Materials Impact Report - Mining & Metals Edition

In our latest quarterly review of corporate sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities, we find that lethal humidity poses a significant health and safety risk for mining companies, with 2024's record-breaking heat driving widespread humid heat mortality across the Northern Hemisphere. The report highlights Fortescue's leadership in establishing a global council addressing lethal humidity risks while BHP expanded humidity testing with non-invasive tongue strips for hydration assessment and implemented real-time core body temperature monitoring, demonstrating growing recognition of both financial materiality and impact materiality throughout mining operations and value chains.

This report analyses thousands of sustainability disclosures from 20 leading entities in the industry, including BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Glencore. Published in Q225 as part of a quarterly series, it also includes disclosures from Global South entities like African Rainbow Minerals, Hindustan Zinc and Kazatomprom. The global nature of this analysis makes it an ideal source of external evidence for sustainability accounting and disclosure, particularly for organisations implementing climate adaptation strategies and ESG reporting frameworks like ISSB standards and the EU's CSRD.