How mining giant balances energy transition, nature and sustainability priorities

Building out the infrastructure needed for the low-carbon energy transition will require a substantial increase in the production of critical minerals and metals such as copper, nickel, zinc and lithium. These minerals are needed for many different technologies including electric vehicles and battery storage, clean hydrogen, geothermal, wind, solar and electricity networks.

In this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we'll hear how one of the biggest producers of critical minerals, Vale Base Metals, is approaching this increased demand. And we'll explore how the company thinks about balancing those demands with other sustainability issues including community engagement, biodiversity, waste management, and physical climate risks.

We sit down with Vale Base Metals Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer Emily Olson on the sidelines of S&P Global's CERAWeek energy conference. Vale Base Metals is a subsidiary of mining company Vale SA with operations in Canada, the UK, Brazil, Japan and Indonesia.

Emily says Vale Base Metals factors sustainability into its operations from the start. "You cannot be a miner without having sustainability in all of its elements integrated into how you run your operations," she says. "It's a big operation — we impact the land, we impact communities. And so for us, your social license and how you are willing to create that mutual and shared value, that's the first stop."

Emily also discusses how the company is navigating current market uncertainty from tariffs and the potential impacts on the company's supply chains. "Policy aside, mining needs dependable supply chains," she says. "We are a long life, long lead business. Having dependable diversified supply chains is really important."

Read S&P Global Sustainable1 research: Rocks and hard places: The ecosystem risks of mining for energy transition minerals

Learn more about the S&P Global Sustainable1 Nature & Biodiversity Risk dataset.

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.

Copyright ©2025 by S&P Global

DISCLAIMER

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.

S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.