Sustainability website / Environment / Product stewardship

Policy and approach

Policy and approach / Performance and goals

We work with our stakeholders to mitigate the environmental impacts of our products’ life cycle and supply chain. Our Sustainable Development Policy and Standard 14 include our commitment to work with our stakeholders to mitigate the environmental impacts of our product lifecycle and supply chain and implement integrated systems to treat the impacts and risks associated with our products and services throughout their life cycle. This includes impacts that may occur at stages in the life cycle that are outside Xstrata’s control, for example use, recovery, recycling and disposal. Product stewardship is a key component of commodity business Sustainable Development strategies. Our approach focuses on working through partnerships through industry associations and with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders to support research and innovation to improve the safe use and recycling of our products and the efficient extraction of metals and minerals. Material safety data sheets are provided for products and intermediaries and are made available to stakeholders, including product physical and chemical composition, risks to human health and first aid, fire, explosion, handling, storage and exposure control, spill and waste disposal, stability/reactivity, eco-toxicology and transportation information.

Performance and goals

Policy and approach / Performance and goals

In 2007, 29 operations were independently audited through Xstrata’s Sustainable Development Assurance Programme (excluding projects) and achieved an average score of 73% (satisfactory) against Standard 14: Product Stewardship, compared to an average of 69% (satisfactory) at operations audited in 2006. A number of aspects of Product Stewardship are managed at divisional, commodity business and Group levels.

Industry associations

Xstrata plays an active role in a number of industry and commodity associations and initiatives to contribute to product stewardship and innovation in each of its key commodities, outlined below.

• International Council on Metals and Mining (ICMM) Guide on Material Stewardship
• Mining Association Canada Towards Sustainable Mining programme
• Minerals Council Australia Enduring Value programme
• Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland
• World Coal Institute
• Australian Coal Association
• GreenLead Project
• International Chromium Development Association.
• Vanadium International Technical Committee (Vanitec)
• Nickel Institute
• International Copper Association
• International Lead-Zinc Research Organisation
• International Zinc Association
• International Lead Association (chaired by Xstrata Zinc General Manager Britannia Refined Metals Neil Wardle)
• Lead Development Association International
• European Sulphuric Acid Association
• Cobalt Development Institute
• International Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association; and
• European Association of Non-ferrous Metals (EUROMETAUX)

Xstrata Coal is working in partnership with a number of customers, government and research organisations to develop and demonstrate clean coal technologies to significantly reduce the carbon emissions associated with the combustion of coal to generate energy (see Climate Change).

A number of Xstrata’s products or technological developments have beneficial impacts on the environment:

• Copper is widely used to improve electrical efficiency and has two-thirds of the electrical resistance of aluminium. Uses include improving the efficiency of air conditioning, refrigeration systems, electric motors and computer hardware. It is also used to enhance the efficiency of renewable energy sources, including geothermal heat pumps, wind energy and more recently to reduce the cost of manufacturing solar cells.
• Vanadium is used as an alloy in carbon steel to improve its strength and allows for a 40% reduction in mass for equivalent strength in equipment and structures, reducing steel mill and process emissions, fuel usage, transportation costs and other impacts.
• Nickel-containing materials benefit from enhanced corrosion protection, high temperature strength, durability, cleanability, power generation and recyclability.
• Zinc is used as an environmentally-friendly method of preventing corrosion for steel.
• Xstrata Alloys has developed Premus technology that reduces the energy intensity of ferrochrome production by over 20% compared to conventional processes (see Energy).
• Xstrata Technology markets a range of products to improve the environmental efficiency of mining and metals processing, smelting and refining operations.
• Xstrata Recycling processes scrap material to produce precious and base metals for re-use.