Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (TSX: WPM) have been ranked among sustainability ranking organization Corporate Knights’ 2024 Most Sustainable Corporations in the world.
The company announced on Thursday that it will be included in the Global 100 Index, marking a benchmark for excellence in sustainability.
Corporate Knights ranked the world’s 100 most sustainable corporations for 2024 after rigorously assessing over 6,500 public companies with revenue exceeding USD$1 billion. The assessment heavily weighed Wheaton’s streaming business’s impact on the clean economy and the responsible business practices of its mining partners when determining its Global 100 score. Additionally, the company received high scores in categories related to governance and human capital.
In February 2022, Wheaton made a commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and established several supporting goals and targets. These include a plan to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, using a 2018 baseline that has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Additionally, the company aims to have emissions reduction targets aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees for all streams contributing over 4 per cent to its total financed emissions by 2040.
“This achievement is reflective of our commitment to operating responsibly in all areas of our business and represents the quality of the mining partners that we work with to deliver the commodities our society needs,” said Randy Smallwood, Wheaton’s president and chief executive officer.
Wheaton also supports its mine partners in their efforts to decarbonize and implement climate solutions.
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Mining activities can have ecological consequences
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives are important in the mining industry due to their impact on sustainability and reputation.
Mining activities can have significant ecological consequences, such as habitat disruption and pollution. ESG initiatives drive responsible resource extraction, promoting environmental stewardship through reduced carbon emissions, water conservation, and land reclamation efforts.
A few other ESG oriented organizations include the Mining Association of Canada, Ceres and Sustainalytics.
Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX: CXB; OTCQX: CXBMF) joined the Mining Association of Canada in December to improve its responsible mining practices and engage actively in the association’s Toward Sustainable Mining performance system.
Ceres is a non-profit organization that focuses on sustainable investing and advocates for corporate sustainability and climate action. They work with investors, companies, and policymakers to promote ESG integration and disclosure. Meanwhile, Sustainalytics is a global ESG research and ratings firm. It provides data, analysis, and insights to help investors and companies assess and improve their ESG performance.
Centerra Gold Inc. (TSX: CG) (NYSE: CGAU) also released its 2022 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report over the summer. It showcased the company’s dedication to initiatives such as water recycling, diesel fuel consumption reduction, and achieving one million work hours without a lost-time incident at its Middle East mine.
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