Letter From Our CEO
At the heart of PotashCorp’s business strategies and operational decisions is one simple truth: Our long-term success depends on delivering value for all stakeholders.
We are a company with resources and opportunities that extend generations into the future. To maximize the benefits, we are committed to living up to the expectations of the people who depend on us — our customers, employees, investors, communities, business partners and, above all, the people around the world who want more and better food.
This commitment is the key to sustainability and, ultimately, to growth. We approach our business as an unbroken and continuing circle. We must operate profitably to reward investors and fuel future growth. At the same time, it is imperative that we focus on our environmental and social responsibilities to ensure our host communities see value in supporting our license to operate. To ensure continuity in our expanding operations, we must pursue innovative programs to attract and retain talented people committed to our goals. To help us make informed decisions on capacity investment and staffing levels, we must build relationships that help us understand the long-term needs of our customers. These relationships dovetail to keep our company moving forward.
A recent example is the extension of our mining permit at Aurora, a cornerstone of our phosphate operations. Over the past decade, we have worked closely with the community to help improve the quality of life in the region. As we negotiated the regulatory process, we had community groups at our side, to support a new permit that will extend our mining operations there by more than 30 years.
Building relationships requires long-term thinking and consistent approach in the way we operate. The rewards, however, are tremendous. Working collaboratively with stakeholders helped us navigate through the global economic downturn, which had a significant impact on our 2009 financial performance. Despite a large reduction in potash volumes and lower gross margin for all three nutrients, we achieved the third-highest earnings in our history and maintained our base for future growth.
At the heart of this approach are relationships built on transparency, trust and accountability. Each year, we set targets, measure performance and share our results, striving to continually improve our performance. Our sustainability program and this report are essential elements in this process.
Sustainability is fundamental to the way we think and act. The simple truth is that when we build mutually beneficial relationships with our stakeholders, we fulfill the promise of our company.
