Sustainability / ESG

At ADVANCED, we strive to create more value for our stakeholders, and this includes our commitment and contribution to the initiatives related to Environment, Social, and Governance. We aim to innovate new solutions for sustainable development while shaping our business responsibly and increasing our economic success. Our Sustainability/ESG strategy provides a governance model focusing on framework focusing based on materiality prioritization which reflects our plans and performance to meet and exceed stakeholders’ expectations.

Chairman’s Message

ESG and sustainability sit at the core of our business and are integral to ensuring that Advanced operates effectively and responsibly. The pillars of ESG have become essential in today’s world. It has never been more pertinent to consider the long-term impacts and benefits of companies’ operations to society, the environment and resource utilization. As the world continues to grapple with the challenges faced by the global pandemic and associated supply chain impacts, Advanced has continued to work with a global network of colleagues, companies, and advocates to strengthen further the quality of people’s lives.
After Saudi Arabia signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, it aimed to substantially reduce CO2 emissions to tackle global climate change with a commitment to reach Net Zero by 2060. The Saudi Green Initiative is one of many programs that will bring these aims into reality. Climate change is a key area of focus at Advanced. It is a significant challenge, and one that must be actively converted into an opportunity through innovation and business solutions.
Advanced has embedded sustainability and ESG concept into its business practices since its inception. This has been developed over the years before formalisation in 2021. In this year Advanced established its ESG framework, which is aligned with international and national standards including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Global Compact, and the Saudi Vision 2030. This framework will support the company as we strive to excel in ESG performance and ensure that we can manage constantly the dynamic market challenges. This document is our first ESG report and marks the beginning of our move towards ESG excellence.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Executive Management and all Advanced employees, and further wish them the very best in taking Advanced’s ESG to its next level as a part of our “Culture of Excellence.”

Mr. Khalifa Abdullatif Al Mulhem

Chairman of the Board

Fahad Salem Al Matrafi

President & CEO

CEO Message

At Advanced, we recognize the importance of ESG, as we have always been striving to build a better and more sustainable future. On behalf of the Executive Management Team, I am proud to present our first ESG report. It reflects Advanced’s journey for the year 2021, and outlines our strategy, commitments, achievements, and progress towards reaching our ESG goals.
Since Advanced was formed, there has been an extensive and dedicated journey to adopt ESG concepts throughout the business. The journey began by establishment of our carbon footprint, measuring and control of our carbon footprint and resource utilization metrics, focused on emissions, energy, water, and materials.
Stakeholder opinions are extremely important for understanding materiality so throughout our journey we have sought to consult with various groups and experts; benchmark against industry best practices; and support global international frameworks such as the UNSDGs and the Saudi Vision 2030. This consultation resulted in the establishment of our key pillars of focus: Environmental Stewardship; Workforce and Human Capital; Governance and Social Responsibility; and Sustainable Growth & Innovation which will also further help to create a balance between manufacturing and ESG excellence.
In relation to the environment we are aiming, by 2030, to reduce our Emissions and Energy intensities by 13% and improve Water Intensity and Material Effectiveness by 26%, from the baseline. Our continuous improvement has been recognized by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Centre for reducing energy consumption by 1.3 million MMBTU (1st cycle 2014 -2019). We believe that our ESG Strategy and Framework will be our roadmap to support in committing to achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2060. In further recognition of our efforts Advanced was also awarded 1st Place among the Primary Industries in Environmental Performance Award.
Human capital is one of the main pillars of the Company’s Framework which focuses on attracting, developing, and retaining employees. Advanced has achieved around 80% Saudization and spent almost 84 thousand hours on employees’ training despite of pandemic precautionary measures. Safety and Health is part of our Culture of Excellence and we are proud to achieve 20 million safe man-hours without lost workday’s injury since 2008. Furthermore, we continue excel our efforts in supporting communities in several aspects through 45 different CSR programs.
We continued to improve our governance programs and the Corporate Governance framework encompasses accountability, integrity, and transparency whilst allowing to highlight, reflect and monitor the Company’s performance. Advanced also has a well-established Enterprise Risk Management system that is regularly reviewed by the Board and Executive Management which outlines risk identification and mitigation to ensure business continuity. Further, all aspects of ESG are embedded in our growth plans, including choice of efficient technologies, better environmental control, human capital development, and resource utilization efficiency.
Transparency is one of our core values and Advanced are proud to publish this ESG report to highlight the key strategy and achievements for 2021. I would like to thank all Advanced employees who have supported in making this a grand success, and we are confident that we will steadily move towards reaching excellence in all aspects of ESG as we move forward.