ICMM releases guidelines to tackle Scope 3 emissions

The ICMM said its new guideline is based on the most widely used standard for accounting and reporting corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally, known as the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard.

The council members, which include 25 of the world’s top miners such as BHP, Rio Tinto, Newmont, Barrick and Codelco, as well as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and associations, account for a third of the global metals market.

These companies and groups self-imposed a deadline in 2021 for reaching net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 at the latest. 

They have also committed to support members of their their value chains to decarbonize their businesses, vowing to report on their Scope 3 emissions by the end of the year.

Scope 3 emissions currently account for a significant portion – between 75% and 95% – of any mining company’s overall emissions.

“As minerals and metals are the foundation of so many industries, this creates a particularly complex profile of Scope 3 emissions for the mining and metals sector, with significant variance across commodities and geographies,” ICMM CEO Rohitesh Dhawan said in a statement.

“The guidance helps companies to understand their unique emissions profiles and identify ‘hot spots’ where they can target efforts in partnership with suppliers and customers to achieve meaningful emission reductions,” he noted.

Research and consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie estimates that major global miners’ Scope 3 emissions make up 4% of the world’s total carbon emissions. 

While all major miners have plans in place to reach net-zero emissions, 24 of the world’s largest 25 oil and gas firms don’t, according to a report published Thursday by Carbon Tracker.