We’ll also need more of them: Consider that a typical electric vehicle requires six times more minerals than those with a conventional internal combustion engine, while an offshore wind farm requires 13 times the amount of mined minerals versus the equivalent amount of power generation from the natural gas-fired power station.

It’s paradoxical, given that mining is an extractive industry that is responsible for about 4 to 7 percent of the world’s global gas emissions. Since there is no substitute for these essential commodities, the mining industry will need to decarbonize to become a welcome part of the low-carbon future, says David Willick, vice-president and regional leader of mining, metals and minerals in North America for Schneider Electric.

Willick argues the time to act is now given growing awareness of the negative impacts of climate change and the opportunities for change.

“The carbon-free movement is being driven by a convergence of investor interest, public and customer concern over global warming, regulatory actions and technological innovation,” says Willick, whose team helps mining operations extract metals and minerals in the most sustainable way.

The mining industry understands the pressure: More than 27 per cent of mining and metals organizations identified the need to improve brand equity as a top driver for sustainability, compared to 18 per cent for the industry, according to a report from market intelligence company International Data Corporation (IDC), commissioned by Schneider Electric.

It underscores why so many miners are in the midst of a huge transformation — moving away from its traditional extraction methods toward a technology-driven future that’s more sustainable and supports the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

Climate-smart mining, minerals and metals practices are good for business

Given the market is demanding sustainability be a priority, a more sustainable operating model is helping mining companies build their businesses. Specifically, many can attract new business partners who are interested in being more sustainable across their supply chains.

Willick points to Anglo-Australian multinational miner Rio Tinto as a key example. The company has an agreement to provide coffee company Nespresso with responsibly sourced aluminum for its capsules. Rio Tinto and Alcoa — two of the world’s largest aluminum suppliers — also have an agreement through the joint-venture Elysis, to produce carbon-free aluminum for Apple to use in its products by 2024.

The ability to successfully drive sustainability through every part of the business will be critical for mining companies to thrive in the low-carbon economy.

Willick notes several forward-thinking companies have already taken a leadership role and established aggressive benchmarks for sustainability.

For instance, Rio Tinto has set ambitious emissions targets to reduce its carbon intensity by a further 30 per cent and its absolute emissions by a further 15 per cent by 2030, alongside establishing a $1 billion fund to invest in climate-related projects. These targets will bring the company closer to achieving its long-term goal of becoming net zero emissions by 2050 (which includes emissions from shipping its products).

Anglo American, meanwhile, has set a target of achieving carbon neutrality across its operations (Scopes 1 and 2) before 2040, while Canada’s Teck Resources Ltd. is aiming to be carbon neutral across all of its operations by 2050, disposing of zero industrial waste by 2040, and transitioning to the use of seawater or low-quality water for all operations in water-scarce regions by 2040.

The 28-member International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) also recently committed to a goal of net zero scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 or sooner, in line with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.

Sustainability targets are no longer voluntary for companies that want to participate in the new, green economy, Willick adds.

“It’s essential to have a roadmap to decarbonization to move forward,” he says, which includes investing in technology to make it happen.

“For leading mining companies, these investments as part of the push towards sustainability isn’t just a reaction to market forces; it’s strategic.”
– David Willick, VP and regional leader of mining, metals and minerals for Schneider Electric

Technology to drive safety, lower costs and improve sustainability

Setting targets is important, but it takes investment in new emission-reduction technologies and systems to help companies get there.

The broad goal is sustainability, but these investments can also save companies money through lower energy costs and reduce risk by increasing safety across their operations. The result is greater value creation.

“If you lower your cost per ton by utilizing some of these technologies and sustainability methods, then you become more efficient,” Willick says.

Some of the technologies that miners are using include artificial intelligence and machine-learning for predictive maintenance, to the use of data and analytics to make process improvements.

More efficient companies are also better-positioned to weather the commodity cycles that are well known in the industry — and outperform their peers. “As commodity prices fluctuate, those that can produce the commodities with the lowest cost per tonne are always going to be in a good situation,” Willick notes.

The pandemic, particularly the urgency to adopt remote technology, has accelerated many companies’ plans to invest in innovation that drives sustainability. For example, Willick says Schneider Electric has seen a dramatic increase in customer engagement since the pandemic started around March 2020, many of which are looking to boost their investments in innovation and technology.

“Schneider Electric is really good at helping customers decarbonize through their entire supply chain, and we are taking that on,” he says, adding his company also has set aggressive targets to be carbon neutral by 2025 and net zero by 2030.

“Decarbonization and digitalization plans go hand-in-hand. Being more efficient requires more digitally connected devices and requires more insights into the data.”

For instance, he says companies are using sensors during the extraction phase to glean more information about each shovel bucket or scoop, which increases yield while reducing waste rock that would have been processed, which helps to conserve the use of water and reduce tailings waste.

Big data can also be used for real-time monitoring of people and machines on the mine site, to help improve productivity as well as increase safety and protect the environment.

“The more connected a company is, the more efficient and ready for the digital future,” Willick says.

The future of resource extraction and processing is smart, digital, and sustainable

Innovation is key to building a greener, more resilient future. Adopting sustainability as a business imperative pays positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts and provides long-term economic gain and competitive advantage.

The urgency for the mining industry to address its sustainability challenge has never been greater, Willick argues, given the growing backlash from its perceived stagnant positioning on ESG performance.

He says mining companies need to implement smart, digital tools that enable them to make informed decisions and empower people across the value chain to make strategic, sustainable choices. “For leading mining companies, these investments as part of the push towards sustainability isn’t just a reaction to market forces; it’s strategic,” Willick says. “It’s the early adopters that will benefit significantly over the long term.”

The post Why mining companies must prioritize the path to decarbonization appeared first on Corporate Knights.

TELUS is committed to driving positive social outcomes for youth. Throughout the challenging months of 2020, and looking into the future at 2021, we have several youth-focused initiatives in the areas of health, education and the environment to highlight.

We sharpened our focus on academic partnerships in 2020, beginning with a key sponsorship of the University of British Columbia’s 2020 Sauder Summit case competition. The competition brought sixteen international teams of undergraduate business students to the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The global teams, hailing from Denmark, Australia and Thailand just to name a few, tackled a challenging 24-hour live case about 5G, energy usage and TELUS’ ambitious sustainability goals. UBC’s own Sauder team took home first place.

Due to COVID-19, the remainder of our academic partnerships in 2020 understandably became virtual opportunities, powered by TELUS’ Work Styles mobile working program. The TELUS Sustainability & Environment team is proud to announce a partnership with the National Strategy Consulting Competition & Conference (NSCC), North America’s leading strategy consulting competition and conference, for their 2021 virtual event. TELUS and NSCC case writers will collaborate to create a case on fibre optic cable recycling throughout the remainder of 2020, and teams will compete in a virtual case competition in January 2021.

TELUS is also partnering with Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and small businesses in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada this year to initiate a Carbon Accounting Program which will provide fellowships for students from the Master of Science in Environmental Economics and Management program at TRU. These TELUS Research Fellows will take part in an innovative new carbon accounting course being developed through TRU, and apply their skills through carbon accounting services for small businesses in Kamloops in 2021. We are pleased to provide support for students developing new skills at the intersection of science and business.

Photo: Winning Team of the 2020 Sauder Summit Case Competition

TELUS recently launched two new awards in support of graduate and undergraduate students within Simon Fraser University’s new School of Sustainable Energy Engineering. “TELUS’s generosity is a true embodiment of the company’s dedication to positive societal and environmental outcomes through social capitalism leadership. These valuable sources of recognition and financial support will inspire our next generation of sustainability leaders.” – Christopher Duffin, Office of the Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences, SFU.

Throughout 2020 and into 2021, TELUS is also focusing on our new and existing community investment initiatives. As the #MostGivingCompany, TELUS and our team members have donated $1.3 billion since 2000, given 1 million hours to our communities every year, and impacted 2 million youth annually. We give where we live through our national cause campaigns, our local community boards funding grassroots initiatives, team member giving and more. The TELUS Friendly Future Foundation builds brighter futures for youth and those who need it most by enhancing public health initiatives through charitable health and technology programs. Through the TELUS Future Friendly Foundation, we are able to help 2 million at-risk Canadian youth every year, contribute over $8 million annually to local charities and support over 500 charitable grants annually in Canada.

Through our Connecting for Good programs, we build stronger, healthier communities and ensure that the most vulnerable among us don’t get left behind:

Mobility for Good: We’re helping young Canadians leaving foster care stay connected. Equipped with free smartphones and plans, they’ll have a reliable way to stay connected to the people, resources and opportunities they need to succeed.

Health for Good: All members of the community deserve to receive healthcare with dignity. TELUS Mobile Health Clinics, powered by TELUS Health technology, improve the way outreach nurses provide care for the most vulnerable among us.

Internet for Good: Every child should be able to reach their potential. Internet for Good connects families in need with high-speed and low-cost Internet, giving them the opportunity to succeed.

Tech for Good: We are helping differently abled Canadians facing challenges using smartphones and tablets with customized technology solutions that help them live more independently and stay connected.

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Faced with immense pressure from a global pandemic, Canada is at a crossroads. If we truly want to become a sustainable nation, it is time to embrace social value thinking.

What is social value thinking? Social value thinking is an alternative to the view that financial returns are the only way to measure value creation. Social value thinking acknowledges the importance of financial capital, alongside human, natural, cultural and social capitals. Social value thinking requires tangible knowledge and understanding of impact upon people, the environment and the economy before taking any action.

Social value thinking rejects any action that worsens inequality, whether deliberate or otherwise. Instead, it prioritizes actions that will make our society more sustainable – which is increasingly understood to be financial, social, and environmental in balance.

In the past, anything ‘social’ was largely considered to be secondary to the economy, and certainly not a top priority for corporate boards. Today, we are seeing social pressures occupy the minds of many corporate leaders; ranging from real inequalities that persist in Canada; to reputational risks associated with investments, to direct and persistent questions on how corporations will contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Without question, we do see positive actions such as in the launch of the BlackNorth Initiative on senior executive recruitment, in the Canada Pension Plan Investment board decision to sell its interest in two U.S. prison companies, and in the Value Balancing Alliance with corporates advocating that the value a company brings to society should be included as a measure of corporate value and performance.

However positive, the actions we see are just the beginning. More significant and enduring action is needed. This is the opportunity of social value thinking.

From one perspective, social value thinking can be considered strategically self-interested. For example, the recent call by Scotiabank CEO Brian Porter, for a significant boost to child-care support within the upcoming federal Throne Speech. The ‘social’ within that is obvious: better workforce access and increased meaningful work for women, improved care and educational opportunities for children – no argument there. The other side of that call is quite economic, a larger and more diverse pool of future talent, greater likelihood of staff retention, better opportunity to reflect the faces of customers in branches, increased organizational diversity – all factors that research increasingly links to above par corporate performance.

Here’s the thing: every action taken by business, government and civil organizations, touches society. Social value thinking recognizes this, and actively seeks to understand that impact in order to strive for maximum positive result – for everyone. It rejects the idea that one stakeholder, i.e. the shareholder or even the taxpayer, is more important than any other. It goes farther to advocate that value of all material impact on ALL stakeholders should be included in the overall account of profit and loss.

As the Chair of Social Value Canada, a non-profit network to advance the essential skill and much-needed practice of social value thinking across Canada, I have recently had the intellectual gift of engaging with practitioners across all sectors and working in many countries in preparation to co-chair and convene the Social Value Matters Conference 2020 on behalf of Social Value International (#SVM2020). Contributors to #SVM2020 offer examples of day-to-day actions to embedding social value thinking into organizational work and performance.

This ranges from accessing the vast experience and glocal (global+local) perspective of Tim Cummins, Founder and President of the International Association of Contracts and Commercial Management. Tim has a vision for how the contracting/procurement process can achieve best possible outcomes for all parties, and does not require any supplier to ‘lose’ despite being a small cog in a global supply chain.

It includes the work of Mark Gough, CEO of the Capitals Coalition and Caroline Rees, President and Founder of Shift – both working with some of the largest and most complex organizations in the world seeking to manage impact, including protecting of human rights.

It includes the vision of Clint Davis, CEO, Nunasi Corporation, Carol Anne Hilton, CEO of the Indigenomics Institute, and Shannon Metatawabin, CEO, National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association – for the Indigenous economy to be a $100bn+ contributor within the Canadian economy annually.

Some will argue it is time for social value thinking because it offers a morally right approach. While I agree we are in need of a morally better approach, this new way won’t be easy, nor will it be perfect. Despite that, a growing body of evidence supports arguments that a stakeholder-driven approach creates more value over the medium and longer terms. This is the way forward for Canada, as it is for our planet.

At this time of the 50th anniversary of Milton Freidman’s most famous article, we now must fix the problems that the illusion of shareholder primacy has caused. While climate action is essential, it alone is not enough. The stakeholder voice can no longer be ignored. Its inclusion will lead to greater equity within society, which will support greater value creation. Now is the time for social value thinking.

Stephanie Robertson is Founder of SiMPACT Strategy Group Inc., and facilitator of LBG Canada. She is Board Chair of Social Value Canada and Board Member of Social Value International. The Social Value Matters 2020 conference runs September 28-30, from London UK and Toronto, Canada.

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If there was a climate change ledger, it might look something like this:

Risks:

• Last year there were $320 billion in insurance losses due to climate change. Canada’s tally came to $2 billion.
• Warming of 4 degrees Celsius or greater by 2100 would result in global GDP declining by more than 30% from 2010 levels, with the greatest decreases in poor countries.
• $43 trillion worth of global assets, including people’s pensions, could be wiped out.

Opportunities:

• Climate action could deliver at least $26 trillion in economic benefits and more than 65 million jobs worldwide through 2030.
• Global trade in cleantech alone, as measured by exports, doubled to more than $1.15 trillion from 2008 to 2015. The cleantech industry is expected to continue to grow to $2.5 trillion globally by 2022.

We need more solutions, more policies and more investment – now. How do we get there? GLOBE spoke with three leaders from the climate community to get their take on how to accelerate action.

Katharine Hayhoe

Renowned climate communicator and atmospheric scientist, and professor of political science at Texas Tech University, where she is director of the Climate Science Center. UN Champion of the Earth in 2019.

How to Talk About Climate Change

The most important thing any one of us can do about climate change is talk about it. But in order to have a positive, constructive conversation, we need to start the conversation with something that we agree on. When I was invited to speak to an oil and gas company’s board for the first time, I had to dig deep. I’m a climate scientist, and my goal is to communicate the urgency of weaning ourselves off fossil fuels as soon as possible! What do I have in common with them? I thought about it for a while, but then I realized something: I am profoundly grateful for fossil fuels because they powered our medical advances, our educational advances, and our research advances. So, I started my remarks by saying, “Electricity, refrigeration and transportation have been powered by fossil fuels and I’m very thankful for living at a time when that was possible.” I could see the surprise—and pleasure—in their eyes as they realized that I truly did understand the benefits of what they do. After that, we were able to have a constructive conversation about how they provide and understand energy, but they’re concerned about how to continue to do that in the future.

So, step one to a constructive conversation on climate change is to find common ground. Step two is about connecting the dots between the values that you already share and how climate change affects those things, whether it’s hunting, fishing, skiing, your kids’ health, the economy, or whatever it is you care about. Step three is to talk about practical, viable, positive solutions that are consistent and compatible with that person’s values and who they are. For example, if someone’s a fiscal conservative, you can share a fiscally conservative solution to climate change with them.

Having positive conversations about climate change isn’t just a North American issue. It’s an issue everywhere, because so many of us have bought into the idea that climate change impacts are far off and only matter to future generations or to people who live far away. We’ve also bought into the idea that the solutions are largely negative…they are harmful, they’re uncomfortable, they are punitive, they are restrictive, they will make our life worse rather than better. So, our natural defense mechanism is to point the finger at somebody else. We deny responsibility because we’re more afraid of the solutions than the impacts. The reality is exactly the opposite: we should be much more afraid of the impacts than ­­the solutions. By having a constructive conversation, we can flip that perspective.

Mark Jaccard

Professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University and author of “The Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success: Overcoming Myths That Hinder Progress”

 A Policy Prescription for Climate Action

As an economist, I prefer putting a price on carbon pricing over any other policy—it’s the simplest, cheapest and most efficient way to achieve reductions. In the short term, people and business might make small changes in their driving and heating habits. In the medium term, they might choose an alternative fuel technology, like an electric car, a higher biofuel blend for their large truck, or an electric heat pump for their home. And in the long term, carbon pricing will drive innovations that reduce more emissions at lower costs.

However, some types of flexible regulations can be less polarizing than carbon pricing and can yield great results if you target key sectors like electricity and transportation. Examples include:

• Phasing out coal-fired electricity, which has reduced more GHG emissions in Canada than any other single policy.
• Federal and provincial regulations for oil and gas, which will significantly reduce methane emissions by 2030.
• The federal Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), which requires that an increasing share of fuels be cleaner. It gives businesses options for how they comply with the policy, giving the CFS much better “bang for the buck” than less-flexible regulations.
• Zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) standards, which require auto manufacturers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles. C.’s standard has resulted in electric vehicles comprising more than 10% of sales in the province—well ahead of what was expected. And the policy can be much more aggressive, as zero-emission sales in Norway have shown (now at 50%).

Ultimately, for success with the climate-energy challenge, we must strategically focus our efforts as citizens on a few key domestic sectors (especially electricity and transportation), a few key policies (regulations and/or carbon pricing), and on electing politicians that are genuinely committed to climate action (what I call “climate-sincere politicians” in my book).

Chris Henderson

Canada’s pre-eminent Clean Energy Advisor to Indigenous communities, President of Lumos Energy and Chair of GLOBE Series

 What We Can Learn from Indigenous Communities

Indigenous communities are the canary in the coalmine on climate change in Canada. Northern Canada is experiencing more warming than anywhere else on Earth—three times more than the global average. To make matters worse, these communities are most vulnerable to climate change impacts due to their location (almost always located close to water and in low-lying zones), economic vulnerability and poor infrastructure. In addition, their way of life is dependent on the land, habitat, wildlife and sea resources, much of which is now exposed to climate change.

There is also a growth story in these communities. Today, Indigenous communities own, co-own or have a financial benefit agreement in 152 medium-to-large scale renewable energy projects. The generating capacity of these clean energy projects totals 19,516 megawatts, representing nearly 1/7 of Canada’s overall power production infrastructure. Clean energy projects with Indigenous participation embody the opportunities in the low-carbon economy. These communities are taking the lead on climate action; we should follow them.

For more thought leadership on the Climate Crisis, Sustainability as Strategy, Energy Transformation, Circular Economy, and Mobilizing Capital, register for GLOBE 2020 Feb. 10-13 in Vancouver: bit.ly/globe__2020

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