Brazil mining association makes ESG practices a priority

The new leadership of Brazilian mining association Ibram will make it a priority to guide the mining industry towards better levels of sustainability to improve public and investor perception about the industry.

"We are developing [ESG] initiatives, setting goals. We cannot think about the present and the future disregarding aspects related to sustainability. The mining sector has sought to advance and position itself on these issues,” said Ibram president Raul Jungmann in a release.

Jungmann, who took the head of Ibram earlier this year, held a meeting with association members to outline his agenda. IBRAM has more than 120 members, including mining companies responsible for more than 85% of country's mining production.

"ESG is a highly important issue from the point of view of companies, project financiers, investors and insurance companies, and the mining sector is without any doubt the sector most exposed to the risks associated with inappropriate [ESG] practices," the executive of a global insurance and reinsurance broker told BNamericas, requesting anonymity. 

"Mining is a sector that not only requires constant improvement of ESG practices, but also demands a permanent follow-up of such practices," the source added. 

Jungmann said that he was invited by Ignacio Ybáñez, ambassador of the European Union to Brazil, to lead a presentation for the other EU ambassadors on the commitments of the Brazilian mining sector to sustainability and the climate change crisis, among other topics.  

“It will be on April 26. An excellent opportunity for Brazilian mining to speak directly about these global agendas to the whole of Europe," he said.

ESG practices have come to the fore in Brazil, which has seen two major disasters in recent years due to collapses of tailings dams, causing massive environmental damage and loss of life.