Suppliers for a Better Future: Strengthening Responsible Sourcing
Antofagasta is proud to announce that it has commenced the next phase of its Suppliers for a Better Future Programme, which is a key component of the Group’s approach to responsible sourcing. Launched in late 2022, the purpose of the programme is to align local supplier practices with our strategic framework, helping to create long-term value.
The programme’s areas of interest focus on the following pillars:
- People: Centred on developing and attracting talent, strengthening human capital as a driver of change.
- Sustainability: Building responsible relationships with the environment, caring for the territory, its people, and its resources.
- Competitiveness: Making a concrete contribution to the region's economy, strengthening productivity, efficiency, and sustainable growth.
- Innovation: Promoting creativity, disruptive thinking, and paradigm shifts as drivers of growth.
- Supplier development: Promoting long-term relationships, joint growth, and opportunities for all.
Since its inception, the programme has achieved major milestones, with contractor spending under this initiative reaching over $650 million in 2025, directly supporting local businesses and economies. This has seen more than 140 regional suppliers participate in the Supplier Development Programme. This particular initiative, now in its third phase, has strengthened management capabilities, enhanced competitiveness, and opened new business opportunities for local suppliers.
Significant progress has also been made under the ‘People’ pillar of the Programme, particularly in local hiring and workforce balance, with over 48% of contractor workforces coming from the regions of Antofagasta and Coquimbo. A particular success has been recorded at Los Pelambres in the central region of Coquimbo, where local representation has now reached 64%.
Looking forward, momentum continues to build, with long-term ambitions supported by recent agreements. In 2024, all four of the Group’s mining operations and 20 third-party suppliers signed a collaborative commitment to increase female inclusion in the Group’s contractor workforces. This initiative is already delivering results, with these 20 organisations achieving a level of 23% female representation, compared to the average of 15% from across all of the Group’s contractor companies.
As the Programme enters its next phase, over the next five years, the target is to increase local hiring to 50%. In respect of female participation in contractor companies, the ambition is to move towards a figure of 25% by 2030. The value of purchases from local companies covered by the Programme also continues to grow, and the expectation is that this will grow to more than $800 million, which will be achieved through the implementation of a dedicated platform for purchasing to ensure transparency and provide a more user-friendly experience for supplier companies.
Through the Suppliers for a Better Future Programme, Antofagasta continues to foster resilience, competitiveness, and responsible supply chains in local communities – creating shared value and driving sustainable growth, while supporting Antofagasta’s underlining purpose of developing mining for a better future.