November 3, 2020
Toronto, ON – Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSX: AVL and OTCQB: AVLNF) (“Avalon” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has engaged Sustainalytics, a Morningstar company, to conduct an independent audit of the Company’s business practices and policies towards obtaining an Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (“ESG”) Risk Rating License.
Sustainalytics' ESG Risk Ratings provide investors with third-party validation of the company’s sustainability performance, along with insights into why certain ESG issues are considered material for a company and how well a company is managing those risks. The benefits of obtaining an ESG Risk Rating include the ability to provide better access to ESG investment capital, and the ability to gain commercial benefit from the rating externally with creditors, suppliers and other stakeholders. The six-week audit and review process is expected to be completed by mid-December of this year.
Avalon President and CEO, Don Bubar, comments, “Avalon is very much on the forefront of sustainable best practices in mineral development, with a strong track record going back ten years, and a forward-thinking management team that makes sustainability a priority. Along with implementing risk and change management, Avalon integrates its sustainability objectives into its business planning, work activities and internal policies. We are pleased to be working with Sustainalytics to quantify our ESG performance, goals and opportunities for improvement. An ESG Risk Rating will be an asset to attract capital from the rapidly growing ESG investment community to advance our critical minerals projects to production.”
“We are excited to work with Avalon Advanced Materials,” comments Tom Eveson, Sustainalytics’ Director, of Sustainable Finance Solutions, “Critical minerals are essential for the advancement of clean technology and for enabling the transition of our economies towards a more sustainable future. Avalon has been a strong advocate of sustainable mineral extraction and for meaningful inclusion of First Nations in the global supply chain of clean technology. Undertaking the process of getting an ESG Risk Rating from Sustainalytics is a terrific way to demonstrate commitment to their sustainability journey and a great way to communicate the benefits to stakeholders.”
Avalon first engaged Sustainalytics (then known as Jantzi-Sustainalytics) in May 2010 to assess Avalon’s sustainability performance on its Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements Project. Their report was delivered in September 2010 and the results disclosed in the Company’s news release dated September 27, 2010. Sustainability performance was assessed against a number of benchmarks, including stakeholders’ expectations, competitors’ performance, industry average performance levels and socially responsible investor expectations. Subsequent to receiving that report, Avalon was inspired to begin producing an annual sustainability report to regularly document its performance, with its inaugural report being published in 2011. It has since become a key annual disclosure document published in late November every year along with the Company’s annual audited financial statements.
About Sustainalytics
Sustainalytics, a Morningstar Company, is a leading ESG research, ratings and data firm that supports investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. For more than 25 years, the firm has been at the forefront of developing high-quality, innovative solutions to meet the evolving needs of global investors. Today, Sustainalytics works with hundreds of the world’s leading asset managers and pension funds who incorporate ESG and corporate governance information and assessments into their investment processes. Sustainalytics also works with hundreds of companies and their financial intermediaries to help them consider sustainability in policies, practices and capital projects. With 16 offices globally, Sustainalytics has more than 650 staff members, including more than 200 analysts with varied multidisciplinary expertise across more than 40 industry groups. For more information, visit https://www.sustainalytics.com.
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