Debswana commits to carbon neutrality by 2030

Supports Government’s vision of transforming to a green economy

Debswana mining company has committed to paving the way in the transition to a green economy by committing to be carbon neutral by 2030.

This is the mining company’s efforts to protect the environment and develop an environmentally- conscious business culture.

Debswana Head of Safety and Sustainable Development Tefo Molosiwa said Debswana shares Botswana’s vision for bolstering a green economy and ensuring sustainability in the long- term.

“Debswana sees the green economy making a significant contribution to the country’s sustainable development in the future.

That is why the company has set out on an ambitious goal to transition to being carbon natural by 2030.

“The strategy that Debswana is developing is focused on energy intensity, decarbonising electricity, and the replacement of fossil fuels to help in the road to carbon recovery,” he said.

Molosiwa was speaking at the Green Economy seminar held in Gaborone that Debswana sponsored, and was held by the Botswana Mine Workers Union in collaboration with Selebi Phikwe Economic Unit and Leru Energy.

At the seminar, delegates shared insights, exhibited green energy technologies, and promoted the use of renewable energy technology and natural resources in the mining industry.

It was a chance for stakeholders to exchange ideas, network, and benchmark different entities, with a shared goal and vision to transition to a green economy, while also making reasonable profits.

The theme of the seminar, ‘ Protecting the Environment,’ speaks to how businesses and companies should drive the change in uptaking green technology and industries by inculcating into their strategies the need to be aware of how their businesses impact the environment and how they can also put measures in place to protect the environment and also give back to the communities that they operate from to support sustainable environmentally conscious community projects and businesses.

This commitment follows similar recommendations and commitments when stakeholders convened in Gaborone earlier this month to discuss ways for the sector to ‘ go green’ amidst growing climate change impact concerns and also make sustainable efforts to save the environment from negative impacts from business practices.

The conference, dubbed The Green Seminar, was held under the theme, ‘ Greening the Mines – Protecting the Environment,’ also organised by Leru Energy and the Mine Workers Union.

The mining industry is seen as a key sector to driving change and reformation because it has previously been perceived as the major contributor to negative environmental impacts that affect health, destroy natural ecosystem balances and the coexistence of flora and fauna, and also blamed for air, land and water pollution.

In his presentation, Premium Nickel Resources Botswana CEO Montwedi Mphathi noted that the re- development objective is to build the best mine that will outperform global Environmental, Social and Governance ( ES& G) standards and remain profitable even in the face of low commodity prices.

“The re- development will minimise the impact on the environment by using fewer resources in comparison with past operations,” he said, adding that the efforts that the company has committed to including using less power, introducing green energy production, and using fewer internal combustion engines to reduce their carbon footprint.

“We will use less water and be efficient in its use by recycling it because water is a scarce resource that must be preserved for future generations.”