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RESPONSIBILITY
WE’VE ALWAYS HELD THAT OUR GREATEST RESOURCE IS OUR PEOPLE; THEIR HEALTH AND SAFETY IS THE COMPANY’S TOP PRIORITY.
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Hecla’s philosophy on corporate responsibility integrates health and safety, environmental and community stewardship, and sustainable economic performance.
We’ve always held that our greatest resource is our people; their health and safety the company’s top priority. Put simply, without our dedicated and talented workforce, Hecla wouldn’t be celebrating its 125th year in business in 2016 – nor would it be as successful as it
is today.
That’s why the company is committed to using the most effective workplace practices available to stop accidents before they happen – in addition to stressing continuous, measurable improvement in safety and
health performance. In 2012, Hecla joined with the National Mining Association as an early adopter of the CORESafety initiative, a new paradigm in mine safety and health. CORESafety is a scalable mining-specific safety and health management system designed to eliminate fatalities and reduce the rate of mining injuries by 50 percent nationwide over its first five years. Three years after joining the program, Hecla has already reduced its injury rate by 30 percent.
Spread across three countries, each of Hecla’s properties has its own challenges and solutions. But all of them – whether exploration, pre-development, or fully operating mines – share a common goal: to send employees and contractors home to their families safe and sound,
every single day.
In its 125-year history, Hecla has witnessed a
dramatic shift in society’s expectations surrounding environmental protections. The industrial practices of a century ago have long gone by the wayside; the last
25 years alone have seen the greatest innovations in stewardship, with today’s strict standards and practices reflecting an evolving awareness of the need to preserve the environment. The mining industry has embraced this change.
Hecla in particular has a long history of honoring our environmental commitments. We seek to continuously improve on environmental performance as we adopt new technologies and practices. We’ve demonstrated that mining in even the most sensitive environments can work – just as it has at our Greens Creek mine in Alaska over the past 27 years. We’ve earned recognition for successful mining operations and reclamation practices, addressed legacy sites, and worked cooperatively with local communities and non-governmental organizations to address and improve environmental conditions near our operations.
Those long-lived mines have allowed the establishment of a deep connection between Hecla and the communities in which we operate. These long-standing, mutually beneficial partnerships have become the model for the company’s future. Through transparency and responsiveness to the needs of these communities, we’re able to build trust and relationships that foster the sustainability of our operations – and, at the same time, make meaningful contributions to the communities themselves, partnering with them to enhance worker skills, education, and employment opportunities, as well as to support sustainable development initiatives.