For the team at dss+, sustainability is far more than simply mitigating risk. It is a fundamental component in creating positive environmental impact, as well as opportunities for increased business growth and value.
Many mining companies require clearly defined sustainability strategies and roadmaps to achieve environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability goals.
But despite the effort to drive ESG performance from across the sector, there remains a lack of effective environmental commitment from some operators.
Moreover, recent ‘greenwashing’ scandals have further increased the level of scrutiny, as well as a demand for more standardised, detailed and transparent reporting requirements of ESG performance and impact.
“Being truly sustainable goes far beyond greenwashing; it is a fundamental lever for operational success,” dss+ director Australia and New Zealand Andrew Wilson told Australian Mining.
“Merely achieving regulatory compliance is not the same as embracing sustainability as a key dimension of a successful business strategy.”
This essentially means mining operators must place an emphasis on sustainability as a core value, rather than it simply being an important priority.
“When it comes to achieving significant sustainability outcomes within the mining industry, operators must move beyond traditional approaches such as undertaking capital expenditure to solve their immediate problems, and instead embrace a culture that places sustainability front of mind,” Wilson said.
“For many mines it will require a significant cultural shift to deliver the change that is required, and this often means integrating a sustainability mindset into the line organisation and for the line to take on that responsibility with the same degree of rigour as it might take on the cost of production.”
dss+has the ability to meet mining operators at any point on their sustainability journey. Expert consultancy teams can provide strategic guidance and operational insights on managing risk, optimising sustainability processes and practices or establishing impact-driven solutions. Industry-leading practices developed by dss+ have been achieved with propriety solutions, and the company’s consultants endeavour to link strategic approaches to the core vision and purpose of a mining operation.
dss+ can clearly identify material ESG issues, build complete strategy frameworks, define key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets, and produce a detailed roadmap to achieve meaningful outcomes.
The dss+ team will work with mining clients to ensure solutions are grounded in an understanding of stakeholder expectations, business processes and workplace culture.
By leveraging academic insights and combining them with strategic expertise, dss+ delivers end-to-end solutions that fully incorporate the intergradation of sustainability solutions into their client’s operations. The company can also help clients achieve B-Corp certification and seek financing mechanisms that help them maintain lasting sustainability impact across the value chain.
“If I’m a mining organisation that values sustainability, holds it as a core value, makes operational decisions that are visible, clear and aligned to a sustainability strategy, greater efficiencies, lower costs and stronger yields will flow,” Wilson said.
“As talent attraction and retention continues to be an ongoing issue for the wider resources sector, external motivators are increasingly important, as a younger generation of workers wants to be satisfied that the mining organisation they are working for is committed to lowering its environmental footprint and is actively engaged in sustainable processes and practices.”
dss+ believes that being effective when it comes to sustainability is about being a good operator.
“The key message is that if a business embraces sustainable processes and practices, then they will experience a range of benefits from greater efficiencies, lower machine downtime and reduced safety incidents, and that it will exist into the future,” Wilson said.
“That it is literally sustainable.”