In the early days of corporate environmentalism, the focus was mainly on big, heavy industries. Fossil fuels and mining had the most obvious environmental issues, as well as extensive regulatory regimes to navigate. These days, however, sustainability discussions are more often focused on the actions of consumer product, retail, and tech brands. But it’s important to check in periodically with the big guns of environmental impact and see how they’re thinking about these issues.
Why Mining — Yes, Mining — Cares About Sustainability
While many modern sustainability efforts are focused on consumer products, it’s important to consider the ways in which heavy industry can make a more positive environmental impact. Based on his experience speaking at the Center for Copper and Mining Studies in Chile, the author offers several key insights around how companies in these major mining industries are thinking about sustainability. Specifically, he suggests that two of the biggest opportunities for mining companies to support the environment is in rethinking how they use “tailings ponds” (that is, finding ways to reclaim large pools of mining remnants that offer metals at too small a percentage for many companies to bother with), and improved recycling. Like every sector, mining businesses have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving their environmental impact, but that also mean they have a lot of opportunities to support greater levels of sustainability across the industry.