate governance framework. We recognize the importance of fostering a Board that brings together diverse skills, backgrounds, and perspectives. Our directors provide distinct perspectives and expertise that reflect the global industry in which we participate.

 

We view diversity and inclusion as an important aspect in Board composition. As such, we consider diversity when evaluating any recommendations for nominations to the Board. The Governance and Nominating Committee’s charter reflects the Rooney Rule, requiring searches for potential director candidates to include qualified candidates reflecting diverse backgrounds, including diversity of gender, ethnicity, and race.

 

Details of our Company’s bylaws and committee charters along with Century’s other corporate governance policies are available on our website at www.centuryaluminum.com.

 

A Code of Ethics

High ethical standards form the foundation of our core values of honesty, integrity, and transparency. Our global Code of Ethics embodies these values and outlines our expectations for how employees, directors, and officers should handle all business interactions.

 

The Code reflects our commitment to comply with all laws, rules, and regulations that are applicable wherever we do business. We expect our employees to act in the best interests of the Company and request employees’ transparency when faced with a conflict of interest.

 

It is critical that all employees understand these expectations. As such, all salaried employees are required to participate in regular training on the Code of Ethics and our employee handbook. All salaried employees are required to complete and return an annual certification and acknowledgement that they have read, understood, and will comply with these policies.

 

We encourage our employees to raise concerns so they can be evaluated and addressed in a timely manner. Any employee of Century who becomes aware of any violation of the Code of Ethics or of any of our corporate governance policies is required to report the violation. Reports may be made to any supervisor, any member of human resources or site management, or to the General Counsel. Reports can also be made anonymously through our independent third-party reporting system, Ethical Advocate. Reports through this system can be made 24 hours a day, any day of the year. The line is available in multiple languages for our employees. We maintain a strict policy of no retaliation for reporting in good faith any violation or suspected violation.

 

Our Code of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Policy and Business Courtesy Guidelines prohibit business-related gifts or free services beyond ordinary business practice. We regularly assess our operations for material risks of corruption and are not aware of any material violations in 2022. In 2022, we did not receive any material fines for non-compliance with environmental, social, or economic laws or regulations in any jurisdiction in which we operate.

 

Code of Ethics for Suppliers and Business Partners

We expect our suppliers and third-party contractors to maintain the same high ethical standards that we hold ourselves to. Our Code of Ethics for Suppliers and Business Partners sets forth the principles, standards, and practices that we expect from all suppliers, business partners, vendors, contractors, agents, and consultants of Century and its subsidiaries.

 

Environmental and socioeconomic compliance issues are also overseen by our Legal Team. Company-wide policies in this area include our Code of Ethics, HSE Policies, and Code of Ethics for Suppliers and Business Partners. We are also subject to the confines of various environmental permits and applicable environmental laws relating to our operations. Due to the global nature of our business, as well as the complexity of Century’s operations and the primary aluminum production processes, our Legal Team relies upon outside counsel at certain times to help us achieve our legal compliance objectives.

 

The Executive Team

 

 

Senior Management

 

Jesse E. Gary

President Chief Executive Officer and Director

John DeZee

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Gerald (Jerry) Bialek

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Agust Hafberg

Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

Gunnar Gudlaugsson

Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Managing Director of Norðurál

Matthew F. Aboud

Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development

Michelle M. Harrison

Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasurer

Kenneth L. Calloway

Vice President, Human Resources

Peter A. Trpkovski

Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations

Rob Hoffman

Vice President, Chief Accounting and Information Officer

Steinunn Dögg Steinsen

Vice President, HSE, Sustainability and Management Systems

 

 

Board

 

Andrew Michelmore

Chairman of the Board

Errol Glasser

Director

Jarl Berntzen

Director

Jennifer (Jenny) Bush

Director

Jesse E. Gary

President Chief Executive Officer and Director

Wilhelm van Jaarsveld

Director

 

 

 

 

 

Published by Century Aluminum Company, August 2023. Editors: Sólveig Bergmann and Steinunn Dögg Steinsen. For further information contact us at sustainability@centuryaluminum.com.

 

Century monitors environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics that may have a material impact on the Company. With the help of an external expert and through engagement of internal stakeholders, we determined that the following topics were the most relevant to Century’s business priorities in 2021 and were the foundations of our Sustainability endeavors for the past year. We continue to periodically review this list of material topics with key stakeholders to ensure that the areas identified below continue to represent the key to advancing sustainability initiatives at Century. Century has aligned our sustainability report with the most comprehensive and internationally recognized standards for corporate sustainability reporting.

 

Cautionary Statements

The information contained in our 2022 Sustainability Report is provided by Century Aluminum Company (the “Company” or “Century”) as of the publication date and is subject to change. After the publication of this 2022 Sustainability Report, Century does not have any responsibility or obligation to update or revise any such statements, regardless of whether those statements are affected by new information, future events, or otherwise. This 2022 Sustainability Report is provided for informational purposes only for Century’s stakeholders. It does not constitute any offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell any securities of Century.

 

This Sustainability Report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are statements about future events and are based on our current expectations. These forward-looking statements may be identified by the words “believe”, “expect”, “hope”, “target”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “seek”, “estimate”, “potential”, “project”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “might”, or “may”. Where we express an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, our forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected, or implied by those forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results and events to differ from those described in such forward-looking statements’ can be found in the risk factors and forward-looking statements cautionary language contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and in other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we have attempted to identify those material factors that could cause actual results or events to differ from those described in such forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause results or events to differ from those anticipated, estimated, or intended. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, stakeholders are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.