Antofagasta PLC ANTOFAGASTA SETS NEW EMISSIONS TARGETS (2746Y)
12 May 2021 - 04:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMANTO
RNS Number : 2746Y
Antofagasta PLC
12 May 2021
NEWS RELEASE, 12 MAY 2021
ANTOFAGASTA SETS NEW EMISSIONS TARGETS
Antofagasta plc (the "Company") is pleased to announce two new
greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets as part of its Climate
Change Strategy and its wider commitment to operate sustainably as
a leading copper producer. One is to reduce the Company's direct
(Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions by 30%, or by
730,000 tonnes of CO2e by 2025, relative to 2020. The other,
longer-term, target is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in
line with Chile's own national target, or earlier if technologies
are developed over the coming years that allow this goal to be
achieved sooner.
In 2018 Antofagasta set the goal to reduce both its Scope 1 and
Scope 2 CO2 emissions by 300,000 tonnes of CO2e between by 2022,
supported by a series of initiatives, including switching to
sourcing its power from renewable energy producers rather than
conventional sources. The Company achieved this target two years
early with emissions reduced by over 580,000 tonnes of CO2e by the
end of 2020.
Iván Arriagada, Chief Executive Officer of Antofagasta said,
"Today we are pleased to announce these new targets which will
ensure Antofagasta continues to make important progress on its
pledge to protect the environment, while generating sustainable
returns for our shareholders. Copper will be a key enabler of a
modern low carbon economy and it's essential we work with all our
stakeholders to produce it in a sustainable and responsible
way."
Renewable energy
In July 2020, Zaldívar became the first of the Group's mining
operations, and the first in Chile, to use 100% renewable energy
and by the end of 2020, 19.4% of the Mining division's energy came
from renewable sources. Zaldívar will be followed by Antucoya,
Centinela and Los Pelambres, and before the end of 2022, it is
expected that the entire Mining division's electricity consumption
will be supplied exclusively from renewable sources.
Hydrogen
In January 2021, Antofagasta became the first mining company in
the country to join the Chilean Hydrogen Association (H2 Chile), an
organisation that promotes the development of green hydrogen. As a
fuel, green hydrogen has the potential to become an instrumental
factor in reducing carbon emissions from mining companies by
replacing the diesel used by truck fleets. According to estimates
by the Chilean energy industry, green hydrogen solutions could
begin to be implemented as early as the end of this decade.
Water management
Water sustainability and the use of sea and recycled water are
also helping the Company towards its goal of operating sustainably.
Sea water is already used at Centinela and Antucoya, and accounts
for 43% of the Mining division's total water consumption, and a
desalination plant is being constructed in two phases at Los
Pelambres that will increase the operation's sea and recycled water
consumption to over 95% by 2025. Alongside these efforts,
Antofagasta is sponsoring a multi-faculty research project on water
sustainability at the Catholic University of Chile.
Responsible Production Assurance
In November 2020, Antofagasta began the process to receive
Copper Mark assurance at each of its operations with Centinela and
Zaldívar becoming the Company's first operations to submit a letter
of commitment to comply with the prescribed 32 criteria. The Copper
Mark is a credible assurance framework established to demonstrate
the copper industry's responsible production practices and the
industry's contribution to the United Nations' Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). The criteria issue areas cover GHG
emissions reduction, safety and health, tailings management,
biodiversity, business integrity, gender equality and human
rights.
Reporting and disclosure
The Company has been publishing annual sustainability reports
since 2007 and this year made its initial report against the Task
Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
To support the Company's ambitions, it recently implemented a
comprehensive Climate Change Strategy setting out a
multi-disciplinary approach to the challenges posed by climate
change and to better co-ordinate the many initiatives, large and
small, already in place. The Strategy has five pillars: the
development of climate change resilience; reduction of GHG
emissions; supply security and the efficient use of strategic
resources; management of the environment and biodiversity; and the
integration of stakeholders.
The Mining division's 2020 Sustainability Report is available on
the Company's website ( www.antofagasta.co.uk ).
Investors - London Media - London
Andrew Lindsay alindsay@antofagasta.co.uk Carole Cable antofagasta@brunswickgroup.com
Telephone +44 20 7808 0988 Telephone +44 20 7404 5959
Rosario Orchard rorchard@antofagasta.co.uk
Telephone +44 20 7808 0988
Media - Santiago
Pablo Orozco porozco@aminerals.cl
Carolina Pica cpica@aminerals.cl
Telephone +56 2 2798 7000
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