Glossary
A
Aurubis Operating System (AOS)
Management system for achieving continuous and sustainable process improvement.
B
Blister copper
Unrefined porous copper. During solidification, dissolved gases form small blisters in the copper. Blister copper is also purchased as a raw material.
C
Capital employed
The sum of equity, provisions for pension liabilities, and financial liabilities, less cash and cash equivalents.
CDP
(Formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) non-profit organization with the objective of encouraging companies and towns to publish their environmental data.
Closing the loop
For Aurubis, “closing the loop” means turning customers into suppliers. In the process, copper scrap or production waste that accumulates in the value chain through our customers’ production processes is directly delivered back to us by the customers. This helps us close material cycles.
Complex materials
Both primary and secondary raw materials are becoming more complex, meaning their copper content is decreasing and the levels of other elements and impurities contained in them are increasing.
Compliance
Compliance means conforming to certain rules. Apart from laws, directives, and other standards, it also refers to internal corporate guidelines (e.g., codes of conduct).
Continuous cast shapes
Products manufactured from endless strands produced in a continuous casting process. Continuous cast shapes are processed into sheets, foils, profiles, and tubes by rolling and extrusion.
Continuous cast wire rod
Semifinished product produced in a continuous process and used for the fabrication of copper wire.
Converter slag
Hardened melt that forms in the converter during the smelting process. Like natural stone, it can be further processed.
Copper cathodes
Quality product of the copper tankhouse (copper content: 99.99 %) and the first marketable product in copper production.
Copper concentrates
A product resulting from the processing (enriching) of copper ores, the Aurubis Group’s main raw material. Since copper is found almost exclusively in ores, in compound form, and in low concentrations (usually below 1 % copper content), the ores are enriched in processing facilities into concentrates (copper content of 25 to 40 %) after being mined.
Copper premium
Surcharge for high-quality cathodes, which are used for the production of continuous cast wire rod and continuous cast shapes, among other products.
E
EBIT
Earnings before interest and taxes are an indicator of a company’s operative earning power, ignoring its capital structure.
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization are an indicator of a company’s operative earning power, ignoring its capital structure and propensity to invest.
EBT
Earnings before taxes are an indicator of a company’s earning power.
EMAS
Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (also known as the EU eco-audit). EMAS was developed by the EU and is a joint system comprising environmental management and environmental auditing for organizations that want to improve their environmental performance.
ESG
Environmental, social, and corporate governance. ESG refers to the dimensions of corporate responsibility and is generally used in the context of sustainability-related investments.
ESG-linked Schuldschein loan (bonded loan)
A Schuldschein loan (bonded loan) with components linked to sustainability criteria. See “ESG.”
F
Free cash flow
The generated surplus of cash and cash equivalents, taking into account cash-related changes in working capital, and after deducting capital expenditure. It is available for a company’s dividend and interest payments, as well as for the redemption of financial liabilities.
G
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
This organization publishes the GRI Standards, which are the standards and indicators for sustainability reporting. The GRI Standards are established internationally as a framework for voluntary sustainability reporting.
I
ILO Core Labour Standards
The Core Labour Standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations comprise four basic principles: upholding freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, eliminating forced labor, abolishing child labor, and eliminating discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. These are found in the eight fundamental ILO Conventions, which are referred to as the ILO Core Labour Standards.
Iron silicate
A by-product of copper production in the refining process. Formed using sand from iron that is chemically bonded to copper concentrates and recycling raw materials. Mainly used in the construction industry as granules/sand or in lump form.
ISO 14001
An international standard that establishes the criteria for setting up and monitoring companies’ environmental management systems. A company can receive proof of a functioning environmental management system (certification) through an external expert.
ISO 45001
An international, intersectoral standard that regulates the requirements for and implementation of companies’ occupational health and safety management systems. It replaces the OHSAS 18001 standard.
ISO 50001
An international standard that establishes criteria for initiating, operating, and continuously improving an energy management system. The objective of the standard is to steadily improve companies’ energy-related performance. Energy-intensive companies have to be certified in accordance with EMAS or ISO 50001 to be eligible to receive concessions on the levies under the German Renewable Energies Act.
K
KPI
Key performance indicator; a parameter that can be used to measure a company’s performance in a certain area.
KRS
Kayser Recycling System, a modern recycling plant in Lünen for the treatment of a wide range of copper-bearing secondary raw materials.
L
Life cycle analysis
Observes and calculates the ecological impacts of a product during its entire lifetime, from the raw material source to disposal.
Location-based
Method for calculating indirect CO2 emissions (Scope 2). CO2 emissions that are related to the production of bought-in electricity or energy of other kinds are measured using average emission factors for the region where the company is located. See also “market-based.”
London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)
An important trading market for gold and silver independent of the exchanges. The gold and silver ingots traded through the LBMA have to fulfill certain quality requirements.
London Metal Exchange (LME)
The most important metal exchange in the world, with the highest turnover.
LTIFR
Lost time injury frequency rate (accident frequency).
M
Market-based
Method for calculating indirect CO2 emissions (Scope 2). CO2 emissions that are related to the production of bought-in electricity or energy of other kinds are measured using the data of the energy supplier or the purchased product. The emission factor is therefore directly related to the type of energy source. See also “location-based.”
Materiality analysis
A materiality analysis serves to establish the content of non-financial reports or sustainability reports in general, or is used as the foundation for developing sustainability strategies. During the analysis, the sustainability topics that are especially relevant for the company in question are identified.
Metal gain:
Metal yield that a smelter can extract beyond the paid metal content in the raw input materials.
N
Net borrowings
Consist of long- and short-term financial liabilities, less cash and cash equivalents.
Net cash flow
The generated surplus of cash and cash equivalents after taking into account cash-related changes in working capital. It is available for payments in conjunction with a company’s investing and financing activities.
O
OHSAS 18001
An internationally recognized standard that regulates the requirements for and implementation of companies’ occupational health and safety management systems. It is being replaced by the ISO 45001 standard.
P
Primary copper production
Production of copper from copper concentrates.
Product surcharge
Fee for the processing of copper cathodes into copper products.
R
REACH
The REACH regulation has been in force in the European Union since 2007. REACH stands for “Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals.” The objective of the regulation is to record all material flows in the EU.
Recycling materials
Materials in a closed-loop economy. They arise as residues from production processes or during the preprocessing of end-of-life products and rejects.
ROCE
Return on capital employed is the ratio of EBIT to capital employed as at the balance sheet date. It describes the efficiency with which capital was utilized during the reporting period.
S
Secondary copper production
Production of copper from recycling materials.
Settlement
Official cash selling rate on the LME. Price basis in annual sales agreements.
Spot market
Daily business, market for prompt deliveries.
Sustainable finance
This term refers to the inclusion of environmental, social, and corporate governance-related criteria in investment decisions in the financial sector. The objective of sustainable finance is to promote long-term investments in sustainable business activities and projects.
T
Tankhouse
An electrochemical process, the last refining stage in metal recovery, takes place in the tankhouse. For copper, anodes and cathodes are hung in a sulfuric acid solution (electrolyte) and connected to an electric current. Copper and baser elements (e.g., nickel) are then dissolved from the anode in the electrolyte. Copper from the solution is deposited on the cathode with a purity of 99.99 %. Precious metals (e.g., silver and gold) and insoluble components settle as “anode slimes” on the bottom of the tankhouse cell.
Treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs), refining charges (RCs)
Surcharges on the purchase price of metals, charged for turning these raw materials into the commodity exchange product – copper cathodes – and other metals.
U
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights:
A global instrument for preventing and handling the risk of negative impacts on human rights in connection with business activities. www.unglobalcompact.org/library/2
W
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
The purpose of the EU’s WEEE directive 2002/96/EC for waste electrical and electronic equipment is to responsibly handle the increasing volumes of electronic scrap. The WEEE End Processor Standard is a voluntary standard for the treatment and/or processing of precious metal-bearing WEEE fractions. Aurubis supported the development of this standard and has been certified in accordance with it since 2015.