Date: 2024-12-21 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00005189 | |||||||||
Mining | |||||||||
Burgess COMMENTARY | |||||||||
Survey Results: Sustainability & Social Value in the Mining Industry DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS) is filming a debate on CNBC Africa to discuss the “evolving license to operate” – why companies still connect sustainability and social development initiatives to reputation and brand, rather than the bottom line, and how they can improve going forward. In honour of this, we would like to share the results of a related survey concerning sustainability and social value in the mining industry. Please see link below. Don’t forget to tune in to CNBC Africa next Tuesday, the 16th of July, at 1:00 PM (GMT +1) to see the debate! dupont.com www2.dupont.com 18 days ago Like CommentUnfollow Flag More Colleen J. Rooney, Serena May and 3 others like this 5 comments Madaleen van der Walt Follow Madaleen Madaleen van der Walt • What I love about the survey result infographic is that it compares the audience survey results to that of this LinkedIn group! It's worth checking out... ;) 17 days ago• Like1 Johnny Browaeys - 庄博闻 Follow Johnny Johnny Browaeys - 庄博闻 • The Mining Industry significantly impacts large regions and big parts of society, simply because of its nature. However, the mining industry in my view has the most beautiful opportunities to add value to society. Mines needs infrastructure and capable people, and are part of a long value chain. Mines change the landscape, during and after their operation. We all agree that our society today would not exist in a world without mines. We need their products, their minerals. And yet, we sometimes feel the need to question 'what/how' they operate. But the secret for any mining company that wants to maximize support from their stakeholders does not lie in the 'what/how' they operate. It lies in the 'why' they do what they do, and how they communicate that.
If you don't believe this, then watch this inspiring Ted Talk:
If you also feel inspired, like I was, then look at below example of how a mining company can do better, increase support and add to the bottom line, all at once:
Oil Sands Suncor:
Mining Anglo American:
johnny 4 days ago• Like Peter Burgess Peter Burgess • I realize that modern society needs the products of the mining industry ... and there is valuadd for society that arises because of what gets made with the products of the mining industry. In the process of mining, the mining companies are (usually, but not always) able to earn a profit. Sadly we are less rigorous about the value destruction associated with the mining industry. What is the impact of mining on people, place and planet? Hardly any of the value destruction is quantified and most goes unreported. My observations of the mining industry (and the international petroleum industry) around the world is that they operate to make profit, while the impact on local people, local environment, local communities and so on is rather unimportant. The public rarely gets the chance to see any numbers about value destruction, though there is plenty of PR about the big profits and the good works (actually tiny if there were meaningful metrics) that are resulting from the mining operations. In financial accountancy there is the concept of a reporting boundary. A mining company has a reporting boundary that is tightly drawn round the operations of the corporate entity. The mining industry, on the other hand should draw the boundary around the place where the mines are operating, and in value accountancy, we take into consideration all the changes in the resources and environment and the impact on peoples' lives that result from the mining operations. Investors on the other side of the planet may be gaining in wealth, but are the people living in the place gaining anything or is their quality of life being permanently degraded? I have a deep seated objection to associating 'sustainable' with any of the extractive industries. For me it is just another example of the corporate world's comfort with PR and misinformation. As a former corporate CFO, I wish the corporate community would start to behave in a manner that would make me and everyone else proud ... but most of the time I am just plain disgusted. Peter Burgess TrueValueMetrics 3 days ago Follow Rich Rich Madrak • My company has been approached on several occasions by groups interested in growing hemp for fuel production and building materials on reclaimed mining land. These folks came and went, but I think the idea was interesting. Does anyone have any intel on the subject of reusing mining land for non food crops? Rich Madrak-RPM Sustainable Technologies. 3 days ago• Like Johnny Browaeys - 庄博闻 Follow Johnny Johnny Browaeys - 庄博闻 • Peter: thanks a lot for your comment. This is the kind of interaction I like to see. I have given this a lot of thought too. Below are a few things that came up: A UN-backed survey conducted by Globescan and SustainAbility, of 642 senior executives, campaigners and academics found that the vast majority feel that pressure to deliver short-term financial results is impeding their sustainability efforts. Eight-eight percent of respondents called this pressure a “significant barrier.” These results will be fed into the UNEP report on the business case for the Green Economy that will be released later this year. Those surveyed also named inappropriate regulations, low awareness of the financial benefits of green practices and low demand for green products and services as important factors. In response to these results, UNEP executive director Achim Steiner, said. “This survey underlines that governments must play their part, national and internationally, in setting the standards and backing the smart policies needed to promote sustainability over extraction and degradation of the world’s natural resource base.” Now, you might find an earlier post in here where I am explaining why I feel that China and it's 5 year plans are an important element for this in the next few years. It may sound contradictionary as the average level is not yet what you might see on average in the west. But it clearly is moving into the right direction, and speed way exceeds the old continents. That's why I would gamble on the developing world for making the change that we all need/hope for. And those who do change direction, even benefit business-wise: Global 500 companies that have demonstrated leadership in carbon disclosure or performance yielded twice the average return as the index as a whole between January 2005 and May 2011. 81 percent of Global 500 companies responded to the CDP in 2011. Of those, 93 percent said their board or a senior executive oversees the company's climate change program, compared to 85 percent in 2010. 74 percent on Global 500 respondents reported greenhouse gas reduction targets, up from 65 percent the year before. 45 percent have made emissions reductions, more than double the 19 percent that had trimmed their carbon footprints in 2010. Those climate change actions have short ROIs. Nearly 60 percent of emissions reduction efforts paid for themselves in three years or less. In terms of carbon performance, companies in Canada, Japan and the U.S. lag behind their peers in Australia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the U.K. BMW, Unilver, Novartis were given shout outs: - BMW started to integrate sustainability and climate change thinking into its overall corporate strategy by looking across its entire value chain, ranging from its suppliers to the consumers who will drive its products. It has even developed a sub-branded called BMWi, which focuses on sustainable mobility. - Unilever's global strategy to grow the business over the next few years heavily takes into account its need to reduce its environmental impacts, which has led to it reformulating products to achieve a smaller carbon footprint. - Novartis for its Energy Excellence Awards, which give monetary incentives to employees who come up with energy-saving ideas or renewable energy products. 23 hours ago |