Abstract
This chapter discusses proactive environmental management practices in the mining industry in Norway. Compared to its neighboring countries, Norway’s mining industry is relatively underdeveloped and faces increasing societal demands for social responsibility and sustainability. Environmental management systems and voluntary environmental reporting are common ways for the industry to meet these demands and to increase its legitimacy. Society’s demands are assumed to be related to processes of environmental reform as outlined by the Theory of Ecological Modernization, but we also present theories criticizing this perspective. Some argue, for instance, that a focus on environmental reform draws attention away from the ‘sacrifice zones’ that are created in areas of heightened environmental pollution. We examine the efforts of mineral producers in Norway to realize the industry’s ambitions in “sustainable mining” and “green mining” and conclude that despite individual attempts to make the industry more sustainable, this is far from being achieved. Environmental management practices appear to be more reactive than proactive and hence have not yet been able to meet society’s demands.
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Notes
- 1.
Environmental disclosure is by Berthelot et al. (2003: 1) defined as “the set of information items that relate to a firm’s past, current and future environmental management activities and performance... and the past, current and future financial implications resulting from a firm’s environmental management decisions or action.”
- 2.
EMAS stands for Environmental Management and Audit Scheme and like the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)’s 14001-series, is an internationally recognized standard for environmental management.
- 3.
As emphasized for instance during the GeoNor-conference in Mo i Rana, Norway in March 2015.
- 4.
EHS is an abbreviation for Environment, Health and Safety and is widely understood as a management practice for dealing with environmental protection, occupational health and safety in relation to working conditions.
- 5.
By “reporting” we mean the release of environmental information and performance data that identifies the company in question such as tonnes of emissions, water consumptions per unit of product, financial contributions, accidents, fines etc. Voluntary reporting according to for instance the latest Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 guidelines, should not be confused with the obligation to report on “environmental information concerning undertakings (operating conditions etc.)” according to Chap. 4 of the Norwegian Environmental Information Act which, according to § 1, is an attempt to make environmental information publicly accessible.
- 6.
The Equator Principles, established in 2003 by a group of commercial banks, outline a set of commitments and procedures for assessing the social and environmental risks of a particular project.
- 7.
Mining associations in Canada and Australia in addition to the International Council on Mining and Metals aim to promote environmental reporting among its member organizations.
- 8.
An example are the GRI sustainability reporting standards established by Global Reporting Initiative.
- 9.
After the bankruptcy of Sydvaranger Gruve in 2015, Northern Norway is known mainly for the production of industrial minerals and crude iron.
- 10.
Northern Norway includes the three most Northern counties in Norway (Nordland, Troms and Finnmark). We searched and mapped environmental and/or sustainability reports with regard to the production year of 2014. Note that the industry association’s members not only include producers of minerals but also service companies and consultancy agents. Veidekke Industri AS is the owner of Finnmark Sand AS and Helgeland Pukkverk whereas Elkem is reported to be the owner of Salten Verk.
- 11.
G3.1 guidelines, level C.
- 12.
In total 214 organizations were registered as a member of the industry association Norsk Bergindustri in 2015. We searched and/or mapped environmental/sustainability reports with regard to the production year of 2014.
- 13.
Representative of a major Norwegian mining company, Mining conference March 2015.
- 14.
See, for instance, the latest sustainability reports of Royal Dutch Shell and BP.
- 15.
Retrieved from Mining and Mineral Cluster Norway’s web page http://www.mineralklyngenorge.no/home (accessed January 2016).
- 16.
http://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2004-06-01-93/KAPITTEL_10#KAPITTEL_10 (Accessed December 8. 2015).
- 17.
More energy-efficient flash smelting technologies or biohydrometallurgy, reducing SO2 emissions significantly, are examples of technological innovation for pollution prevention in the mining industry.
- 18.
The final permission is given by the Norwegian Directorate of Mining with the Commissioner of Mines at Svalbard, while the formal procedure – from the permission to search in a particular area until the license to operate – may take up to several years and includes approval from several authorities.
- 19.
As frequently claimed by politicians, lobbyists and representatives of the mining industry. For instance in relation to the ‘tough’ environmental requirements which Nussir ASA needs to comply with after gaining permission to start operations in Kvalsund in the Northern part of Norway (“Tillater gruvevirksomhet i Kvalsund” http://www.miljodirektoratet.no/no/Nyheter/Nyheter/2015/Desember-2015/Tillater-gruvevirksomhet-i-Kvalsund/, accessed December 8th 2015, and “Får dumpe gruveavfall i Repparfjorden” http://www.nrk.no/finnmark/nussir-far-dumpe-gruveavfall-i-fjorden-1.12692957, accessed December 8th 2015).
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Goes, S., Skorstad, B. (2018). Legitimizing Business?: Environmental Awareness in the Norwegian Mining Industry. In: Dale, B., Bay-Larsen, I., Skorstad, B. (eds) The Will to Drill - Mining in Arctic Communites. Springer Polar Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62610-9_4
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