LONDON, UK: Tharisa Plc has announced decarbonisation targets envisaging 30% reduction in emissions by 2030, carbon net neutral by 2050.
The platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome co-producer dual-listed on the Johannesburg and London stock exchanges, has been reviewing its operations with respect to establishing a corporate plan to reduce its carbon emissions while continuing to grow its operations in producing metals that are needed to affect the energy transition away from fossil fuels and deliver the decarbonisation of economies.
Tharisa’s management is committed to reduce its carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 (from its 2020 financial year (‘FY2020’) baseline which uses 2019 data) and the development of a roadmap is continuing to net carbon neutral by 2050.
Investment decisions taken by Tharisa’s board will be informed by this Decarbonisation Targets, alongside the current financial investment criteria. Furthermore, this roadmap being developed will ensure that the pre-defined Decarbonisation Targets are achieved through the deployment of numerous sustainability initiatives.
The first step on this journey for Tharisa has been to establish a robust baseline for current operations. The Company will be using the FY2020 results as the baseline for its Decarbonisation Targets and will use both the relative carbon intensity and absolute carbon intensity measurements due to the significant growth that the Company envisages over the coming years.
In ensuring that the growth of the Company does not affect the Decarbonisation Targets, numerous sustainability initiatives are being developed and some are in advanced stages and will be implemented within the next 24 months.
This decarbonisation plan is one part of our broader sustainability programme. The reduction in emissions from the baseline established for scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions (see definitions below1) will be disclosed on a periodic basis alongside our financial results. Tharisa aims to generate and utilise renewable electricity and to reduce the use of electricity produced from fossil fuel and enable electricity grid power purchases to be optimised. It will also look to reduce the carbon intensity of fuels used in its truck fleet as vehicles come to be replaced, taking advantage of advances in alternative fuels, including hydrogen and battery electric drivetrains.
Recognising that what lies ahead is an energy transition, major projects in the first phase of emissions reduction will include the introduction of natural gas and biodiesel as fuel components. In addition, the use of solar power generation technology alongside traditional electricity storage capacity and in house innovations are being investigated.
The Decarbonisation Targets are one part of our broader sustainability programme, and Tharisa will announce a further detailed framework within FY2022.
Phoevos Pouroulis, CEO of Tharisa, commented: “At Tharisa, we view safety as a core value. The footprint we leave on the broader stakeholder environment is equally as important to us. As an industry, we must focus on the management and mitigation of mining activities, which by their very nature have an impact on the environment and local communities and we strive to balance this with the positive impact we are generating for stakeholders and our community by developing our business sustainably and responsibly.
We have today outlined our decarbonisation targets to be achieved by specific points in time. Further refinements in, and details about, these targets will be announced over time, but we will strive to exceed these initial targets, both in quantum and speed of achievement. The world faces an enormous challenge to decarbonise rapidly and Tharisa will do its part to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
We have a global and significant part to play by producing some of the critical metals necessary to affect the decarbonisation of our planet generally and the energy transition specifically. Our research team and industrial partnership relationships are focused on this, and our Board supports the strategy to create a more sustainable future for Tharisa, its customers and its wider stakeholders.”
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