Barrick was recognized as a Carbon Disclosure Leader in Canada by the Carbon Disclosure Project in 2010 and 2011.
Barrick was ranked by the Chile Foundation and Capital Magazine as one of the top 30 companies in Chile taking steps to fight climate change.
Climate Change
Barrick understands that climate change is both a global and community concern. While uncertainties still exist as to the rate and magnitude of the impacts of climate change, these uncertainties should not delay effective action to counter the effects of this problem. In light of the risks, we must address the implications of climate change to protect our shareholders and society. Therefore, we are tracking our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, investing in renewable energy technologies, and working to achieve energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions improvements across our operations.
To provide corporate oversight of these programs and to more directly address the issue of climate change, we developed a global climate change program in 2007 and a Climate Change Standard in 2010 which has been introduced in all our regions. Both a six-year target and annual targets for GHG efficiency improvements are now in place.
The weight of the scientific evidence links greenhouse gas emissions to global climate change. Climate change is a global problem and requires a global solution. While the actions of a single company will not solve the problem, we will do our part.
Direct GHG emissions are emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the company. At Barrick, direct emissions originate from burning fuel for energy and from explosives use. Indirect GHG emissions are generated at sources owned or controlled by another organization, where the energy is then used by Barrick. This includes purchased electricity.
Barrick has tracked GHG emissions from our mining operations since 2004 and, starting in 2008, from our other sites (office locations, closure properties, development projects and ancillary sites) as well. We have been reporting on GHG emissions from our operations for the past eight years, starting with 2004 data provided to the Carbon Disclosure Project in 2005.
Barrick’s Energy Group has been assisting our operations in implementing energy efficiency programs and initiatives; energy efficiency will serve to minimize GHG emissions. Innovative energy strategies implemented or underway include: solar and wind farms; energy awareness education; the use of solar water heating and high efficiency lighting at some of our mine camps; biodiesel use at our North American underground mines; compressor controls; and fuel management programs. Due to the 149 energy efficiency projects now in place at our operations, including over 40 new projects initiated in 2011, we reduced our greenhouse gas emissions this year by over 238,000 metric tons from business as usual. See the Energy Use section of this report for more information.
Our long-term goal, revised from eight percent in 2008, is to improve GHG emissions efficiency by five percent in the six-year period ending December 2012. In 2011, our annual target for GHG emissions efficiency improvement was 4.3 percent. We achieved a 4.6 percent improvement against business as usual, thereby exceeding our target. In 2011, direct GHG emissions from our mining operations were 2.7 million metric tons and indirect GHG emissions totalled 2.0 million metric tons. Direct emissions from our other sites were 349,000 metric tons and indirect emissions were 13,500 metric tons.
Transport-related activities such as business travel, employee commuting, delivery of goods and materials, transportation of our products, along with waste disposal activities and use and disposal of our products are known as Scope 3 emissions. Barrick does not currently track Scope 3 emissions because of the difficultly collecting the information from our operations and all other sites, globally. We are investigating the possibility of collecting certain Scope 3 emissions in the future.
We have identified both regulatory and physical risks related to climate change. These include the financial impact associated with legislation / regulation relating to emission levels and energy efficiency, along with significant risk to our energy supplies due to temperature changes, more frequent and severe weather, rising sea levels, increased drought and thawing permafrost. These physical changes could require more stringent design and construction standards to ensure our facilities can withstand severe weather events.
To ensure that potential financial risks associated with greenhouse gas emissions are considered in our economic assessments, carbon emissions are being considered in all material decision-making. The evaluation of carbon emissions will depend on the type of decision being made. For acquisitions, environmental due diligence will include the calculation of a carbon footprint and the development of a carbon mitigation plan. For new projects, an energy study will be performed and will include optimization of project energy efficiencies, an assessment of carbon emissions associated with potential power supply options, the climate change-related risks, mitigation and residual risks, and the development of a mitigation plan. This evaluation will promote consideration of energy alternatives to mitigate economic risks and minimize Barrick’s carbon footprint. Our goal is twofold; to provide for Barrick’s long-term competitiveness in a carbon-constrained economy and to mitigate impacts.