Sustainable Copper

Spotlight

Natural resources as a driver for the SDGs—the case of Chile and copper mining

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Written by Fleming Voetmann, International Copper Association.

As the world transitions to a low-carbon future and delivers on SDG7, we are going to need more metals from both recycling and mining. The World Bank predicts copper demand from renewable energy alone could grow by over 250 percent toward 2050.[1] Similar forecasts are made for other vital metals. Reduced poverty, a rapidly growing global middle class and increased electrification will also drive demand for metals.

The metals we need to shift to low-carbon energy are often found in developing countries and emerging economies, offering enormous opportunities for sustainable growth and jobs, as well as generating taxes to finance education, healthcare, etc. Many of these resource-rich countries are positioning themselves to seek the full potential of a low-carbon future and help deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

While countries with significant natural resources are planning how to achieve the SDGs, much can be learned from Chile. Rich in natural resources such as fish, agriculture and minerals, Chile is an excellent case of how a country with good governance, a solid political framework and ambitious public-private partnerships has used its natural resources to ensure strong economic development, employment and investments in education, healthcare and infrastructure.

Key to Chile’s robust economic development is its inclusive growth—enabling people to earn the wages they need to thrive. Through reforms and policies, Chile reduced its poverty from 40.5 percent just a few decades ago to 8.5 percent today while quadrupling per capita income.[2]

Mining, particularly copper mining, is a central pillar of Chile’s sustainable-economic development. Copper mining represents a $24 billion industry, 10 percent of the country’s GDP and an average of 7.8 percent of tax revenue. Copper mining also employs close to 400,000 people in Chile.[3] Impressively, copper-mining companies are among the most innovative in the country, with processes and organizational management at double the national average and significant positive indirect impact on supporting industries.

Additionally, mining regions have significantly higher salaries—between 80 to 110 percent higher than regional averages—and up to 50 percent lower poverty rates than the national average, one-third lower than regions without copper mining.

Chile has become one of the two highest-income Latin American economies. To achieve these results, Chile adopted policies and practices to raise and manage revenues in ways benefitting its citizens. Since clean technologies require large quantities of metals and minerals, developing countries with major natural resources have an opportunity to prepare for the growth in demand, while ensuring the appropriate policy mechanisms are in place to safeguard inclusive growth, local communities and the environment.[4]

To help achieve a more sustainable future the SDGs offer the best and most comprehensive framework for fruitful collaboration between the public and the private sector, and when it comes to sustainable development in natural resource-rich countries, much can be learned from the impressive progress made in Chile.

 

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[1] “The Growing Role of Minerals and Metals for A Low-Carbon Future.” World Bank, July 2017. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/207371500386458722/pdf/117581-WP-P159838-PUBLIC-ClimateSmartMiningJuly.pdf. Figure 2.11 Mean Cumulative Demand, 2013–50, for the Technologies Examined in This Study (Impact on cumulative demand of relevant metals by 2050, under the 2DS scenario, as a fraction of cumulative demand if the 2013 production levels are sustained to 2050.)

[2] The Socioeconomic Impact of Copper Mining in Chile. (June 2018). Retrieved from https://sustainablecopper.org/the-socioeconomic-impact-of-copper-mining-in-chile/

[3] Ibid, The Socioeconomic Impact of Copper Mining in Chile. (June 2018)

[4] In a Low-Carbon Future, Better Mineral Governance Could Power Development. (June 5, 2018). Retrieved from https://resourcegovernance.org/blog/low-carbon-future-better-mineral-governance-could-power-development

Circular Economy Cube – A Model for EU Sustainability

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European Sustainable Energy Week is the annual flagship event for all things energy efficiency and renewables-related at the European level. During the week many policy professionals gather in Brussels, across member states and online to discuss a wide range of topics. For the first time this year, the concept of the circular economy was prominently integrated into the week’s themes.

In support of an event run by the European Copper Institute’s (ECI) energy program under the “DecarbEurope” banner, ECI developed a large “cube” that was located outside one of the week’s core venues. The cube highlighted copper’s ability to power the sustainable future through its key contributions to energy efficiency, renewables and electric vehicles, as well as the fact that copper is a highly sustainable material with an infinite life that can be recycled over and over without a loss of properties.

As the EU gears up to finalize the legislative process for all elements of its Clean Energy for All Package and to deliver on the remaining parts of the Circular Economy Package, highlighting the positive, circular properties of copper is key.

The “cube” is now in a prominent Brussels park for the summer. After which-in the spirit of circularity-it will be repurposed into sturdy shopping bags.

The Socioeconomic Impact of Copper Mining in Chile

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In the early ’90s, Chile had the perfect climate for economic prosperity, one in which the mining sector could play a significant role. Chile’s institutional and political reforms allowed the copper mining industry to become a key driver of economic growth—helping the country make an unprecedented jump onto the world stage.

Fast forward three decades and Chile has established copper mining as a central pillar of sustainable-economic development, representing 10.9 percent of the country’s GDP, providing an average of 7.8 percent of tax revenue and 388,754 jobs for Chile. For every $100 contributed by mining to the economy, at least another $36 is generated indirectly. When it comes to water, the mining industry represents 3 percent of national consumption.

As a direct result of the natural resource export model, by 2016 less than a third of the population was below the poverty line, income quadrupled, and Chile became one of the two highest-income Latin American economies.

As of 2017, Chile was the largest global copper producer and was ranked sixth in the world in terms of total mining production, after Australia, China, Russia, South Africa and the United States.

To learn more, see the materials below from the 2017 study “Economic and Social Impact of Copper Mining in Chile,” issued by PlusMining.

Report Summary from PlusMining

Fact Sheet

Infographic (PDF Print Version)

Infographic (Not for Print)

 

Closing The Loop: Optimizing The Copper Life Cycle For A Sustainable World

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The European Copper Institute (ECI) and the International Copper Association (ICA) held a successful breakfast workshop in Brussels to discuss the key role of life cycle data in achieving a shift toward a more sustainable world on 31 January 2018.

Highlighting recent industry efforts in this field, including key new pieces of data on LCA and LCI, the workshop demonstrated the strong sustainability profile of copper and its essential role in capturing the opportunities of the energy transition. In addition, the session opened a dialogue with European policymakers, industry representatives and academia about how to collaborate further. More than 30 people attended the event, including several Copper Alliance members, six European Commission representatives, three EU permanent representatives, and members of academia.

Bernard Respaut, Chief Executive of the European Copper Institute, served as moderator for the day. He stressed copper’s significant role in the transition to a low-carbon economy and highlighted efforts of the copper industry in this field, such as the recently launched Copper Environmental Profile and the annual publication of the copper industry’s Stocks and Flows Data and Sustainable Indicators.

ICA’s Director on Health, Environment & Sustainable Development, Andrea Vaccari, followed, outlining the copper industry’s commitment to sustainability and reminding the audience that partnerships between industry, academia and governments are essential for the advancement of global thinking on environment and sustainability. She stressed that sharing relevant and timely data to enable analysis and serve as a foundation for life cycle thinking is critical to a rapid transition.

Panelist Michele Galatola, Product Team Leader at DG Environment in the European Commission, welcomed the copper industry’s involvement to date and its close cooperation with policymakers, in particular the active participation in the European Commission’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) initiative, a pilot project aiming to set rules at EU level on how to measure and better compare the life cycle environmental performance of products. According to Galatola, the recent publication of the Copper Environmental Profile marks the beginning of a “long but absolutely necessary journey.”

Dr. Jörn Mühlenfeld, Environmental Manager at Aurubis, provided an overview of his company’s activities, highlighting Aurubis’s increasing ability to close the loop on difficult to recycle items such as smart phones. For Aurubis and others, life cycle data is crucial to making informed decisions about impact and to identifying areas for future improvement, e.g., in product design.

Also part of the panel, Prof. Dr. Sonia Valdivia, Programme Manager at the World Resources Forum, focused on the key role of Chile and Peru in global copper production. She added that recycling of metals, including copper, is not just happening in developed countries but also in developing countries. Due to rather weak enforcement rules, more than 90 percent of this recycling is currently done informally, an issue the World Resources Forum is working to tackle. She joined the call for more transparency and underlined the need to “track, record and link information” and have openly available interoperable data.

A lively discussion followed the formal presentations on topics ranging from circular economy to green metals.

Available resources

Copper Environmental Profile (LCA)

Stocks and Flows

Long-term Availability of Copper

Workshop presentations:

Copper Environmental Profile

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The International Copper Association (ICA) is the leading organization for promoting the use of copper worldwide. Its mission is to bring together the global copper industry to develop and defend markets for copper and to make a positive contribution to society’s sustainable development goals.

ICA’s 39 member companies represent the majority of the world’s refined copper output and are among the largest copper producers, fabricators, and wire and cable
companies in the world.

As part of its commitment to Sustainable Development, the copper industry is committed to providing data and information to enable users of copper to evaluate its impacts and benefits across the life cycle, from raw material extraction to end-of life recycling.

This environmental profile summarizes the results of the International Copper Association’s Copper Cathode Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The profile was developed to provide information and life cycle data from the mining stage to copper production to actors along the copper value chain. A more detailed dataset can also be obtained upon request to help downstream users of copper understand the environmental impacts of their products when conducting their own LCA studies.

Download Profile.

BMW Group and Codelco Agree on Cooperation to Establish Transparency

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The BMW Group and the Chilean copper mining company Codelco have signed an agreement to cooperate on a sustainable and transparent supply of copper. From the mining of the metal to installation in the automobile, Codelco and the BMW Group will form the start and end point in the copper supply chain and thus create the preconditions for new standards in sustainable copper processing.

“Copper is and remains a very important raw material in the automotive industry. Therefore, we are very pleased to have the opportunity together with Codelco to be able to advocate sustainable standards in the copper supply chain. From the BMW Group’s viewpoint, this is a further significant milestone in our strategy for sustainability in the supply chain,” says Thomas Thym, head of BMW Group Strategy, Purchasing and Supplier Network.

“We appreciate the importance of working together with BMW Group’s value chain and believe that this agreement will be a powerful driver for Codelco and the mining industry to continue to strengthen our social license to operate. It is an inspiration to advance towards a future in which our products will be valued not only for their intrinsic mineral qualities, but also for a production process that promotes environmental protection, gender equality, the generation of shared value, ethical business practices, transparency, fairness and local job creation, among others”, says Patricio Chávez, Codelco Vice President of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability.

The aim of the Responsible Copper Initiative is to achieve a commitment to ecological and social responsibility in the copper industry. Further objectives of the cooperation are the development of core indicators, which measure advancements in sustainability activities, as well as a productive collaboration with stakeholders – including NGOs and regulating authorities. In this way, faith in our copper products is to be strengthened.

In the agreement, Codelco confirms its leadership in the introduction of the Responsible Copper Initiative according to ISEAL guidelines. This includes the promotion and coordination of the global copper industry (from mining to manufacture and processing) as well as other stakeholders such as associations, NGOs, producers and end users in the Responsible Copper Initiative. Within the framework of the Responsible Copper Initiative, Codelco will ensure that the developed standards and tools meet the demands of end users and the BMW Group.

In 2017, the BMW Group purchased 42,000 tons of copper with a value of more than 200 million Euros. As one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electric vehicles the BMW Group will be offering 25 electrified models in 2025. The company’s copper demand will have increased by 20,000 additional tons by this time. This shows that copper will play an even greater role in the future. Therefore, it is of crucial importance that the BMW Group secure a sustainable supply chain for electric mobility, including raw materials.

For the BMW Group, the establishment of the “Responsible Copper Initiative” is a further step towards transparency in the supply chain: The BMW Group is a founding member of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, supporter of the Responsible Steel Initiative and a member of the Responsible Cobalt Initiative.

See original article here.