
This goes hand in hand with our goal of ensuring
Elementis continues to reduce its greenhouse
gas (“GHG”) emissions in line with our ambition
of Net Zero by 2050.
The journey to decarbonisation is not expected
to be linear. Despite this year’s increase in
absolute emissions, we continued to make
good progress on our broader sustainability
objectives, including switching our energy
and raw materials supplies from fossil fuels to
renewable sources and improving the safety and
sustainability profile of our products. This year,
we developed a science-based target (“SBT”)
for GHG emission reductions. I am pleased to
report, that our SBT was recently approved by
the Science Based Targets initiative (“SBTi”).
Our people and culture
I would like to thank all our employees for their
commitment and contribution to the delivery of
this year’s strong performance. It is particularly
pertinent as we complete the Fit for the Future
organisational restructuring, saying goodbye
to many of our colleagues over the year.
We also welcomed over 100 new colleagues
in our new Porto office this year. Their energy
and strive for excellence are a great fit with
our high-performance culture, focused on
understanding and supporting the needs
of our customers.
We place significant importance on ensuring
the safety and wellbeing of all employees, and
we performed strongly in this area, with two
recordable injuries and a significant reduction in
the total recordable incident rate (“TRIR”) in
2024. We have also made good progress
against our objective of creating a more diverse
and inclusive organisation, increasing the
proportion of senior female leaders across our
business to 42%. For additional diversity
disclosures, including for the Directors, see
pages 47-48 and 90-91 of this report.
Section 172(1)
statement
The Board of Directors confirms that
during the year ended 31 December
2024, it has acted to promote the
long-term success of Elementis for
the benefit of its shareholders, while
having due regard to the matters
set out in section 172(1) of the
Companies Act 2006, being:
(a) the likely consequences of any
decision in the long term;
(b) the interests of the Company’s
employees;
(c) the need to foster the Company’s
business relationships with suppliers,
customers and others;
(d) the impact of the Company’s
operations on the community and
the environment;
(e) the desirability of the Company
maintaining a reputation for high
standards of business conduct; and
(f) the need to act fairly between
members of the Company.
Details of the Board’s engagement with key
stakeholders and key decisions taken over
the year are included on pages 26-27.
Further details of the Board’s activities are
described in the Governance report on
pages 81-85.
The Board is committed to a high level of
employee engagement, welcoming opportunities
to meet with our colleagues in many of our
locations over the year. Employee engagement
is further encouraged and monitored via the
biannual employee survey process. This allows
us to regularly engage with our people and
provide relevant and timely support and training
throughout the year. You can read more about
the results of the Gallup employee survey on
pages 48-50.
Governance and Board
Early in the year, we welcomed Maria Ciliberti
and Heejae Chae to the Board as Non-Executive
Directors. Maria brings a strong and current
global operational experience in the chemical
industry and Heejae brings experience in both
his executive and non-executive roles.
In November 2024, we announced that
Paul Waterman will be leaving Elementis in
2025. Paul, who has served as CEO since 2016,
will not be seeking re-election at the next AGM.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Paul
for his service and commitment to Elementis
during that tenure and for his significant
contribution and leadership in developing the
culture and values of the Group today. He leaves
the business in a strong position.
In March 2025, we announced the appointment
of Luc van Ravenstein as the new CEO of
Elementis, succeeding Paul Waterman. Since
joining Elementis in 2012, Luc has led the
Personal Care, Coatings and more recently the
Performance Specialties businesses. He was
instrumental to the Coatings transformation
programme in 2020, significantly improving the
quality and performance of this business. He will
assume the role of the CEO on 29 April 2025,
subject to confirmation by shareholders at the
2025 AGM.
On 1 January 2025, we welcomed Christopher
Mills to the Board as a Non-Executive Director.
Christopher is a CEO of Harwood Capital
Management, a shareholder of Elementis.
We look forward to benefitting from his track
record of generating value for all shareholders.
Shareholder engagement
In 2024, the Senior Independent Director (“SID”),
Trudy Schoolenberg, and I had many
opportunities to meet with our shareholders
and discuss a broad range of topics. This year,
the discussions focused on the updated
strategy and the Group financial targets, CEO
succession and investor activism. Shareholders
were also keen to discuss potential sale of the
Talc business, considering the recently
announced talc reclassification, as well as other
new initiatives to narrow the gap between the
share price and the Company’s intrinsic value.
The Board regularly receives feedback from
shareholders and considers it in its decision-
making. We believe that the progress on the
efficiency and growth programmes delivered this
year, alongside our disciplined capital allocation
approach, demonstrate our commitment to
improving shareholder returns over time.
Looking ahead
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank
all our employees for their enthusiasm and
outstanding customer service, contributing to
this year’s strong performance. We are saying
goodbye to Paul, who has led this business over
the past nine years, and welcome Luc, as we
embark on an exciting new phase for Elementis.
I am confident that under Luc’s leadership,
Elementis will continue to grow and deliver
long-term sustainable value for all our
stakeholders.
John O’Higgins
Chair
Elementis plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024Strategic Report Corporate Governance Financial Statements Shareholder Information 5
Chair’s statement