COVID-Safe Building

COVID-Safe Building

01/Mar/2021

SQM corporate headquarters in Santiago earned the Chilean Safety Association’s (ACHS) COVID-19 seal for the measures and actions undertaken to address the pandemic.

Following a series of inspections, audits and verifications at different phases of the certification process, which assesses the application of the COVID-19 prevention measures established by authorities and international best practices, SQM and its corporate headquarters in Santiago received the ACHS seal certifying it as a workspace with different measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The certification process included an initial assessment, drafting a COVID-19 action plan and auditing the plan. The subsequent accreditation is subject to ongoing review by ACHS to retain the certification.

ACHS representatives Alberto Madueño and Cecilia Cárcamo, a mining-segment expert who led the verification and accreditation process, presented the seal. Representing SQM were Facility Manager Juan Rivera and Nelson Farías from SQM Santiago’s Joint Committee on Hygiene and Safety (JCHS).

“At all the meetings, we reviewed progress on each of the tasks, and we talked about good practices we could incorporate. The sole objective is clear: Protect the health of all those who work at the Santiago building. I think we have been very proactive in that respect,” remarked Farías.

JCHS President Natalia Pizarro expressed her satisfaction regarding the accreditation of SQM headquarters. “It is the result of a joint effort between the JCHS, management and support from all the employees who provide continuous feedback and responsibly adopt the preventative measures issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), Chilean health authorities and SQM internal protocols.”

“As our campaign says, this is not over. Preventing spread requires everyone’s ongoing, constant efforts. We will continue doing our best to keep all the measures in place and add new ones to keep our employees healthy,” added Pizarro.

Thus, the Santiago headquarters was certified as a place with a COVID-19 action plan that includes measures based on health ministry guidelines and best practices, which are reflected in all corporate pandemic-related protocols.
Congratulations to everyone who contributed to the achievement!

Together we will beat coronavirus… Prevention is key.