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Protecting Biodiversity

Global biodiversity loss is happening at an alarming rate. Nearly 40% of the world’s forests have already been destroyed. Yet forests not only provide food and shelter for humans and wildlife; they can also play an important role in mitigating climate change.

 

We recognise that biodiversity is essential to life and acknowledge its alarming and rapid loss across the world. Deforestation is of particular concern since forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change.

Our Approach

We take a regenerative approach to the areas we mine, aiming to restore them to their original state through re-cultivation and reforestation. At most open-pit mines, we conduct ongoing activities together with local partners. In 2019, activities included:

  • In Brazil, we grew 26,000 native saplings in our Brumado tree nursery and planted 6,000 on our land in 2019 while donating more than 12,500 to local communities.
  • In Türkiye, our Eskişehir site’s annual tree-planting saw approximately 500 employees, contractors and members of the local community plant more than 2,000 trees on land neighbouring our mine and production site in 2019. To date, we have planted 193,650 trees in Türkiye.
  • In Germany, employees of our Niederdollendorf site planted 2,000 trees in nearby Siebengebirge natural park and provided a further 2,000 to the local conservation partner.
  • We also promote biodiversity on our sites. Our Marktredwitz site in Germany was recognised by the local Ministry of the Environment for commitment to species and insect protection in 2019. Cited as a Blossoming Business, the plant has designed its outdoor space in ways that promote biodiversity, planting bee-friendly shrubs, hedges and meadows, avoiding chemical pesticides and peat-containing substrates.

Water

Of all water on our planet, 99.5% is sea water. The world’s growing population, agriculture and industry rely on the less than 0.5% that is freshwater. Given growing demand for a finite resource, water scarcity already affects every continent.

Our Approach

RHI Magnesita recognises the growing issue of water scarcity and its link to the climate crisis. Although the refractory industry is not water-intensive in comparison to other sectors, we aim to minimise water use and improve water efficiency, especially in areas which experience scarcity.

We have assessed the locations of all production sites for water scarcity using the WWF Water Risk Filter and other tools. Results indicated that 10 sites operate in regions of Mexico, Brazil, India, China and France where water scarcity is, or might soon become, a risk. In 2019, we used 14.8 million cubic meters of water, of which 1.5 million cubic meters was consumed in water-scarce areas.

Water withdrawals

2018

2019

 

Percentage of total

Percentage of total

Asia

        240,640  

2%

         290,811  

2%

Europe

     9,683,524  

62%

     8,139,378  

55%

North America

     4,796,737  

31%

     5,585,620  

38%

South America

        875,928  

6%

         772,235  

5%

Total water withdrawals

     15,637958

100%

     14,807,681

100%

Of which in water-scarce areas

     1,535,314  

10%

     1,472,115  

10%

 

Our Plans for 2020 and Beyond

Next, we will assess water consumption to the above-mentioned sites to identify risks to our operations and local watersheds and to develop mitigation plans.