BHP Billiton Climate Plan Focuses On Compliance
Published: 16 December 2009
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6 pages, 3 figures
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This case study is one in a series of Verdantix reports that analyses defensive climate change strategies implemented by companies in energy and fuel intensive sectors. Climate change presents financial and operational risks to BHP Billiton, predominantly through increasingly stringent environmental regulations. To combat this, the firm has developed a short-term sustainability plan built on executive leadership, 5 year carbon reduction targets and broad stakeholder engagement. Initiatives focus on risk management to protect operational licenses, typically through careful legislative compliance. In a long-term perspective, an investment of $300 million in carbon capture and storage and geo-sequestration research demonstrates BHP Billiton’s desire to leverage existing expertise and generate future revenue from climate change. The current defensive nature of BHP Billiton’s strategy will not undermine the firm’s competitiveness due to the limited scope for positive action by all firms in the mining sector.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BHP BILLITON’S SUSTAINABILITY PLAN PROTECTS OPERATING LICENSE
BHP Billiton Has A Well Structured Short-Term Sustainability Plan
Mining Giant’s Climate Change Plan Targets Risk Mitigation
Defensive Sustainability Strategy Will Not Impact Competitiveness
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Sustainability Is Embedded In BHP Billiton’s Governance Structure
Figure 2. BHP Billiton Struggles To Meet 2012 GHG Intensity Targets
Figure 3. Climate Change Initiatives Focus On Cost Reduction And Risk Management
COMPANIES MENTIONED
British Airways, Cisco, Coal 21, Enablon, Flora & Fauna International, FutureGen Alliance, IHS, International Council on Mining and Metals, McKinsey & Company, Oxfam, Rio Tinto, SRA, Tarong Energy, The Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, WWF and Xstrata