At Covia, Environmental Stewardship is firmly embedded in our company DNA and we continue to innovate and operate with an intentional focus on protecting our planet.
Through our Goals That Inspire we have established aggressive commitments with targeted and measurable metrics which will require innovation, collaboration and problem-solving from everyone in the organization. Our strategy is designed to not only meet the needs of stakeholders today, but to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.
Our Goals That Inspire: Environmental Stewardship are centered around:
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Improving our energy efficiency and doing our part to address Climate Change
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Protecting Essential Water Supply by monitoring, recycling and reusing to the extent possible
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Preserving, Restoring and Improving Biodiversity through responsible land use and resource conservation
Below is each 2030 Environmental Stewardship goal along with the metrics for how we will measure success. For full details about our established baselines, progress we have made and the strategy for our Goals That Inspire please see our 2022 ESG Report.
Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
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Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% on a per ton basis
Protect Essential Water Supply
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Protect essential water supply by reporting consumption at all sites and recycling 90% of water within stressed areas
Preserve, Restore and Improve Biodiversity
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Implement a conservation biodiversity initiative at all sites with 50% of our mining and processing sites achieving and maintaining WHC certification.
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Develop a conservation plan for 100% of our mining and processing sites that have a species-at-risk present.
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Improve ratio of land rehabilitated to land disturbed.
Highlights That Inspire
As part of our enhanced commitment to Climate Action, we began partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation on its tree planting program. Through this partnership, we supported five unique tree planting projects in North America, close to our operations. As a result of this initiative, in 2021, 13,900 trees were planted, which is projected to avoid and sequester 12,812 metric tons of CO2 over their 40-year life spans.
Picture taken by Team Member Becky Sullivan at our Huntersville, NC office.
Several of our facilities in Mexico maintain a strong approach to safeguading and enhancing the local water supply. In Ahuazotepec, we installed and currently maintain two surface water systems in the rural communities of Metepec and Metlaxixtla, neighboring our Zacatlán mine. These systems provide 800 residents with access to clean water.
This picture is from a follow-up visit of the system with the community.
Team Members at our NSO facility support and protect the local turtle populations by collecting and incubating their eggs. Their 2021 turtle project has been nominated as a finalist for the WHC Reptiles and Amphibians Project Award.
Over the past few years, NSO has conducted nesting surveys, collecting 991 eggs with a 70% hatch rate. This important program supports the mission of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre "to protect and conserve Ontario's native turtles and the habitat in which they live."
Picture taken by Team Member, Cale Reeder, of his daughter releasing turtle hatchings.
Along Lake Michigan, Covia has the privilege of revitalizing more than 30 acres of the dynamic coastal dune ecosystem along Lake Michigan. We are closely coordinating our efforts with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), which has informed our decisions about the types of plants and natural features to be included in the area. Guided by EGLE standards and third-party experts, we have been focused on planting unique native species and constructing natural features. Enhanced sand dunes have been especially important, as they provide the coastal environment with nesting and habitat areas, sediment control and freshwater protection.
Picture of the reclamation efforts of our Standard Sand Mine in Michigan.
