Environmental Leader » Mining

China May Hoard Rare Earth Metals, Vital to Some Clean Tech

Environmental Leader — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:18:48 +0000

China is considering a ban on export of rare earth metals, which are essential to the production of some alternative energy technologies, including hybrid vehicles and wind turbines. At the center of a brewing international conflict, any such action by China could cripple clean tech manufacturers outside of China, giving the nation a virtual grip-lock on [...]

Emissions, Energy, Water Use Rise at Cliffs Natural Resources in 2008

Environmental Leader — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:57:24 +0000

Cliffs Natural Resources, a mining and natural resource company, reports that the company’s emissions, energy consumption and water use all increased in 2008, according to its latest sustainability report. The Cleveland-based company, which is an energy- and water-intensive business, says the report aims to establish baselines within several key sustainability areas including environmental stewardship and sustainable [...]

ArcelorMittal to Focus on Sustainable Steel

Environmental Leader — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:59:11 +0000

At the heart of ArcelorMittal’s corporate responsibility report for 2008 is the company’s goal to deliver sustainable steel, investing $295 million in research and development in 2008. The global steel producer has also announced a new corporate responsibility strategy that segments its commitments into four priority areas — investing in people, enriching communities, making steel more [...]

Supreme Court Mulls Gold Mine Waste Dumping

Environmental Leader — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:31:40 +0000

Gold mining company Coeur Alaska Inc. recently urged the Supreme Court to uphold the mine owner’s permit to discard waste into a nearby lake, even though the company’s lawyer acknowledged that the company’s plan would kill its marine life, AP reports. Coeur’s lawyer, Theodore Olson, told justices that the waste is more accurately defined as “fill,” [...]

CSR Reporting Efforts: Electronics, Financial, and Metals

Environmental Leader — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:05:57 +0000

The Roberts Environmental Center of Claremont McKenna College released new Pacific Sustainability Index scores on the environmental and social reporting for the financial, electronics and metals sectors. It scores companies based on the reporting, intent, and performance of environmental and social sustainability efforts. In the electronics, semincoductor, and peripherals sector (pdf), Japanese brands Panasonic and Sony stood out, receiving [...]

Mining Industry: BofA’s Coal Policy A PR Stunt

Environmental Leader — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:26:59 +0000

Bank of America recently announced that it would phase out loans to coal companies that predominantly use destructive mountaintop removal mining practices, but some say the announcement is a public relations ploy, AP reports (via CNNMoney.com) Securities and Exchange Commission filings show the bank loans money to seven major companies involved in mountaintop mining. But according [...]

DOE Abandons FutureGen CO2 Project

Environmental Leader — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:05:45 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy plans to pull its support of a $1.8 billion FutureGen project to build a power plant that captures pollution underground, according to this report. A DOE representative issued a statement saying only that the agency needs to reassess the project because of rising prices and technological advances. In [...]

States Petition EPA on GHG of Nonroad Engines

Environmental Leader — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 17:39:13 +0000

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced a petition to the EPA asking it to adopt GHG emissions standards for nonroad vehicles, engines and equipment. Other states, government agencies and environmental organizations on the petition include Connecticut, Oregon, New Jersey, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the International Center for Technology Assessment, Center [...]

CDP5: More Companies Address Climate Change Risk

Environmental Leader — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:20:37 +0000

Ninety-five percent of companies that consider climate change to present a commercial risk have implemented a GHG reduction program with a specific target and timeline, according to The Carbon Disclosure Project's 5th annual global report which looks at the 500 companies ranked by the Financial Times newspaper as the world's largest by market capitalization. The report is a collaboration of over 315 institutional investors with assets under management of more than $41 trillion...

Ford, McDonald’s, IBM, Abbott, Time Inc. To Share Sustainability Strategies

Environmental Leader — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:17:02 +0000

With new sustainability initiatives being launched daily, U.S. companies are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their climate change credentials. Corporate Climate Response, a newly announced conference, is pulling together corporate sustainability leaders to talk about what works and what doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t when it comes to responding to global warming.

Big names like Ford, Wal-Mart, McDonaldÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s, Time Inc...