Imerys: Forging a sustainable future
In products such as face scrub and toothpaste, and throughout the homes and surrounding infrastructure that provide shelter over decades, Imerys plays a truly significant role in our everyday lives in myriad ways. And in a world that’s constantly changing, Imerys is, too.
As the world's leading supplier of mineral-based specialty solutions, Imerys is always looking toward the future to embed sustainable thinking into everything they do. As agents of change, they are driven by a purpose to unlock better futures for their people, their customers and the planet.
Materials for a modern world
The Imerys portfolio spans more than 30 different minerals extracted from over 100 mineral deposits around the world. Their products are used in advanced ceramics and fuel cells, infrastructure and utilities, cosmetics and coatings, and plastics and biotechnology, among others. With decades of experience and technical knowledge, their expertise in mineral solutions for every industry is unsurpassed.
"Minerals are an essential component of our daily lives, but they are also an essential and indispensable component of the transition to a low-carbon, more sustainable economy," said Leah Wilson, chief sustainability officer at Imerys. "Our purpose is really focused on unlocking better futures for everyone through the work we do everyday."
For employees, suppliers and communities, a better future is safer, healthier and more inclusive. For clients, it means creating sustainable value through Imerys' expertise in minerals combined with their ability to innovate for what's next. And for the planet, it's a carbon-free future as well as one where nature and our natural resources are protected.
Expansive environmental impact
Imerys starts with a mineral and reinvents it. Beneficiating its properties and shape, and expanding its utility transforms it into a product that can improve our homes, energize our industries and feed our economies.
A shining example of this transformation is perlite, a naturally occurring mineral that expands under sufficient heat. With a wide range of industrial uses, including as an insulator and fire-retardant additive, perlite is also ideal for lightweight building materials and concrete. Perlite is used for filtering wine and fruit juices and as an environmentally friendly soil amendment that can improve plant growth while also improving resistance to insects and disease.
One of its more remarkable roles is in body wash and exfoliators made with microbeads, where perlite can act as a replacement for the plastic that formerly entered the water supply and followed waste streams into the food chain of fish. Reducing plastic pollution in the ocean and protecting marine life is a small but meaningful part of how Imerys’ products improve lives and help create a better world.
A relationship for resilience
While sustainability has long been embedded in their mission, Imerys now pursues an even more climate-conscious approach to their operations and business. With sites around the world, and a responsibility to the communities where they operate, the tools and support provided by FM Global have taken on new significance.
One focus of this collaboration has been Imerys' SustainAgility™ program for which FM Global provides accurate, reliable and consistent data on all Imerys sites that are exposed to climate risks. The resulting detailed analyses have allowed Imerys to establish plans for adaptation to climate risks that help make it possible for them to maintain production. A further contribution has been FM Global's participation in a study group working to identify cyber security vulnerabilities, which has led to the implementation of prevention and security plans based on FM Global’s analyses of the control systems industry.
"FM Global has been our property and casualty insurer since 2004, and we have created a real partnership. This is a true collaboration that allows us to reduce the risk of disaster on our sites and to ensure that we can create value over time," says Emmanuelle Henry-Lanier, vice president of climate and portfolio sustainability at Imerys.
Coming full circle
The growing urgency of climate-driven risk and the global focus on sustainability finds Imerys ahead of the curve. Their long collaboration with FM Global has helped them to build on success, pursuing a path of sustainability and stewardship of their resources, while providing game-changing innovation to their customers.
"Imerys, like FM Global, is a purpose-driven company that's founded on science and research, and we are equally passionate about the work we do," said Loïc Le Dréau, manager of operations at FM Global in Paris, France. "We're inspired to work with Imerys as, together, we are building a more resilient and sustainable tomorrow for everyone."
Company: Imerys
Headquarters: Paris, France
Size: 14,000 employees around the world, 40+ countries across 5 continents
Featured markets: Abrasives, batteries and fuel cells, packaging and pulp, building materials, ceramics, cosmetics and personal care, crop production, food and beverage, health, pharma and biotechnology, infrastructure and utilities, paints and coatings, plastics, refractory producers, rubber
Valued client since 2004