By Diego Hernández, Presidente Ejecutivo de Codelco
Codelco is the world’s top copper producer and the company that contributes the most to Chile.
Our commitment with local communities and the environment implies constantly looking for new ways to make mining cleaner, safer and more benign.
We were the first Chilean mining company that reported green-house gas emissions related to its operations.
We developed an energy efficiency programme that involved most of our production process and we promote the use of renewable, non-conventional energy, such as the first photovoltaic solar plant in the Chilean mining industry.
Thanks to the properties of copper, at Codelco we are convinced that it is a key metal to reach sustainable development.
Together with other mining stakeholders, we promote initiatives on new uses for copper in the public health sector, access to electricity, responsible and efficient use of energy, green construction, air quality, global warming and greenhouse effect reduction.
A concrete example of the social benefits of copper is the implementation of ultra-efficient electric motor.
The worldwide use of this kind of motor, that contains 4 times more copper than a standard engine, would mean saving 3.890 trillion Kwh per year towards 2030 and reducing CO2 emissions by 2.5 billion tons per year.
Codelco is also a pioneer in using the biocidal effects of copper (eliminates bacteria, virus and fungi) for example, in hospital applications, fish farming, public transport and fabrics that have a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing.
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