Abstract
Nutrien’s Potash Business Unit is a significant contributor to the Saskatchewan economy. Size, longevity, and reputation provide us with a considerable level of influence in the marketplace. When we assert our core values of Safety, Integrity, Inclusion and Results, it sets the stage to define those terms on local, national, and global economic levels.
Our ongoing efforts in Indigenous inclusion have resulted in many positive impacts within our local supply chain network. Nutrien enjoys the benefits of earned and learned history in Indigenous engagement, economic development, and supply chain relationships. We have created a culture around understanding the “why” that drives Indigenous inclusion throughout our Potash operations. Over the past decade, work has gone into proving the business value that supports this function, and as we move ahead, our teams and individuals are increasingly being asked to identify where they can contribute to and support our inclusion objectives.
Our operating environment and societal expectations with respect to Indigenous rights are changing at a rapid pace. The ability to continue to expand and evolve our Potash operations, access lands, and secure mineral rights to ensure safe, consistent production is closely tied to our intentional commitment to establish and maintain meaningful engagement with Saskatchewan’s Indigenous population. Nutrien has elevated our focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics, creating prevalence and significance around our commitment to meaningful, mutually beneficial Indigenous relationships through hiring, retention, supply chain and community investment. Nutrien’s Potash Business Unit has committed to embracing Indigenous inclusion by challenging historic assumptions and making courageous decisions that support fostering a robust and healthy local supply chain network. This work requires trust and patience, and is anchored in humility, empathy, and integrity.
Recent efforts have been made to baseline our current position on Indigenous inclusion in our supply chain through in-depth collaboration, both internally throughout our mining assets and externally with our local supply network. The intent of this is to build a meaningful, impact focused Indigenous Supply Chain Strategy that will lead us into the future. Our Indigenous supply chain strategy is a key contributor to our ‘freedom to operate’ and drawn upon heavily to support the expectations of our stakeholders, the requirements of our shareholders and the commitments to best practices in our industry.
We would propose to share the story of our history, learnings, engagement approach and evolution of our Indigenous Supply Chain efforts within our Potash Business Unit.