What is sustainable development
The most commonly accepted definition of sustainable development is contained in a 1987 report from the World Commission on Environment & Development called “Our Common Future”, also referred to as the Bruntland definition: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Mining and producing coal can make a significant contribution to present and future generations and, therefore, sustainable development. For example, through the supply of affordable and reliable energy, the provision of employment opportunities and even the rehabilitation of previously degraded land once mining has taken place. However, we also recognise that, if not managed, some aspects of our activities have the ability to detract from sustainable development, such as the use of water and land, amenity impacts on local communities and production of greenhouse gas emissions from our operations and also in the use of our coal.
Therefore, in practice, sustainable development at RTCA means:
- Understanding stakeholders' expectations, balancing conflicting expectations and changing behaviours appropriately
- Working with customers and suppliers to maximise the benefits of the use of our products and minimise adverse effects
- Engaging with people inside and outside the business
- Managing operations responsibly, to maximise resource use and minimise social or environmental effects
- Having open and accountable governance frameworks and
- Delivering year-on-year improvement.
This is in both the short and long term and we believe it will result in long term benefits to society and our business.
We also recognise that sustainable development is not something a single organisation can achieve on its own, nor is it a single project that can be completed and ticked off as finished. It is about the way we work, within our business and in our interactions with others, to meet the multiple objectives of social wellbeing, environmental stewardship and economic prosperity, throughout the life of a mine and beyond.
On this basis, we believe that RTCA’s projects, operations and products can contribute constructively to the global transition to sustainable development.
