05 People are precious to us
People are at the heart of everything. We are convinced that the human element is what creates impact, drives innovation, and fosters strong partnerships. These are essential for growth and sustainable transformation.
We prioritize the well-being and interests of the people in our company, in nearby communities, and along our value chain. This especially includes ensuring respect for human rights, fair working conditions, a safe and healthy work environment, living wages, and diverse and inclusive workplaces.
Targets and KPIs
WOMEN
40%
in the management team by 2025
Diversity begins at the top. By 2025, the Global Management Team of Heraeus Precious Metals, including Argor-Heraeus, will consist of at least 40% women.8
Reduce lost time incidents to
ZERO
Our ultimate objective is zero work-related lost time incidents. To achieve this target, we have numerous measures in place.
100%
of our mining partners with targets, measures, and progress
We are expanding our activities from the workers in our value chain to include surrounding communities and environment. Our aim is to ensure that all our mining partners define sustainability-related targets and measures and make progress.
Diversity
Diversity is essential to our identity and culture. We actively encourage different perspectives, put together diverse teams, provide equal opportunities, and insist on real cultural change toward a truly inclusive work environment. We believe that diversity makes us better—better at understanding our markets and customers, at generating business opportunities, and at being innovative. Consequently, we have made diversity a top strategic issue.
Where we stand
Our workforce is spread across multiple locations. Our Mendrisio headquarters, where the majority of production takes place, employs a total of 471 people. We employ a further 119 people in Hong Kong, 17 in Pforzheim, Germany, and 18 in Cavenago di Brianza, Italy.
In addition to the total of 625 employees, we employ a total of 60 temporary workers who support us during peak production periods.
Employees
We recognize the importance of diversity and gender equality in our industry and place particular emphasis on achieving a better gender balance. Globally, 28% of our employees are women. Although our sector is traditionally male-dominated, we actively promote female careers and ensure equal pay for all our employees.
In line with Heraeus Precious Metals we have given ourselves the target of having 40% women in the Global Management Team by the end of 2025. In 2024, 16 managers from Argor-Heraeus were part of Heraeus Precious Metals’ Global Management Team. 44% of these Argor-Heraeus managers were women.
Employees by gender
Share of women in the management team of Argor-Heraeus within the Global Management Team
Diversity also has a qualitative aspect that cannot be measured by KPIs: atmosphere and culture. We therefore address the topic from several angles. We promote individual initiative, communication, respect, and diversity—because we are convinced that they represent added value for the success of our company.
Working conditions and people development
Our employees worldwide are our most important asset. Their skills, knowledge, and dedication as well as their diverse experience and personalities shape our company and its success. We strive to offer attractive salaries as well as opportunities for development and are committed to providing a modern work environment in which all employees feel appreciated and can realize their full potential.
Where we stand
We actively work on fostering a shared culture and shared values within our company, which are outlined in our guiding principles. This is reflected in and influenced by the tenure of our employees. We closely monitor two key indicators: tenure and turnover rate—i.e., the proportion of employees leaving our organization compared to the total workforce.
ON AVERAGE, OUR EMPLOYEES STAY WITH US FOR
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Regarding the turnover we also highlight voluntary turnover, in order to gain a clear understanding of how many employees decide to leave the company on a voluntary basis, providing a useful additional indicator of employees’ satisfaction. Overall, the average tenure in our company is 9 years, the total turnover rate 8%, and the voluntary turnover rate 4%.
We are committed to offering our employees attractive working conditions. At our Mendrisio site in Switzerland, for example, we provide a range of benefits including 50% coverage of non-occupational accident insurance, maximum contributions to the pension fund with all risk and administrative costs covered by the company, and fully paid sick leave for up to one month of absence. The Hong Kong Team benefits for example from Group Life Insurance, an Employee Assistance program that covers mental health consultations, and Group Medical Insurance offering comprehensive group medical coverage.
Professional development opportunities are also important for us to make the workplace more attractive and foster a shared culture. We invest in our future workforce by offering apprenticeship and work study programs, addressing individual needs, and working together to identify development opportunities throughout each employee’s career. These initiatives are complemented by our long-standing talent programs, which are designed to enable talented employees to take on more responsibility and to fill key positions internally.
We are also actively encouraging our employees to choose greener modes of transport such as public transportation and carpooling, by offering appropriate incentives. In Mendrisio, in 2024, we registered 55 carpooling groups involving 131 employees and subsidized 60 public transport passes. In Hong Kong, we subsidize public transport usage and offer corporate shuttle buses, resulting in more than 95% of employees relying on public or shared models with significantly lower CO2 emissions than private transport.
Voluntary turnover
Occupational health and safety
The health and safety of our employees are our top priority. At the end of the workday, we want them to leave at least as healthy as they came to work. Therefore, we apply high safety standards all around the world. With a sound health and safety management system in place, we are continuously working to maintain and improve safe work environments for all employees.
Where we stand
Providing a safe working environment is the responsibility of everyone working in our company. In order to enable constant improvement, we continuously monitor key health and safety (H&S) indicators. Our dedicated H&S managers and working groups are responsible for implementing strategies to create a safe and healthy work environment. As a member of various associations, we regularly engage with our industry peers and share best practices. To ensure that we stay up to date with the most relevant topics, we also actively collaborate with external bodies and institutions such as fire departments, ambulance services, and the police.
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We are certified according to ISO 45001 (Mendrisio), ISO 14001 (Mendrisio and Hong Kong), and ISO 9001 (Mendrisio and Hong Kong) and are accredited according to ISO 17025 (Mendrisio, Hong Kong, and Cavenago di Brianza). These certifications reflect our commitment to effective management of safety, health, environment, and quality in the workplace.
All H&S incidents, including injuries, work-related ill health, process safety incidents, unsafe situations, and near misses are reported, analyzed, and addressed, with corrective measures implemented to prevent similar occurrences. All developments are reviewed on a regular basis with the senior management.
Among the safety-related key performance indicators which we monitor, we pay particular attention to the Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR), which measures the number of incidents that lead to at least one lost day per 1,000,000 hours worked. We measure such indicators for all of our own workforce—employees and temporary workers. The LTIR for Mendrisio improved significantly as we did not have any accidents, achieving more than 650 days without a work-related LTI by the end of 2024. The LTIR in Hong Kong improved significantly compared to the year before, also thanks to the increased involvement in safety measures such as more EHS training, stronger leadership commitment to building a safety culture, and clearer step-by-step instructions for operators.
Lost time incident rate (LTIR)
People in our value chain
Respect for human rights, protection of the environment, ethical practices, and transparency have been and will always be non-negotiable core values of our company. We are aware of the significant impact our business has on people along our value chain and recognize our responsibility for their welfare. We systematically assess our precious metals business partners’ social and environmental actions, particularly regarding the protection of human rights, and engage with them to foster improvements.
Due Diligence
Human rights due diligence is an integral part of our general due diligence process. By fostering meaningful collaborations and taking concrete action, we strive to make a positive and lasting impact on the lives of individuals within our value chain.
Our commitment to safeguarding human rights encompasses a range of measures:
- We conduct thorough due diligence processes to ensure compliance with human rights standards throughout our operations and value chain.
- We do not work with companies linked to child and forced labor or other violations of human rights according to the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (ILO, No 182).
- Monitoring the adherence to human rights principles is crucial to us. We actively monitor and assess human rights practices along our value chain to ensure that ethical standards are upheld at all stages of it.
- In line with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (CAHRA), we immediately seek for clarification with a precious metals business partner at the first sign of suspicion. If the suspicion cannot be clarified within a reasonable timeframe, we suspend the business relationship until the clarification has been completed. If there is neither the possibility nor the will to take corrective action, we terminate the business relationship with zero tolerance.
- We conduct regular risk-based on-site assessments and, on this basis, define corrective action plans wherever issues are identified. We subsequently monitor the implementation of the agreed action plans.
- We provide accessible channels for everyone to raise concerns, encouraging transparency and ensuring their voices are heard and addressed.
- Through meaningful engagement with stakeholders in the industry, we actively contribute to creating a responsible work environment, particularly in artisanal and small-scale mining.
Our efforts to protect human rights along our value chain are underpinned by internationally recognized industry standards such as the Responsible Gold Guidance of the LBMA. We supplement these with our own stringent guidelines.
Collaborating with our mining partners
At Argor-Heraeus, we believe that our mining partners themselves have the greatest potential to continue improving the conditions for their workers and nearby communities. We firmly believe that collaboration is essential to creating a positive and lasting impact. With this in mind, we have developed a roadmap that sets milestones for transparency, improvement, and the evaluation of progress for our mining partnerships.
By the end of 2024, we successfully completed the first milestone and obtained transparency on where our mining partners stand in their ESG journey. We are now working toward the next milestone: that by the end of 2026, 80% of our mining partners will have sustainability-related targets in place. Our ultimate aim is that 100% of our mining partners have sustainability-related targets and measures in place and to track their progress and target achievement.
Timeline
Artisanal and small-scale mines
We actively engage with the most vulnerable part of the precious metals supply chain: artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).
ASM in the gold sector remains largely informal, making its workers particularly vulnerable. They often lack access to guidance or resources for proper chemicals management, safety procedures, environmental management, labor rights, and social protection.
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ASM accounts for approximately 20% of the annual gold extracted worldwide and employs approximately 40 million miners. In total, it is estimated that the income and lives of around 100 million people depend on ASM9. It is inevitable that gold from ASM mines will end up in the supply chain. This is why it is crucial to ensure responsible practices for secure and sustainable social development in artisanal mining communities.
Argor-Heraeus only sources gold from responsible ASM certified by Swiss Better Gold, Fairmined, or Fairtrade. By engaging with ASM with certification schemes, we support responsible practices to ensure secure working conditions and promote sustainable social development in artisanal mining communities. We understand the complexities of formalizing ASM and we are dedicated to our responsibilities. We believe that enabling artisanal miners to access the international precious metals market is essential. We are a founding member of the Swiss Better Gold Association and we support the ASM sector by offering our customers gold from Swiss Better Gold Fairmined, and from Fairtrade. In addition, we actively engage with these initiatives to help mines to phase out the use of mercury and improve working and living conditions, through the payment of a premium.
People in our communities
We are committed to cultivating relationships within our communities, fostering a positive reputation, and supporting economic growth. Our contribution is a conscious choice to support local businesses and initiatives in various forms.
Our contribution to the community
Argor-Heraeus is committed to being a responsible citizen in the communities in which we operate. This responsibility can take many forms, from paying taxes to providing employment opportunities, and from working with local organizations to contributing to education. The common denominator is the development of long-term relationships with our stakeholders based on mutual trust, benefit, and growth.
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Our philosophy is to prioritize competitive local business partners and suppliers. We always start the search for partners and suppliers at the local level and expand outwards, respecting environmental and sustainability considerations. This approach allows us to support local development and to build long-term relationships with partners covering a range of services such as catering, chemicals, packaging tools, printing supplies, tools, and equipment.
We support local groups and organizations through contributions, sponsorship, donations, and ad hoc collaborations. This value cannot be expressed in monetary terms, as it often involves the investment of time and the sharing of knowledge. Each year we receive numerous requests for sponsorship or support from a wide range of organizations. We evaluate these requests annually based on their alignment with our internal sponsorship guidelines.
We also support the development of young talent. Since 1978, we have been recognized as a “Training Company” by the Canton of Ticino, contributing to the training of many young individuals pursuing careers in the industry.
For nearly 20 years, we have been collaborating with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), to support educational development, and provide valuable mentorship. For instance, as testament to our commitment, we award a prize of 3,000 Swiss francs each year to the student who produces the best thesis in sustainable engineering.
Projects and initiatives
In 2024, we launched a dedicated leadership training program for all line managers, with the goal of supporting their personal and professional development. The training focuses on key skills essential for effective team leadership, including strategic problem-solving, project management fundamentals, time management, and tools for data analysis. A specific module was also dedicated to meeting management, offering best practices for planning and conducting efficient and results-oriented meetings. By strengthening these competencies, we aim to empower our line managers to lead with greater confidence, clarity, and impact.
We also conducted training for all production operators focusing on safety leadership, to make sure that all have updated knowledge of best practices related to safety inside the company.
Following the edition of 2023, we also conducted an Employee Engagement Survey in 2024 to better understand employee sentiment and continue to identify areas for improvement. By fostering positive existing aspects as well as addressing concerns, we strive to enhance the satisfaction of our employees and thus increase our productivity and effectiveness. Among other aspects, the survey also included the Employee Net Promotor Score, measuring how likely our employees are to recommend the company as a great place to work to a friend. We are aware that the survey is only effective if we translate the results into clear actions. We have therefore defined a strict follow-up process for the entire organization: The results were shared with our Global Management Team and then carried into the organization by our managers and team leads. Where appropriate, measures were defined with the teams.
In 2023, we launched the initiative “Precious Ideas”, a contest inviting all employees to provide ideas to improve our company in terms of CO2 emissions and improvements for employee health & safety. The contest was very successful, and the preparation of a new edition is underway.
One of the ideas implemented in 2024 was the installation of automated dispensers for personal protective equipment (PPE), such as safety glasses, gloves, or protection masks. While PPE has always been available, these machines ensure easier and faster access to up-to-date equipment, enable more efficient and controlled distribution, and ultimately enhance overall employee safety.
Argor-Heraeus has always invested significant resources in activities that benefit the communities in which we operate. One of the most recent projects of this kind was launched in 2023. The project, called “Together Sounds Better”, involves Argor-Heraeus supporting the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana in providing music lessons to children and adults from the Provvida Madre Foundation, which supports the development of children and adults with disabilities. In 2024 and 2025, the collaboration culminated in a small public concert which was held, thanks to the support of the City of Mendrisio, at the community center “LaFilanda”. More than 100 people attended these events, to the great satisfaction of all parties involved and the public.
To foster positive change within the gold supply chain, Argor-Heraeus introduced “Traceable Gold” in 2019, in collaboration with a Swiss bank. This investment product allows customers to trace each piece to its mine of origin. The product is sold at a premium, and the profits are accumulated in a fund dedicated to financing social development projects in countries of gold extraction. The allocation of these funds is decided upon by a sounding board made up of seven independent experts from various sectors of society.
In 2023, the sounding board awarded the “Emprende Pallaquera” initiative in Peru. “Pallaqueras” are women who manually sort gold in Peru’s ASM communities. Emprende Pallaquera strives to promote gender equality by supporting the economic independence of these women. It equips them with essential business skills and knowledge to launch their own microenterprises. This initiative is made possible by the non-profit organizations Solidaridad and FUNDES. Thanks to the program, three microenterprises driven by 28 “Pallaqueras” took up business in 2024. Four more microenterprises with 25 women involved will go to market in 2025.
We are currently in alignment on the next social development project to be supported by the funds.
06 Guided by integrity
Our compliance and transparency standards are the foundation on which the trust from our employees, customers, and other stakeholders is built. Earning and maintaining this trust is the basis for our success. It requires an unwavering commitment to integrity and good business practices.
We value long-term relationships over short-term profits and have always ensured that processes are transparent and auditable. Our approach to compliance has three aspects: prevent, detect, and respond. Our highest priority by far is prevention.