Greener Mines, Stronger Communities
Ontario’s ESG story
ESG as a principle developed around the world alongside climate consciousness in the late stages of the 20th century, and mining, as one of the most environmentally harmful industries at the time, immediately came under its scrutiny. However, over the last 40 years, advances in technology, partnerships with Indigenous groups, and changes in management techniques have enabled the industry to increasingly avoid the negative impacts of their operations.
Global initiatives such as Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM), The Copper Mark, the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), the International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM), and the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs) have been developed to ensure mining companies are held to a high standard in their ESG reporting and actions. These worldwide initiatives have been supported by programs within Canada, for example, the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining program and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s Driving Responsible Exploration (DRE) resources.
Within the industry, there has been a shift to adopting nature-positive policies rather than merely those of no harm, something which has been commonplace in Ontario for the best part of 30 years. C$1 billion was spent in the early 1990s on sulfur dioxide abatement programs in Sudbury, and in 2018, Vale finalized its $1-billion Clean AER project, marking one of the most significant environmental investments in Ontario’s history.
According to the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), the province’s mining companies adopt clean technologies 138% above the industry average. Furthermore, Vale and Glencore worked with the government on the regreening program in Sudbury, planting 10 million trees and roughly 2 hectares of forest floor. The OMA’s ‘Industry Survey’ also highlighted how 75% of mining companies in Ontario have implemented carbon pricing schemes, with 40% establishing long-term net-zero targets. According to Priya Tandon, president of the OMA: “Ontario has a great reputation for ESG excellence. Maintaining and enhancing this reputation is critical.”
Annually, EY releases their report entitled ‘EY’s Top 10 risks and opportunities for mining and metals companies.’ ESG factors feature repeatedly, and in the 2025 edition, ‘Environmental Stewardship’ was placed second, with ‘License to Operate’ and ‘Climate Change’ in fifth and seventh respectively.
The Port of Thunder Bay is the furthest inland port in Canada, serving the logistics and transport sector of the mining industry. The environmental advantages of using inland ports such as Thunder Bay are numerous, particularly when transporting oversized cargo. Bypassing rail and road traffic is not only more efficient but also has huge benefits for the climate. “As the conversation around environmental impact continues to shift towards sustainable transportation, ports are well-positioned to benefit as maritime and rail shipping remain the most environmentally friendly ways to transport large equipment and infrastructure,” said Chris Heikkinen, CEO of the Port of Thunder Bay.
Other businesses serving the mining industry are also benefitting from an increased focus on the environment. One example of this is CIMA+, an engineering and project management firm that is collaborating with public utility companies in Canada, integrating electricity access to mine sites. Timothée Lescop, senior VP of resources and industry, explained: “The mining industry has become more crucial in recent years, particularly with the shift towards green energy, which has increased the demand for resources. While the industry has evolved positively, it still faces significant challenges, especially around ESG and environmental standards.”
Deloitte, one of the largest consulting firms in the world, has seen ESG become central to their clients’ strategies moving forward and has developed specialist capabilities recently to help deal with these demands. “From a sustainability perspective, there continues to be pressure to adopt sustainable practices and reduce carbon emissions, with regulations and shareholder expectations pushing companies to invest in greener technologies and practices,” said Van Ramsay, partner, national leader, mining & metals at Deloitte Canada.
Despite the obvious appetite and necessity for adopting and implementing ESG policies for a more sustainable future, industry experts still believe that more must be done before mining companies can fully achieve their goals. “Green technologies are not cheap, and so asking mining companies to implement these on their own can be difficult. Governments need to step in more and contribute funding to make the energy transition successful,” said Kris Homer, senior VP for minerals and metals, west for Wood engineering consultants.
In KPMG’s ‘Digging deep: Risks and opportunities in mining’ survey, ESG once again was a key talking point. According to Heather Cheeseman, partner, national mining leader for KPMG Canada: “The majority of operators told us that investors’ ESG expectations are not clearly understood or even consistent across the market.”
As well as inconsistent investor expectations and expensive implementation costs, competition from less environmentally conscious markets abroad is impacting the Canadian mining sector. Demand for Indonesian nickel remains high, and Canadian producers struggle to produce cleaner nickel at an attractive price. Theo Yameogo, EY Canada & EY Americas mining and metals leader, commented: “Raising capital for certain critical minerals like lithium, graphite and nickel has become challenging due to slower-than-expected EV adoption and a drop in the prices of those commodities.”
To counter this, the Ontario Ministry of Mines is promoting the province as a responsible and sustainable source of nickel. “The West does not want nickel from Indonesia, as it is funded by China, fueled by coal, and has poor tailings management. Here in Ontario, we have nickel to replace the Indonesian supply. There has been momentum and urgency over the last year, with Washington D.C. realizing the importance of critical minerals from a security standpoint,” claimed George Pirie, former Minister of mines, Government of Ontario.
To further emphasize the importance of ESG in Ontario’s critical minerals production, the ‘Building More Mines Act’ aligns with UN Sustainable development goals, supporting climate objectives and infrastructure.
Complementing companies’ ESG policies, the provincial and federal governments continue introducing new legislation and disclosure standards to improve companies’ operations. In May 2023, the Fighting Forced Labor and Child Labor in Supply Chains Act was introduced nationally, and already 46% of mining companies disclose how they are addressing the issues of modern slavery in their operations and supply chain, according to PwC’s ‘ESG Reporting Insights Analysis’ report. KPMG estimates that soon, 90% of companies will meet the act’s requirements, demonstrating how mining is committed to being a world leader on this issue.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the C-59 greenwashing bill both aim to ensure that companies’ promises surrounding ESG are not empty and are practically implemented in operations. Thorn Associates was awarded the 2025 Canada’s Clean50 award, which acknowledges its national impact on sustainability. Emily Thorn Corthay, founder and CEO of the company said: “We are observing clients advance in their Scope 3 maturity, guided by the International Council on Mining and Metals’ framework. Climate risk assessment is now moving toward quantitative risk evaluations, with financial values assigned to potential risks.”
Strict regulations and reporting standards ensure that Canadian mines are developed, maintained, and closed down with the environment and First Nations influencing every decision made. However, this means that the permitting process has become even more lengthy, with some environmental permits taking a year to obtain as companies have to account for seasonality. “Ontario is a leading mining jurisdiction due to its rich mineral resources and a regulatory framework that ensures environmental and community responsibility. However, the same regulations can also create challenges, such as delays in project timelines and added complexity, particularly around permitting, financing and labor shortages. Ontario’s Ministry of Mines is actively working to streamline these processes without compromising safety or environmental standards,” highlighted Natasha Faucher, mining market sector lead at Arcadis Canada.
A new regulation was recently introduced to streamline mine waste reprocessing, reducing the burden on companies while upholding environmental standards.
Recently, another trend service providers have noticed is a focus on tailings and water management, particularly following the Brumadinho dam disaster in 2019. A recent EY report highlights that over 50% of mining companies consider water stewardship a leading risk, drawing significant investor attention. This encompasses regulations such as MMER, CEPA and provincial standards in British Columbia, Ontario and Québec.
SRK Consulting is working on several gold projects and operating mines in northern Ontario, in particular on tailings management. “Globally, there has been a strong demand for tailings management following the tailings failures in Brazil. The demand for tailings engineering was high before but has increased significantly, with companies ensuring they are actively managing and monitoring their tailings facilities,” explained James Siddorn, president (Canada) and executive chair (North America) at SRK Consulting.
Arcadis Canada is a global sustainable transformation partner, tackling challenges such as climate change, resilient infrastructure, and livable cities. Over 2024, their mining practice used real-time satellite technology for environmental monitoring in the remediation of eight abandoned mines in Canada. Natasha Faucher, mining market sector lead for Arcadis Canada said: “Client demands have also evolved significantly, with a sharp focus on addressing environmental challenges. Water management has become critical, driven by regulatory shifts and sustainability goals.”
BluMetric, headquartered in Ottawa, helps the mining industry address challenges in potable water treatment and wastewater management. Tightening government regulations and incidents like those in Brazil highlighted a need for better tailings safety. By working with companies like Vale Base Metals in Sudbury, BluMetric introduced a permeable reactive barrier to address groundwater contamination. “In the past decade, the mining industry in Ontario has increasingly focused on remediating legacy properties and inactive sites, many of which are over a century old. This shift and ongoing compliance efforts in active operations reflect a growing demand for sustainable, low-maintenance solutions like permeable reactive barriers,” noted Rich Schmidt, VP mining sector for BluMetric.
At J.L. Richards & Associates, they have noticed how discussions with mining clients are increasingly surrounding ESG policy, not only to be more sustainable but also to aid in their reputation outside the industry. “Over the last few years, the focus on water management has grown significantly among mining clients. The handling of water and understanding its environmental impacts have moved to the forefront of project discussions,” explained Saverio Parrotta, president and CEO of the company.
Similarly, Pinchin’s VP of mining, Byron O’Connor, discussed how a major challenge in northern Ontario mining projects is managing abundant surface water without impacting local resources. The company works closely with its clients to develop creative strategies that benefit all stakeholders. “For major developers, a significant portion of our work is focused on water-related projects, including groundwater hydrology assessments, evaluating water conditions, and conducting remediation for both active and closed sites,” said O’Connor.
Companies are also increasingly focused on the ‘S’ in ESG, looking at how their operations impact local communities, in particular First Nations, who have stewarded their traditional lands for centuries. To further highlight the issues of community relations, issues overseas in countries such as Panama and Mali exemplify the need for proper attention to be paid to community relations. Mining companies in Ontario are beginning to realize how each community has unique needs and, while legislation from the government is a positive step, it may not acknowledge the nuances of each community’s situation. According to Natural Resources Canada, as of 2020, there are 142 active agreements in place between Indigenous communities and mining companies across Ontario, and in 2019, Ontario’s mining industry employed nearly 3,000 Indigenous community members, contributing almost C$60 million to Indigenous governments and communities.
The Indigenous Relations and Strategic Communications practice at Sussex Strategy Group has doubled over the past couple of years, reflecting an increase in demand from mining clients. “Despite investing millions of dollars into a region and creating jobs, the nature of mining can be disruptive to those who live in those regions and have ancestral claims to the land,” said Bliss Baker, vice chair of the company.
Legend Mining Contracting recently became the fifth company in the Z’gamok group, creating a collaborative partnership between Indigenous businesses and a Sudbury-based contractor. “We recently teamed up with Kenjgewin Teg, a leading training institute, and ran our first Common Core Introduction to Mining course. It had 12 participants, and we will be visiting again in March. While this partnership is still new, we are very excited about it and look forward to it growing in the future,” commented Scott Rienguette, general manager of Legend Mining Contracting.
Another Sudbury contractor championing Indigenous causes is Technica Mining. “Technica Mining (Technica) has had the privilege of forming Aki-eh Dibinwewziwin Limited Partnership (ADLP), a collaboration between Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Wahnapitae First Nation, and Technica,” explained Mario Grossi, CEO of Technica.
The partnership aims to support First Nation communities, aiding in their economic sovereignty to help counter the historic neglect of mining companies and the entire industry. “For companies considering partnerships with First Nations, my advice is simple: just do it. It is encouraging to see that many companies in Ontario are already on the right path,” continued Grossi.
Article header image courtesy of Green Technology Metals