Sustainable consumption

Building on our insights, we are convening conversations to help the sector think about the notion of “the mine we want to see” – and what it will entail to get there.

Ahead of this year’s Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention, ERM published a document to stimulate a conversation with the sector on what the future of sustainable mining needs to look like. We convened a panel at the convention with leading companies to explore this topic further. Our panelists shared how today’s mining companies need to continually innovate, act and adapt – not just to compete, but to survive.

By putting sustainability at the heart of their change agenda, mining companies can address the risks and challenges facing their business and seize the opportunities presented by a digital age.

Within the scope of ESIA preparation, ERM is providing a wide range of services including extensive and detailed baseline studies, options assessment and engineering-collaboration, Serbian regulatory advice, stakeholder engagement planning, hazardous materials classification, land acquisition advice and specific in-country presence. By combining our global ESIA and permitting experience with a bespoke team of Serbian experts, ERM is helping the client progress through different study phases.

This new cobalt LCI/LCA dataset will help LCA practitioners to meet data needs in the battery, automotive and other sectors – which depend on cobalt to help power the low carbon economy of the future.

ERM conducted a peer-reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA) with participation from eight major cobalt producers, who produce cobalt as a by-product from either nickel or copper production.The new dataset has been used as part of the EU Product Environmental Footprint Pilot on rechargeable batteries, and has been incorporated into LCA databases. Work is underway to incorporate the new cobalt data into other studies as well.

This project provided an up-to-date representative dataset for cobalt to support manufacturers and downstream users in their efforts to improve the environmental performance of their cobalt-containing products.

We provided the client with a cradle-to-gate streamlined LCA study that estimated the environmental impact profile of the products. The impact profile included GHG emissions, ozone depletion, human toxicity, non-cancer effects, particulate matter, photochemical ozone formation (VOCs), acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, land use and water resource depletion. This study provided valuable information about priority issues during key stages of the product life cycle.

ERM scaled up quickly to deliver for our clients with this highly specialized service. We helped clients stay in business by ensuring they met this critical regulatory requirement.

ERM combines the product safety and EHS perspectives. With our holistic lifecycle view on substance use and the local presence in all global markets, we identify best marketability options for products and prevent negative surprises.

ReachCentrum, an ERM Group company specializing in REACH regulation and a market leader for REACH consortia management, established a dedicated program to support companies in the various steps of registration and co-registration, in particular in providing letters of access (for the data required) and in supporting dossier preparation and dossier application to ECHA, the European Chemical Agency. ReachCentrum automatized its approach, helping clients mitigate the burden of registration in a time- and cost-effective way.

The acquisition of ReachCentrum by ERM provided a strategic perspective to its staff, who now support clients beyond the European Union with consortia management, financial management and data-sharing services. We see the need for ReachCentrum services strongly evolving in areas such as Turkey, Taiwan and Korea.

The training modules encompassed the key components of the sustainable supply chain process:

• Review internal process and support in place and assign responsibilities to lead;
• Map the supply chain and identify highest risk areas;
• Establish sustainability criteria for selection, evaluation and monitoring, applying relevant industry standards;
• Evaluate suppliers and engage to influence improvements;
• Integrate results of evaluation into sourcing decisions using balanced scorecard and alignment of internal buying incentives; and
• Ongoing monitoring, engaging, rewarding, reporting and working responsibly toward sector-wide change.

ERM's training series helped sensitize multi-disciplinary stakeholders on the business-critical aspects of integrating sustainability within the supply chain processes.

We developed and piloted a detailed questionnaire related to both internal and external risk factors that each site completed, looking at water risk exposure, water management and potential business impact. We evaluated the questionnaire results, incorporating water risk scores from public tools, including World Resources Institute (WRI) Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Water Filter. Furthermore, WRI and WWF reviewed and provided feedback on ERM’s methodology for assessing water risk inside and outside the four walls of the facility.

Based on our evaluation, ERM prepared detailed site-level reports, along with a summary corporate report, highlighting the key findings and relative scoring to aid in raising awareness and understanding of water risk issues at the site and corporate levels. The results of our work serve as the basis for the next phase in P&G’s water risk assessment framework.

Using powerful computer resources, the most elaborate calibrated water quality model of its kind was created for the Boysen Reservoir and the surrounding tributaries. ERM’s model reproduced observed conditions and made predictions of hypothetical future scenarios. The study spanned a period of more than one year, and was a collaborative effort between Aethon Energy, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and ERM.

This innovative approach resulted in proposed permit levels that enable Aethon Energy to significantly increase production, while complying with applicable antidegradation requirements to protect potential drinking water and aquatic life sources. The model also generated a tool to help Aethon Energy estimate the amount of produced water treatment needed under the varying future conditions to ensure protection of water quality. The study and its outcome were shared with various stakeholders providing assurance that no adverse water quality changes would occur.

ERM consultants have also been coaching senior leaders in the organization, middle management and frontline leaders on practical actions they can take to deliver enduring change to the culture, behaviors and safety performance on the frontline.

The culture change program has helped our client to create a more open culture where people feel freer to speak up: there was a four-fold increase in reporting of safety observations since 2016. Trust in leadership is markedly improved. Critically, safety performance is continuing to improve and high-potential incidents are trending downward. 

The client team that has been driving the cultural change program with ERM’s support was recognized as the winner in the global organization’s annual safety and environment category. The deeply collaborative engagement with the client is ongoing and continues to deliver great outcomes.

The goal for 2017, and again in 2018, is to make Pernis two times more safe than the prior year. To achieve this objective, Shell recognized that safety behavior and safety leadership are key drivers of improvement. To kick-start the process, Shell launched an engagement survey with all the employees. This was followed by the introduction of a Safety Excellence program, together with contractors. Shell requested ERM assist them on this journey.

ERM started with a one-week diagnostic assessment. Observing conditions and behaviors in the field and interviews with leaders gave Shell and ERM good insights into root causes and underlying issues. This was followed by a leadership workshop, which created a personal and organization imperative for leaders in the organization to change the current approach.

Coaching leaders in the field enhanced their hazard recognition skills and equipped them with techniques to engage with personnel in a style designed to enact behavioral change. Sustaining the performance improvement included invigorating core safety processes and preparing internal coaches to continue the learning cycle.