A Comparative Analysis of Voluntary Environmental Initiatives in the Canadian Mineral Industry

Mineral development companies with operations in Canada are becoming increasingly aware that they need to publicly demonstrate their capability of dealing with environmental and social concerns in a responsible manner. As such, voluntary initiatives have become a common part of mining activity in Canada. While there are many different categories, voluntary measures can include on-site work during operations and monitoring to ensure the health and safety of the built and natural environments, habitat conservation and reclamation, community participation and consultation, research partnerships, financial contributions and education of the workforce and relevant stakeholders. A review of the Canadian mineral industry's activities in this area, with specific focus on wildlife and habitat protection, suggests that many mining companies use voluntary initiatives as an integral part of their operations. From the perspective of the industry, the goal of these initiatives is threefold: to ensure that adequate environmental protection takes place, to improve public image and investment climate, and to forestall or alter what industry often sees as ineffective and unnecessary "command and control" regulatory approaches to mineral dev elopment and environmental protection. A survey conducted by Natural Resources Canada in the area of voluntary wildlife and habitat protection reveals that Canadian mining companies have become engaged in a broad spectrum of voluntary environmental initiatives and practices. The approaches, practices and activities discovered in the analysis tended to vary according to the size of the company, the nature of operations, geographical location, applicable regulatory regime(s), and the overall philosophy, policies, internal communications, and practices of the company. This paper considers some of these initiativ es and illustrates many of the challenges involved with their successful implementation. It argues that to be effective, voluntary initiatives must be supported by a well-coordinated private sector strategy and a carefully conceived public policy and regulatory framework that is based on principles of integrated or adaptive management. Such an approach is often referred to as integrated resource and environmental management (IREM). Individually driven voluntary initiatives and practices alone, while important, will not be sufficient to achieve the mineral sector's long-termg goal of sustainable development.