Tag Archives: Fiona Wild

BHP sustainability drive expands with Responsible Steel membership

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BHP has joined Responsible Steel, the international non-profit organisation that brings together organisations from across the steel supply chain, including steel makers, commodity producers and civil society groups.

Responsible Steel works with these groups to increase sustainability through the steel making supply chain, according to BHP, with the organisation having created a new standard and certification program that member organisations sign up to. The standard seeks to enhance responsible sourcing, production, and use and recycling of steel, according to the miner. The standard and certification is the first global standard for sustainable steel.

Fiona Wild, Vice President, Sustainability and Climate Change, BHP, said: “At BHP we take a product stewardship view of how our commodities are used through the value chain. We are pleased to join Responsible Steel and continue to partner with our customers to help improve sustainability and emissions standards in the steel making value chain.”

Back in July 2019, BHP announced a five-year, $400 million Climate Investment Program to develop technologies to reduce emissions from its own operations as well as those generated from the use of its resources. The month before, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd to work together in the pursuit of emissions reductions, including from the life-cycle use of marketed products.

Matthew Wenban-Smith, Executive Director, Responsible Steel, said the organisation was delighted that BHP had joined as its newest Business Member.

“Having one of the largest resource and mining companies in the world as a member sends a very strong signal and commitment to the steel sector to help achieve the responsible sourcing and production of steel.

“BHP’s membership will ensure that as we further develop our Responsible Steel standard to include three additional components: requirements for the responsible sourcing of raw materials, requirements related to the measurement and reporting of GHG emissions, and the claims certified sites can make about the steel products they produce. In BHP we will have additional input, expertise and experience from an organisation committed to helping the sector reach higher levels of sustainability.”

Other members of Responsible Steel include Anglo American, ArcelorMittal and the Mining Association of Canada.

BHP invests in innovative carbon capture, use and storage company

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BHP has made a $6 million equity investment into Carbon Engineering Ltd (CE), a Canada-based company leading the development of Direct Air Capture (DAC), a technology with the potential to deliver large-scale negative emissions by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The investment will see BHP obtain a share of the company.

BHP’s Vice President, Sustainability and Climate Change, Fiona Wild, said: “BHP is committed to accelerating the global response to climate change by investing in emerging technologies that have the potential to lead to material reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

“As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in late 2018, if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change, technologies that capture and remove CO2 will be required. DAC offers flexibility and potential, and could play a vital role in reducing future global emissions. We hope that this investment can accelerate the development and adoption of this technology.”

DAC is a technology that captures CO2 from atmospheric air and provides it in a purified form for use or storage, according to CE. The company’s DAC technology does this in a closed loop where the only major inputs are water and energy, and the output is a stream of pure, compressed CO2.

This captured, compressed CO2 then offers a range of opportunities to create products and environmental benefits, including production of clean-burning liquid fuels with ultra-low carbon intensity, CE said.

CE’s CEO, Steve Oldham, said: “At CE we’re focused on commercialising technologies that can play a critical role in addressing climate change. As we work to deploy our technologies at large scale around the world, we’re thrilled to welcome investment from industry-leading companies like BHP.”

He said the company’s global reach and experience in executing complex projects, as well as its strategic commitment to reducing emissions, made them an ideal partner to help accelerate the commercialisation and use of CE’s technologies.

“We’re looking forward to working with BHP and our other partners as we progress the development of DAC and AIR TO FUELS™ facilities, and ultimately achieve our goal of delivering affordable, carbon-neutral fuels and significant emissions reductions around the globe,” he said.

Wild said the investment in CE complements BHP’s existing efforts to accelerate the development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) at point sources of CO2 emissions, such as in steel making and power generation. “We have achieved progress in CCUS through partnerships, including with the International CCS Knowledge Centre in Canada and with Peking University. We also support REDD+, the UN programme for reducing atmospheric emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.”

She concluded: “Government support for technologies that capture carbon has been important. However mobilising private capital and supporting market mechanisms to finance technologies that address global emissions will be critical if we are to build a net-zero emissions economy. This investment is a good example of the role that the private sector can play in bringing such technologies to market.”

CE is privately owned and funded by investment or commitments from private investors – including Bill Gates, Murray Edwards, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures LLC, Chevron Technology Ventures, and BHP – and government agencies. To date, CE has led projects funded by Sustainable Development Technologies Canada, British Columbia Innovative Clean Energy Fund, Climate Change and Emissions Management Corp, Industrial Research Assistantship Program, and the US Department of Energy.