Nyrstar is constantly improving the sustainability of its production process. From the extraction of zinc ore right up to the recycling of used zinc metal. ‘Every link in the chain counts’, says global head of environment Todd Milne.
In the mines
‘We are in the process of finalising our Responsible Sourcing Policy Statement. It states that we only work with mines that respect human rights and carry out extraction with respect for the environment. If our suppliers don’t follow policy, we stop working with them or suspend our collaboration with them.’
During transportation
‘Transportation of raw materials from our storage facility in Antwerp to our sites and smelters is mainly by rail and partly via the inland waterways. This has drastically reduced our CO2 transport footprint.
At the smelter
Our smelters are increasingly using renewable energy. Since January 2021, our zinc smelter in Budel has been buying 100 per cent green electricity, which has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 97 per cent. In 2020, all our smelters produced 2.3 million tons of CO2. This year, thanks to green electricity that figure will be down to 1.2 million tons.’
At the customer's premises
‘Our customers realise that sustainability is a shared responsibility. Anyone buying zinc with low carbon emissions from us is also reducing their emissions within the supply chain.
Recycling
‘Zinc is infinitely recyclable and fits in perfectly with the circular economy. So recycled zinc is an important raw material for our smelters and is used in the production of new blocks of zinc metal.’
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