Environmental Assessment For BHP Billiton And Ok Tedi Mine

Discussion

Discuss about the Environmental Assessment for a Case of Bhp Billiton and ok Tedi Mine.

Environmental protection has been a big challenge from many mining companies. The need to balance between economic gains from mineral mining and to protect the environment is often a delicate balance. BHP Billiton and Ok Tedi are some of the global giants in mining with interest in various minerals. Over the years, BHP Billiton has consistently published its audited environmental impact performance reports. This paper looks at 2008 and 2015 environmental performance reports and evaluates the major environment assessment issues mentioned in the two reports. In so doing, it will assess through justification whether there has been any changes on the main environmental issues over this period of time. The paper will also look at the Ok Tedi mine, and the impact it has had on the environment.

The 2008 environmental sustainability report explores a number of environmental issues. The company’s focus has been striving to meet the demand for minerals while aware of its responsibility of environmental protection.  In line with its mission statement and Zero Harm policy on environment, BHP Billiton often runs internal programs that seeks to set emission targets, track progress, and improve performance (BHP, 2015). The report highlights major areas of environmental concerns as; climate change and energy, water, waste, and biodiversity and land.

The company is cognizant of climate change risks associated with greenhouse gas effects and has taken necessary actions to mitigate this concern. Such steps include innovation and advancement in technological process, as well as behavioral change. Climate change is a global challenge that requires concerted efforts from governments, companies, and other stake holders. BHP Billiton has a 5 year target which seeks to reduce greenhouse emissions by 6 per cent per unit production. In the 2008 financial year report, the company noted an increase in carbon-based energy emissions by one per cent. In this period the company also experienced a five per cent intensity increase in greenhouse gas emissions for the company’s global sites. This was attributed to the switching of fuels for generators in its Chile pant (BHP, 2008).

The company uses water largely for mining, refining, smelting, and in other petroleum processes. BHP Billiton has set targets to improve on the use of recycled water while reducing the usage of high quality water. The company had a four year aggregate target to improve by 10 percent the ratio of recycled to high quality water used. The company’s mining operations produces large quantities of mineral wastes which pose a great environmental hazard. During this reporting period, the company produced about 215 million tones of mineral waste and a further 192, 000 tones in hazardous non-mineral waste. This is about 7 per cent more compared to the previous year (BHP, 2008).

Major Environmental Issues on the 2008 Sustainability Report

Another major concern that the company reported in this report is environmental incidents. While there were no major environmental incidents reported, the company recorded 40 incidents with capacity to cause serious environmental harm. These incidents were cases involving chemical spills, tank failures, high rainfall cases, and uncontrolled discharge of sediments from tanks due to broken pipelines. There was however a mitigation action plan and the company were able to take prompt action to avert danger (BHP, 2008).  

The 2015 environmental sustainability report addresses a number of environmental issues while seeking to improve on targets set in previous reports. Like the previous reports, the 2015 environmental sustainability reports places emphasizes waste management, climate change, water, and environmental risks and safety.

Climate change being one of the areas of concern, the company has taken mitigation measures to reduce climate change. Being a major energy producer and consumer, BHP Billiton has prioritized energy efficiency systems and greenhouse gas emission reduction measures. In the 2015 sustainability report, the company’s total greenhouse gas emission levels were 38.3 million tons of Co2e which the company still considers high although it represents a reduction of six per cent from the previous year’s emissions (BHP, 2015). 

The 2015 sustainability report considers the safety of the people as one of the key areas of environmental concerns. The company underpins this fact noting that the safety, health and wellbeing of its people is central to the organization. To this far, BHP Billiton strives to provide an environment that is conducive and free from injury and occupational illness (Lodhia and Martin, 2014). Despite this goal, the company recorded tragic incidents of employees in this period. Four of this cases occurred during on-site excavation activities while one occurred off-site. The company also recorded incidence of exposure to airborne contaminants and carcinogens although this represented a 40 per cent decrease from the previous years (BHP, 2015).

In this period, the report records 4.93 million hours worked incidence of employee occupational illness which a sharp increase of 74 per cent recorded the previous reporting period. Due to the nature of activities at the company, cases of musculoskeletal injuries are a major concern. Musculoskeletal injuries are a result of heavy physical work, fixed work postures, manual handling, twisting, bending, vibration, lifting, and sedentary work.  The report lists musculoskeletal injuries as forming the bulk of incidence reported with 139 cases recorded (BHP, 2015).

Over this 5-year period, BHP Billiton has constantly sought to lay more emphasis on these fundamental issues. This is evident from the specific set targets on various aspects of environment concern, and the auditing process to check whether the targets were achieved.

Climate Change and Energy

To emphasize the importance with which the company regards this environmental concern, the company developed transparent and reward processes and practices designed to measure performance based on facts. The company also trained employees especially with regard to health and safety. On climate change, BHP Billiton has been on the forefront in championing for a cleaner and safer environment. To underscore this fact, the company apart from being a member of Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, signed the “Putting a Price on Carbon statement” according to Taylor, and Hoyle (2014).

Through innovative solutions in its processes, BHP Billiton has managed to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as evident in the 2015 sustainability report. Improvements were made in the extraction and utilization capabilities of gas drainage systems without which the company attributes could have resulted an additional 190, 000 tons of Co2e in the 2015 report. BHP Billiton processes to further reduce carbon emissions are a continuous process with the company banking on its Fuel Quality Network which seeks to let people understand the benefits of improved quality fuel (BHP, 2015).

On environmental degradation the company has put more emphasis and steps to avoid degradation and protect the environment in line with its charter values. Among other steps according to Altenburg, Crocket, and Pearson, (2016) are the company’s resolved not to extract minerals within word heritage boundaries.  The company has also resolved not to explore where there is imminent risk to the ecosystem. This has led to over 60,000 hectares of land being conserved BHP, 2015).

BHP Billiton has made tremendous steps and improvement with regard to its environmental protection policy from where it was five years ago. Guided by its strategic plan and Zero Harm policy, the company has been frequently measuring its performance against its set targets. Among the areas that the company set to improve were on environmental degradation, water, waste management, people safety and global warming (BHP, 2008).

In the 2008 sustainability report, the company had set a five year target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 per cent per unit of product. By 2015, the company had managed to achieve greenhouse gas emissions lower than the 2008 baselines and six percent lower than the previous year (BHP, 2015). BHP Billiton has been a significant player in the campaign for clean energy. Through partnership with various stakeholders, the company has used its experience and technical capacity to assist in the development of in equitable and effective climate change policies. Within the same period, the company also made significant progress in its quest to improve on the safety of its people. This is seen from the development of a company safety intervention strategy that seeks to further reduce case of fatalities and injuries (BHP, 2015).

Water and Waste

In the 2008 sustainability report, the company had a target to increase the use of recycle water while reducing on the use of high quality water. With an aggregated target of 10 per cent of recycled water to high quality water by 2012, the company had managed to achieve 85 per cent use of water from lower quality sources (Walker, 2015). These statistics are a clear indication that the company met its target with regard to environmental protection.

The impact of the Ok Tedi copper mine on the environment cannot be well documented although many reports according to Hettler and Lehmann, (1997) seem to indicate that the negative impact outweighs the benefits. Hettler and Lehman, (1997) point out that the Ok Tedi mine caused devastating environmental harm along Fly River and Ok Tedi River between 1984 and 2003. Kirsch, (1996) considers the Ok Tedi mine disaster to be the worst environmental harm that has disrupted the lives of about 50,0000 people as a result of discharge of untreated waste from the mine. Many locals according to Kirsch, (1996) believe the environmental hazards caused by the mine has so far outweighed the benefits received from the mine

In 1999, a statement by BHP indicated that the company annually discharged 90 million tons of waste into the nearby stream, consequentially endangering fisheries, and agriculture ( Kirsch, 2007). These reports are supported by scientific research which have shown that the sediments and discharge from the mine have completely change the surrounding, leading to severe loss of aquatic life (Smith and Hortle, 1991). According to this study, mineral and non-mineral wastes were deposited over a stretch of 39 square miles. Reports according to study, estimate an area of 1,200 square miles to have been affected by the mine.

Townsend, (2016) observes that it is often difficult to balance between economic and social gains associated with mining. For a country grappling with economic pressure in the 90s, the mine was a much reprieve to the government contributing 19 per cent and 11 per cent of total exports and GPD respectively. Word Bank paper No. 384, according to Marychurch and Stoianoff, (2006) provides that one of the success factors in the mining sector is for the government and private sector to support social and community projects. Both acknowledge that the Ok Tedi mine provided several social and community projects such as education, training programs, health, and infrastructure development. As a result of the Ok Tedi community funding, significant progress was made in health sector where infant mortality rates dropped Gilberthorpe & Banks, 2012).

Environmental Incidents

Records according to Garrett, (2014) indicate that the Ok Tedi mine directly employed about 1900 people with majority from the Western Province and a further indirect employed approximated to be four times more. Several business around the area depended on Ok Tedi as a source of market for their products and services. Garrett, (2014) notes that the mining company is largely credited for the shift of the local economy from subsistence to cash based

While the local community and the government benefited from the Ok Tedi mine, majority feel the mine has had many hazardous effects. This view is supported by several studies and reports which has documented the devastating effects of the mine. The sediments and waste discharged from the mine spanning over 10 years changed the local ecosystem thus affecting aquatic life (O’Brien, 2015). It is with these reasons and others that many feel the Ok Tedi is a project which should have never been.

Reference Lists

Altenburg, K., Crocket, G. and Pearson, M., 2016. Broken hill, the national heritage list, and the management of heritage values. Historic Environment,28(1), p.98.

Armstrong, R., Baillie, C. and Cumming-Potvin, W., 2014. Mining and Communities: Understanding the Context of Engineering Practice. Synthesis Lectures on Engineers, Technology, and Society, 8(1), pp.1-148

Brueckner, M., Durey, A., Mayes, R. and Pforr, C., 2013. The mining boom and Western Australia’s changing landscape: Towards sustainability or business as usual?. Rural Society, 22(2), pp.111-124. 

BHP (2008) Taking the long view Sustainability Report 2015. Available at: https://www.bhpbilliton.com/~/media/bhp/documents/investors/annual-reports/2015/bhpbillitonsustainabilityreport2015_interactive.pdf (Accessed: 30 September 2016).

Blazey, P. and Perkiss, S., 2016. The empowerment of Papua New Huinea’s tribespeople: Overcoming the challenges of foreign investment projects. Australasian Journal of Regional Studies, The, 22(2), p.206.

Garrett, J. (2014) Assets of Ok Tedi mine come under community control. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-10/an-png-ok-tedi-assets-handover/5250694 (Accessed: 30 September 2016).

Gilberthorpe, E. and Banks, G., 2012. Development on whose terms?: CSR discourse and social realities in Papua New Guinea’s extractive industries sector. Resources Policy, 37(2), pp.185-193.

Mudd, G.M., Weng, Z. and Jowitt, S.M., 2013. A detailed assessment of global Cu resource trends and endowments. Economic Geology, 108(5), pp.1163-1183.

Kirsch, S., 2012. Juridification of Indigenous Politics. Law Against the State: Ethnographic Forays Into Law’s Transformations, p.23. 

Manz, C.T. and Tutesigensi, A., 2014. Energy in Germany: A critical review of current issues and analysis of future potential. International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology, 3(4), pp.2640-2651.

Luning, S., 2012. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for exploration: Consultants, companies and communities in processes of engagements. Resources policy, 37(2), pp.205-211.

Lodhia, S. and Martin, N., 2014. Corporate sustainability indicators: an Australian mining case study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, pp.107-115.

Prno, J. and Slocombe, D.S., 2012. Exploring the origins of ‘social license to operate’in the mining sector: Perspectives from governance and sustainability theories. Resources Policy, 37(3), pp.346-357.

Schoenberger, E., 2016. Environmentally sustainable mining: The case of tailings storage facilities. Resources Policy, 49, pp.119-128.

Sarker, T.K., 2013. Voluntary codes of conduct and their implementation in the Australian mining and petroleum industries: is there a business case for CSR?. Asian Journal of Business Ethics, 2(2), pp.205-224.

Soysa, I., 2014. Global environmental and sustainability reporting frameworks for mining projects in developed and developing countries. Australian Resources and Energy Law Journal, 33(2), p.205.