Climate Change

A clear pathway to operational carbon neutrality

We recognise our responsibility to support a transition to a low carbon economy and have identified pathways to achieve our ambition of becoming carbon neutral across our operations by 2040. We are radically reducing energy consumption, switching to low carbon energy sourcing and significantly increasing the role of renewables in our energy mix. We will also implement nature-based solutions on land we manage.

Achieving our ambition of carbon neutrality across our operations is a complex, multi-dimensional challenge. It begins from a clear and detailed understanding of current emissions sources. This understanding allows us to take decisions on the best means of abatement. The target of a 30% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, with eight sites carbon neutral, is an interim target on our journey to carbon neutrality.

Scope 1

Our Scope 1 emissions are those released to the atmosphere as a direct result of our own activities, for example the use of diesel at our mine sites.

Our ongoing deployment of our FutureSmart Mining™ programme across the portfolio will see a step-change in low and zero emissions technologies, significantly reducing our Scope 1 emissions. This includes the capture of methane from our mines, which is our largest single source of Scope 1 emissions, as well as innovative means of displacing diesel at the mines, including the development of the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered haul truck.

We are also working on new applications for our metals and minerals that will enable lower emissions, both at our operations and globally. One such example is green hydrogen-powered fuel cell transport using PGMs.

Scope 2

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, from a utility provider.

We are following two separate tracks to reduce our Scope 2 emissions. First, we are working to consume less energy through the application of FutureSmart Mining™ technologies. For example, we are deploying energy reduction applications in ore processing, which is the most energy intensive part of mining. Other ways that we are reducing our energy consumption and intensity include the application of P101 performance improvements – our transformational asset productivity programme that builds on the stability provided by our Operating Model – as well as new technologies and digitalisation.

Secondly, we are increasing the proportion of renewable energy in our mix. We will be sourcing 100% renewable power in Chile from 2021, as well as in Brazil from 2022, and Peru in 2023. We are also examining the potential for a renewable power network in South Africa that we expect to cover 100% of our requirements by 2030, as demonstrated in the map below.

This initiative draws on the huge natural renewable potential of South Africa and would require the construction of a network of on-site and off-site solar and wind farms. Our modelling suggests that it would be possible to deliver 24/7 renewable power with this distributed generation, but we are considering the inclusion of pumped hydro storage to bring additional resilience to the system. Our current intention is that the full programme is completed and operational by 2030.

The ultimate goal would be a regional renewable energy ecosystem that would not only meet the full demand of Anglo American’s operations in the region, but would also support the resilience of the local electricity supply systems and the wider decarbonisation of energy systems in South Africa.

You can learn more in our Climate Change Report 2021.

Scope 3: Our commitment to decarbonising our value chains

We are committed to playing our part to mitigate the impact of our value chain emissions, while recognising that the nature of Scope 3 emissions is that much of them are outside our direct control. We have enhanced our understanding both of the levers we can pull and the influence each of those levers can have over our overall Scope 3 emissions. Informed by our assumptions on the speed of decarbonisation in the steel value chain, we aim to reduce our Scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2040 and we will continue working to deliver that ambition.

We published our first detailed Scope 3 emissions assessment in 2019. Recognising growing stakeholder interest and a lack of consistency in how Scope 3 is assessed across companies, industries and geographies, we published the full methodology we used at that time.

Since then, as the thinking on value chain emissions has matured, so we have continued to develop our knowledge and understanding of Scope 3. Building on our preliminary methodology, we have identified the areas in which we could be more specific in our assessment of our emissions, reducing, where practical, double counting, and reflecting the contribution that our specific activities make to Scope 3 emissions. The aim of our physical and market validation work was to build a more granular inventory, to support our ambition for emissions reduction and to allow us to track progress against this in future.

To learn more, download our Climate Change Report 2021 below.