Our Sustainability Approach

For TELF AG, sustainability is about ensuring that we source and deliver our commodities safely, responsibly and reliably.

Beyond this, it is also about:

  • Continuing to comply with all applicable regulations, whilst proactively aligning to industry best practice
  • Ensuring that our business is resilient and fit for the future, and can continue to deliver value to our stakeholders – including our employees, customers and business partners
  • Playing our role as a trusted intermediary to promote harmonized and efficient responsible value chain assurance – as well as resilient and transparent value chains
  • Meeting the evolving ESG requirements of our customers and finance providers
  • Continuing to increase our focus on “transition metals” such as cobalt to help meet growing demand driven by the global energy transition
  • Helping to support regional economic development by supplying scarce commodities to countries where they are needed most.

The nature of our business means that we take a holistic focus to sustainability, that includes our own operations, our material suppliers, logistical partners and the broader value chain.

 

For further information about our sustainability journey, please contact us at sustainability@telf.ch

Our ESG Focus Areas

Environment

Product sustainability, operational environmental impact, climate risks/opportunities

Our independent sourcing partners implement a range of measures to help minimise negative environmental impacts associated with the extraction and processing of the commodities that we source from them.

Such measures are increasingly important in the context of broadening stakeholder scrutiny of ESG impacts taking place at all stages of the value chain. This includes a growing focus on the cross-lifecycle impacts of commodities themselves.

In line with our Code of Conduct, we seek to protect the environment. We are aware that the activities of our logistics partners, including those involved in transportation and warehousing, have the potential to cause negative impacts in this regard.

In this context, we select our partners based not only on commercial factors, but also on their ability to handle our commodities (as well as associated processes like loading/unloading, handling, packaging and waste disposal) in a responsible way.

The small size of our offices and workforce means that our own direct emissions (i.e. Scope 1 and Scope 2) are very limited.

Nonetheless, we are aware, given we arrange the delivery of the commodities we trade, that our Scope 3 emissions are much more substantial. This reflects our extensive use of heavy transportation services, including shipping, railway and road transportation – as well as the significant environmental impacts associated with some of the commodities we trade.

Similarly, the nature of the commodities that we trade means that we, our suppliers and our customers are exposed to a range of climate-related risks and opportunities. These require careful, forward-looking planning and management to ensure that our business – and those of our partners – remain sustainable in the medium- to long-term.

Social

Operational Health and Safety, value chain traceability, responsible sourcing, diversity and inclusion

Telf strives to comply with all applicable official norms and regulations relating to health protection, industrial safety and environ