Article Preview
TopIntroduction
In many ways, the mining and mineral industry appears to be the antithesis of sustainable development. On the one hand, Carvalho (2017), for example, suggested that “mining industries provide most of the materials we rely on to build infrastructures and instruments of daily use, to obtain large amounts of energy, and to supply agriculture with fertilizers that enable most of foods produced. At the same time, mining is the human activity that has been more disturbing to environment and is linked to large social impacts and inequalities.” More tellingly, Segura-Salazar and Tavares (2018) suggested that “when compared to other resource industries such as forestry, aquaculture and agriculture, the mining industry is perceived as one of the least committed to sustainable development.” On the other hand, sustainable development is typically defined as development “that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). More specifically some commentators, have argued for an approach to sustainable development which “subordinates economies to the natural environment and society, acknowledging ecological limits to growth” (Roper, 2012). Here, “prioritizing the preservation of nature is pre-eminent” (Hudson, 2005). However, there is growing interest in the relationship between minerals and mining and sustainability and in seeking “a consensus on the implications of sustainability in the minerals industry” (Segura-Salazar & Tavares, 2018). In a recent study of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in the Portuguese mining industry, Gaspar Alves and Mendes Rodrigues (2017), for example, noted “results suggest that CSR practices are not integrated in the management control system, are not part of a long-term environment strategy, and only reflect compliance with Portuguese legislation.” Further, Endl (2017) has observed that “the achievement of sustainable development (SD) in the supply of minerals poses significant challenges for governments and public administrations on all levels.”
Around the turn of the millennium, the executive report on the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) Project, initiated by nine of the world’s leading mining companies, examined “the role of the minerals sector in contributing to sustainable development, and how that contribution could be increased” (International Institute for Environment and Development, 2002). In prescribing an “Agenda for Change”, the International Institute for Environment and Development (2002) set out various actions for improving the mineral sector’s contribution to sustainable development. A decade later, Buxton (2012a) suggested that “understanding of sustainable development in the mining and minerals sector has markedly improved and there is increased sophistication in talking about how mining should maximise its contribution to sustainable development”. However, Buxton (2012b) also suggested “the thinking and language of sustainable development looks a little different” than when the original report was published, that there is “a renewed focus on renewables, resilience and recycling” and that “resource efficiency and closed loop thinking could become business imperatives in the face of increasing pressure on resources” (Buxton, 2012a). At the same time, Dubinski (2013) suggested that “the sustainable development of mining mineral resources is a major challenge for today’s global world, addressed to mining companies, people of science associated with mining and many other institutions and organisations.” With these thoughts in mind, the objectives of this paper are three fold. Namely, to review the mining and mineral industries’ approaches to the concepts of the circular economy and resilience, to assess the current and potential impact of information and communication technologies in supporting sustainable development within these industries and to address some of the challenges the industries face in looking to adopt circular economy and resilience thinking.