Managing ESG & CSR Risk and Opportunity in Mining
Environment and social issues are more prominent than ever within the mining sector. A recent report from Ernst & Young (EY) has indicated that in 2022, for the first time, environmental and social issues took the number one spot in their review of risks and opportunities in the global mining and metals sector. This underscores the importance for operators to evaluate CSR initiatives in their mining operations.
Some of the biggest mining companies are also noting shifting priorities from their clients. “Practically all of our customers are talking about, and requesting, cleaner technologies now,” said Pia Sundberg of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions in a recent publication of the Engineering and Mining Journal. “Local legislation is a key driver, as well as the general proactive approach toward environmental issues.”
Source: Top 10 business risks and opportunities for mining and metals in 2022 (EY).
Of course, this is no surprise to the team at Cypher Environmental. The very foundation of our company is built on the principles of Environmental Social Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), before these terms were even commonly referenced as part of overall organizational strategy. “We have always put the environment first because it is the right thing to do. Fortunately for us, the mining industry agrees and we are well positioned to help companies with their overall ESG and CSR Initiatives in Mining,” says Cypher’s CEO, Todd Burns.
Risks of Not Considering Environmental and Social Impact
If companies do not manage their haul roads responsibly, they risk shutdowns, upsetting local communities and damaging the environment. We can see an example of this in the shutdown of Peru’s fourth-largest copper mine in 2021. Residents protested the operation of the Las Bambas copper mine due to the heavy traffic of trucks on dirt roads generating so much dust that it resulted in damage to the residents’ crops. The ripple effect of this problem resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of lost opportunity, and cost the community 6,000 jobs.
Dust from unpaved roads has known health impacts on human cardiovascular and respiratory health.
With the use of our dust control and soil stabilization solutions as part of their operational strategy and CSR initiatives in mining, we can help our clients reduce their operational costs and environmental footprint in the pursuit of higher standards of ESG and CSR.
Opportunities
Some of the opportunities to expand current ESG and CSR initiatives in their mining operations with Cypher Environmental by improving haul road efficiency are:
- Reducing environmental impact – by using environmentally friendly products, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and not poisoning the land and water. Case studies show that our products can reduce haul truck fuel burn by 17.4%, water consumption by 85+%, and generation of 10,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
- Increasing safety for workers – by using DUST/BLOKR® to reduce the dust that poses a threat to human health through inhalation into the lungs and using ROAD//STABILIZR® to stabilize roads for safer working conditions while operating equipment. Our products can reduce dust by 90+%, reduce rolling resistance by 61%, and can increase CBR by 300+%.
- Improving community relations – by reducing dust from operations, minimizing local water consumption, and maintaining or strengthening road infrastructure to mitigate the impact of increased traffic from mining vehicles, mines can improve relationships with communities and validate their social license to operate.
- Giving back – by participating in our Cypher Green Roads initiative, we will donate up to 5% of a project value for any orders exceeding USD $250,000, in the form of product, to a local community near the project location.
Join the movement
We are able to help mines take advantage of these opportunities with our products and their ESG programs. Cypher Green Roads is our commitment to ESG and CSR, and in conjunction with our mining clientele, aims to give back by enhancing local roads and infrastructure in the communities in which our products are being used around the world.
Our program has been praised by industry influencers such as Ryan McEachern of MSTA Canada for our unique value proposition as a mining supplier: “Environmental Social Governance is rarely addressed by medium-sized mining suppliers. The first example MSTA Canada has found is from our member Cypher Environmental with its ‘Green Roads’ initiative – a truly visionary and innovative approach to ESG.” Here are some of our success stories:
- New Fadougou: We partnered with our customer B2Gold, who is well known for its leadership in ESG and CSR, to donate 12,000 liters of DUST/BLOKR® to the relocated village of New Fadougou in Mali, Africa where dust was a major issue.
- Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band: Together with Mountain Side Earthworks and their oil and gas customer, DUST/BLOKR® was donated to a First Nations community in British Columbia, Canada to treat three kilometers of roads.
- Pond Inlet: Cypher Environmental teamed up with the Baffinland Iron Mines site at Mary Lake in Nunavut, Canada on this project to donate DUST/BLOKR® as well as technical services and training to the community of Pond Inlet, where road dust has been a historical challenge for residents.z
- Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation: With the help of Enbridge and Subcan Ltd. Cypher Environmental donated product, time, and services to a First Nations community in Manitoba, Canada as part of our Cypher Green Roads @ home initiative. View video below.
Start the conversation
“ESG and CSR are philosophies that cannot be overlooked when working in an industry so heavily scrutinized for its environmental and social footprint. However, as industry leaders in producing environmentally friendly dust suppression and road stabilization solutions, we all need to engage in conversations with our peers outside of mining so they too can see the light.” stated Cypher CEO Todd Burns in a 2021 article from Global Business Reports. “ESG and CSR are not simply trends – when adopted whole-heartedly into the mindset of a company, they create a general shift in momentum that is generated when all stakeholders buy into shared values and a guiding principle – Always do what’s right.”
If you are interested in learning more about our environmentally-friendly products, or our ESG program, contact us here.
About Cypher Environmental: Cypher Environmental is a leading global environmental solution provider for dust control and road stabilization. With ESG (Environmental Social Governance) and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) principles at the core of every decision we make, we proudly boast the tag line, “Always do what’s right.”.