Our Commitment to Responsibility
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Along with our parent company, NewMarket Corporation, we hold close the long-standing values that have contributed significantly to our success and will continue to do so into the future. For over a century, the values that we live by, namely Safety and Environmental Responsibility, along with Good Corporate Citizenship, have been critical to our commitment to doing business in a way that protects our employees, the communities in which we operate, and the environment. |
 View and Download NewMarket ESG Report 2023 |
Environmental
We are committed to making the world a better place through our products and our company as a whole. We use our formulations, technology, and application expertise, together with our market insights to help our customers develop and market products that:
- Reduce emissions
- Improve fuel economy
- Reduce the use of fossil fuels
- Extend the life of engines and equipment
- Enable reliable, efficient, low-cost transportation
Examples of our efforts in these areas include developing engine oil additives to optimize performance, help improve fuel economy and reduce emissions in passenger cars, and automatic transmission fluid (ATF) additives specially designed to improve fuel economy. At Afton, we also have developed products for use in hybrid vehicles, and as the leading additive supplier to the electric vehicle market, we are investing in and delivering new technologies to enable electric vehicle market growth. On the industrial side, Afton has been providing wind turbine oil solutions for many years, supporting this growing renewable energy market.
We participate in industry initiatives, like Responsible Care®, that improve the health, safety, and environment globally. We are a founding member of Responsible Care, having been involved since its inception in 1988. We have implemented Responsible Care management systems at all our U.S. manufacturing sites and our headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. We have also implemented ISO 14001 management systems at all global manufacturing and R&D facilities (click here to learn more about Afton's Responsible Care Initiatives). Our focus on Responsible Care metrics helps us minimize our environmental impact, improve internal efficiencies, and identify opportunities to better serve our customers. We also serve on the Additive Technical Committee’s (ATC) Sustainability Sub-Committee and the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Sustainability Initiative and Security Committee.
Social
Our Values are our foundation and support the inclusive and respectful culture we have established in all our locations around the globe.
- Unquestioned integrity
- Respect for people
- Safety and environmental responsibility
- Partners with customers and suppliers
- Continuously improving quality
- Citizenship
- Economic viability
In alignment with our Values, NewMarket, Afton, and Ethyl provide meaningful and valuable career opportunities for over 2,000 employees. We have a diverse workforce, representative of the various geographies in which we do business, and we place a high value on diverse thoughts, skills, perspectives, cultures, and knowledge.
Our compensation philosophy ensures internal equity, and we provide market-competitive total rewards, including competitive base pay and a comprehensive benefits package, to attract, motivate and retain our employees. In North America, for example, this includes both a defined contribution plan and a defined benefit plan. As reported in our regulatory filings, the ratio of our CEO annual compensation to our median employee compensation is 31:1. Additionally, our female-to-male pay ratio is 100%, demonstrating no gap in pay for female employees compared to male employees in similarly situated roles.
When we hire new employees, we do so with the goal that they stay with the company for their career. Globally, greater than 16% of our employees have more than 20 years of service, and greater than 6.5% of our employees have more than 30 years of service. Our full-time employee turnover rate, which captures all reasons for employee departure, including retirement, is approximately 11.7%, and our global quit rate, which includes full-time employees who voluntarily chose to leave the company, is approximately 4.6%. Less than 1% of our global employee population is held by part-time employees.
NewMarket is also committed to providing and maintaining a work environment that is free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation and that fosters respect for all employees, customers, suppliers, and contractors. Click here to learn more about our Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy.
Through NewMarket Foundation, we support many programs in our community that focus on education, health, social services, and cultural activities and programs that improve the quality of life in the communities in which we operate.
The Whale Foundation, a public charity, also exists to provide grants to qualified individuals who have experienced financial hardship due to natural disaster, life-threatening illness or injury, the death of a family member or other catastrophic or extreme circumstances beyond their control.
Governance
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of NewMarket Corporation, Afton follows NewMarket's long-established global standards of conducting business with ethical practices outlined in the NewMarket Code of Conduct. Everyone we deal with—employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, and communities—has a right to feel confident that Afton and its people act with honesty, integrity, and fairness.
We expect our employees to always conduct business following our policies and practices as well as our values. The NewMarket Code of Conduct comprises all of these policies and more.It provides a clear statement of our expectations for how we will conduct business as a company and individuals. Each employee is required to complete training on our Code of Conduct annually. We each commit to align with NewMarket’s common set of beliefs and act with the utmost professionalism and integrity.
Afton has built its reputation for over 95 years, and it is one of our most important assets. Our employees are known for their high ethical standards and integrity.
Responsible Care® is a registered service mark of the American Chemistry Council.