Teck releases climate action report

Canadian Mining Journal Staff | August 29, 2019 | 2:29 pm
Education • Energy • Top Companies • Canada

As part of its QB2 project in Chile, Teck is building a desalination plant to enable the use of desalinated seawater for mining in place of freshwater. Image courtesy of Teck Resources.

Teck Resources has released its second “Climate Action and Portfolio Resilience” report. It outlines how the company will go forward producing products that are essential in a low carbon future while tackling climate change.

The report analyzes potential business risks and opportunities under different climate change scenarios. It also outlines how the company is reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency in its operations.

Teck is taking action on climate change by reducing its own carbon footprint. Reducing greenhouse gases (GHG), using renewable power, and boosting energy efficiency are high on the list. Here are some of the steps the company is taking:

GHG reducing projects have removed over 289,000 tonnes of these emissions since 2011;
The goal for 2030 is to boost that total to 450,000 tonnes of emissions.
In 2018, Teck generated 81% of the electricity it used from renewable energy sources;
Since 2011, the company has increased capacity of its alternate energy sources to 30.7 MW;
Teck’s metallurgical coal and copper operations are among the least carbon intensive in the world.

And the company is updating its sustainability strategy. The results, including new GHG goals, will be published in 2020.

For our readers who wonder how an oilsands partner can possibly lower its carbon footprint, the last word goes to Teck: “The Fort Hills oilsands mine … produces a product that has a lower carbon intensity than approximately half of the oil currently refined in the US.”

(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)