Corporate social responsibility in the mining industry: Exploring trends in social and environmental disclosure

In recent years, concerns about the sustainability and social responsibility (CSR) of businesses have become an increasingly high profile issue in many countries and industries, none more so than the mining industry. For mining, one outcome of the CSR agenda is the increasing need for individual companies to justify their existence and document their performance through the disclosure of social and environmental information. This paper explores recent trends in the reporting of such impacts and issues in the global mining industry. It offers a detailed review of the development of the media of social and environmental disclosure in the mining industry, and of the factors that drive the development of such disclosure. A temporal analysis of the recent trends in disclosure using a case study of the world's 10 largest mining companies is presented. Whilst there is evidence of increasing sophistication in the development of social and environmental disclosure, there is considerable variation in the maturity of reporting content and styles of these companies. The paper offers a simple classification of reporting companies, from ‘leaders’ to ‘laggards’. Stronger leadership and co-operation from the top reporting companies is necessary to support the laggards of the industry.     

The potential of environmental regulation to change managerial perception,environmental management,competitiveness and financial performance

This research presents an overview of where the gaps in the literature exist in relation to the link between environmental regulation and proactive environmental management and competitiveness, and incorporates them in a whole model. Different papers have highlighted only partial aspects of these relationships. Specifically, this research evaluates the relationship between managerial perception and the different styles of environmental regulations – command-and-control versus voluntary norms – the mediator role of environmental management in the link between environmental regulations and competitiveness, the effect of competitiveness on financial performance, and the two-way relationship between proactive environmental management and financial performance. Finally, this paper uses statistical evidence to test and estimate causal relationships through a structural equation modelling of 208 firms affected by IPPC law in Spain. There is a lack of systematic statistical evidence on this topic in the literature, which mainly focuses on case studies. The results show that when environmental regulation stems from command-and-control legislation its influence on managerial perception and proactive environmental management is not significant. However, when environmental regulation stems from voluntary norms, its effects are positive. Moreover, investment in proactive environmental management contributes to increasing the competitiveness of the firm. Cost and differentiation competitive advantage have a positive impact on financial performance. Finally, the link between proactive environmental management and financial performance may follow different paths: (1) neither direct nor single, because it can depend on competitive advantage, and (2) direct, because there is a significant two-way relationship between these variables (proactive environmental management influences financial performance and financial performance influences proactive environmental management).     

Indian small-scale mining with special emphasis on environmental management

Although small-scale mining provides a wealth of socioeconomic benefits to the rural inhabitants of developing countries, there is often total disregard for the environment industry-wide. This paper focuses upon some of the key environmental issues in the Indian small-scale mining industry. The geo-environmental factors constraining the mining of the Himalayan limestone, magnetite, phosphate, and polymetallic sulphur ore deposits are discussed, and the environmental impacts of small-scale operations working prospective deposits are detailed. The paper further examines the schematics of the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) adopted for small-scale mines in India. It is concluded, however, that widespread environmental improvement can only be achieved industry-wide if additional mining cooperatives are formed, and the Indian Government, through their Department of Environment, oversees the implementation of effective mitigation practices for small scale-mines, particularly at the university level.     

Corporate environmental responsibility in the supply chain

A continuing trend in outsourcing increases the complexity of supply chains. Global supply chains extend over numerous echelons of countless companies. In parallel, the company-internal view on corporate environmental responsibility is being challenged as customers and legislation alike broaden a company's environmental responsibility to include organisations' upstream as well as downstream in the supply chain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine corporate environmental responsibility beyond corporate boundaries, i.e. in the supply chain. A cross-industrial study based on 16 case studies in Finnish trans-national corporations sheds light on various dimensions of corporate environmental responsibility upstream and downstream of product and process supply chains. Conclusions were drawn for corporate environmental responsibility as well as for the role of supply chain management in extending environmental demand over several echelons and diverse industries.     

Exploring new ways of assessing the effect of regulation on environmental management

Studies indicate that while a variety of factors positively influence voluntary environmental management, regulatory pressures are among the most important. However, most research examines samples representing large manufacturers or single industries, essentially assuming a level of regulatory constraint. Using a sample of heterogeneous facilities, this study finds that facilities can be classified according to the level of regulatory constraint, and that group membership impacts the choice of environmental management strategy when assessed within a utility maximization framework. More extensively regulated facilities implement more individual environmental management practices, but participate in fewer formal voluntary environmental programs (VEPs), compared to other facilities.     

Improving the environmental management of small-scale gold mining in Ghana: a case study of Dumasi

In April 2000, a UNIDO study was carried out in Dumasi, Ghana, the purpose of which was to determine the environmental impacts of mercury prior to the introduction of (mercury) retorts. The sampling program was intended to identify mercury transfers to rivers, soil systems and groundwater. Results show a diffuse contamination of all environmental media in the village. Although there is no evidence of groundwater contamination, sediments are significantly contaminated, and most fish fillets have mercury contents exceeding the United States Food and Drug Agency (US-FDA) action level, and are therefore unfit for human consumption. Mercury losses mainly occur during amalgamation, and have resulted in widespread pollution of soils and sediments throughout the village. Transparent retorts have been introduced and environmental training is ongoing but these efforts have only partially addressed the mercury problem in Dumasi.     

Marine environmental quality, pollution monitoring and environmental management

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The diffusion of environmental management in Greece through rationalist approaches: driver or product of globalisation?

Globalisation trends in economy and governance have resulted in a change in policy instruments towards harmonised initiatives, which are considered to a great extent pivotal for countries to engage with. ISO14001 is seen as constitutive of these wider concepts and is the focus here in explaining their diffusion in national contexts.This article questions the extent to where the adoption of ISO14001 in Greece is motivated by environmental sustainability or processes of economic globalisation. It indicates that in order to facilitate progress towards sustainability through environmental management, proper institutional arrangements and a legal framework must be established and executed by the government and society at large.     

Urbanization, environmental consequences and management in China

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环境规制内涵、表征及应用述评

环境规制是为防治环境污染、改善环境质量,政府所实施的政策措施与社会组织、公众对污染排放主体的排污行为所产生的约束性影响的总和。环境规制形式多种多样,学术界对环境规制的定义、内涵一直以来都有争议,而环境规制强度的表征更会直接影响学术研究结果和决策行为。通过对国内外现有环境规制文献进行阅读梳理,分析了环境规制的提出主体、本质、目的和作用,分类总结了环境规制强度表征方法;归纳总结了环境规制文献研究内容,并将其划分为环境规制的社会环境效应和经济效应2个领域,对其研究应用进行了评述。最后,根据文献梳理结果,对环境规制的定义进行了新的诠释。     

Energy use and environmental impacts of forest operations in Sweden

An inventory of energy use in forest operations in Sweden 1996 and 1997 comprises all operations including seedling production, silviculture, logging and secondary haulage to forest industries. Energy use in Swedish forestry was about 150–200 MJ/m³ of timber, depending on the locality in Sweden. This inventory demonstrates much higher energy use for secondary haulage than was anticipated by earlier studies. In contrast to this, energy use in logging shows a slight decrease compared to the state of operations a decade earlier, possibly reflecting improvements in technology and management. Although secondary haulage operations account for the largest share of the energy used, logging and silviculture generate the highest levels of certain exhaust emissions. Emissions were either fuel-related (CO₂, SO_x) or engine-related (hydrocarbons, NO_x). Use of renewable fuels and improvements in engine design and the better adjustment of engines to forestry operations could decrease these kinds of emissions.The emission of gases that contribute to climate change is very small compared to national emissions. Nevertheless, there is scope for a further decrease of this contribution. Timber is an interesting raw material for alternative fuels, thus enabling a better market prospect for such timber that does not meet the specifications of traditional forest industry.     

Population growth, management and environmental degradation in China

Environmental problems in China can be divided into two large classes: pollution and destruction of natural environment. Environmental degradation is particularly serious in areas with rapid population growth. In this paper, some of China's major environmental problems, particularly those concerned with land, forests, and continental waters are introduced in order to see how population growth and management have affected these resources over the past few decades. It is also explained how the Chinese plan to cope and eventually solve these problems.     

Energy and greenhouse gas impacts of mining and mineral processing operations

Life cycle assessments of the mining and mineral processing of iron ore, bauxite and copper concentrate were carried out, focussing on embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions. The results showed that loading and hauling make the largest contributions to the total greenhouse gas emissions for the mining and processing of iron ore and bauxite. In the case of copper ore, the crushing and grinding steps make the largest contribution to the total greenhouse gas emissions for the production of copper concentrate. These results indicate that efforts to reduce the increased greenhouse gas emissions from mining and mineral processing, anticipated in the future as a result of falling ore grades and more finer-grained deposits, should focus on loading and hauling for iron ore and bauxite, while for copper ore the focus should be on grinding. There are a number of new and emerging technologies that could be expected to assist in this task, and these include high pressure grinding rolls and stirred mills for grinding, and further advances in diesel engine technology for loading and hauling applications.     

Enhancing the use of science in environmental policy-making and regulation

Over the last 10 years the UK Government has strongly promoted the more effective use of science to inform policy-making and regulation. In response, the Environment Research Funders’ Forum (which brings together the main UK Governmental funders of environmental research) has carried out studies, reported in this paper, to establish what is working, what is not, and why in respect of the linkage between science and environmental policy-making and regulation.The findings indicated that there was potential to improve effectiveness in: establishment of research questions and agendas, accessing information and expertise, the role of interpreters, and transparency and evaluation. These findings are re-enforced by those of previous studies conducted in the UK and EU. The studies found that current practice in using science to inform policy-making has not yet caught up with guidance, and they identified potential actions that could be taken by the Forum and its members to narrow the gap.     

企业环境责任的履行有赖于高校绿色管理教育

目前我国不少企业在自觉履行环境责任方面,显得意愿不够强烈。同时,即使有意愿,但在如何全面履行环境责任方面,大多数企业还存在着能力上的欠缺。而要培育企业环境责任的自觉意识,并提高其履行环境责任的能力,教育是必不可少的环节。虽然我国在环境学科的专业教育和公众环保教育方面已经做出了不小的     

Finding the connection: environmental management systems and environmental performance

With more than 130,000 organizations worldwide certified according to ISO requirements, business people, regulatory authorities and other stakeholders have reason to wonder whether the purpose of ISO 14001, which is to help improve environmental performance, is being fulfilled. There is a growing body of literature attempting to answer this question. The results, however, are inconclusive.This meta-study analyzes a pool of 23 studies connecting environmental performance to environmental management systems. It shows that the reason that earlier studies arrived at mixed conclusions is twofold. Firstly, there is no agreement on what environmental performance is or how to measure it. Secondly, there is neither clarity nor agreement about how or why environmental management systems are expected to aid performance. It is therefore unclear whether the mechanisms that lead to improvement are expected to be the same for all companies or dependent on each implementation.The authors conclude that it is more fruitful to research how environmental management systems affect performance, rather than whether they do so or not. The recommended starting point for such studies is environmental performance as each organization defines it. This in turn implies a case by case approach and a need for much more research in the field.     

Chemistry and controversy: the regulation of environmental chromium

The regulation of chromium in drinking water and sludge illustrates some of the challenges of regulating a chemical with complex environmental chemistry in a dynamic regulatory environment. The controversies evoked in setting environmental standards for chromium reflect technical uncertainties and the conflicting values of affected parties including regulators, citizens potentially exposed to chromium pollution, polluting industries, and research scientists. Regulatory limits for chromium in water and sludge recognize the paradoxical nature of chromium chemistry but also illustrate how the use of risk assessment can alter the regulatory approach. The framework of rationality as described by Crawford-Brown is suggested as a useful tool for evaluating regulatory limits for environmental contaminants. Science-based policies are most rational when they reflect the characteristics of rationality with respect to the ends or objectives sought, the means chosen to achieve these ends, and the beliefs that substantiate the chosen means and ends. If scientific research is to be applied to regulatory or environmental policy questions, then the traditional focus on the rationality of empirically based scientific beliefs must be expanded to consider the focus of the research question and the methodologies used.     

冶金矿业环境隐患因子识别

本文分析了环境隐患与安全隐患的异同,定义了冶金矿业行业环境隐患的含义,分析了环境隐患与环境事故的关系,提出环境隐患因子识别的原则、范围和方法。根据冶金矿业行业实际生产情况,用LEC法和危险物质辨识方法对冶金矿业环境隐患进行识别,最终指出常见的冶金矿业环境隐患因子。