Sustainability Report
2018
About the Report
Vale's Sustainability Report has always focused on our challenges, achievements, and strategies
to address
our mission to transform natural resources into success prosperity and sustainable development.
However, the
breach of Dam I at Córrego do Feijão Mine, in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, made it urgent to be
accountable for
it and discuss with our stakeholders about what happened
Then, in this 12th edition, our report is divided into two parts. In the first
section, we
present the
activities and outcomes related to the dam breach, as well as the
description of dam
management process, accident prevention, and emergency response.
breach,
as well as the description of dam management process, accident prevention, and emergency
response.
In the second section, we present the main institutional information about Vale and the report on
our
material themes – content to guarantee that this edition was developed in accordance with the
standards of
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and its Mining and Metals Sector Supplement.
Download the report in.pdf format
Breach of Córrego do Feijão Dam
Since the breach of Dam I, on January 25, 2019, all our efforts are focused on the
support
for all the people affected and, together with the Fire Service firefighters and Civil Defense,
we are still
working (until the publication of this report). Countless actions have already been taken. Check
out some of
them below.
Vale's CEO Eduardo Bartolomeo
Our obligation is to draw lessons from this tragedy to transform Vale into a more humane,
safety-oriented
and
sustainable company. To this end, we will make every effort to rethink our methods and
processes, without
ever
forgetting our responsibilities to Brumadinho. We will work tirelessly to ensure the safety of
people
throughout our
operations.
Today, our commitment is to do even more than we have done so far to transform Vale into a
company that is
as recognized
for its respect for life and the environment as it is for its market value. This is the
objective that we
will pursue
from now on.”
Check out the letter of Vale's CEO
Message from the CEO
This 12th edition of the Sustainability Report is published at the most challenging moment in
Vale's
history. With the
failure of Dam I of the Córrego do Feijão Mine in Brumadinho on January 25 of this year, we lost
colleagues,
family,
friends and community members. This incident negatively impacted people's lives and caused
environmental and
economic
damage. From the first moment it happened, we have focused on serving the population and
repairing the
damage, but
there is still a lot to be done.
Our obligation is to draw lessons from this tragedy to transform Vale into a more humane,
safety-oriented
and
sustainable company. To this end, we will make every effort to rethink our methods and
processes, without
ever
forgetting our responsibilities to Brumadinho. We will work tirelessly to ensure the safety of
people
throughout our
operations.
Among the steps we are taking in this direction, I highlight two:
-
We have implemented the Special Department of Repairs and Development, which will report
directly to me,
to coordinate
all our efforts to repair the socioenvironmental and economic impacts caused in Brumadinho
and the region,
accelerate
the process of paying indemnities, restore dignity to the victims’ families and others
affected, and
encourage the
resumption of economic activities in the community. In addition, this department will
support and bring
transparency to
the investigation as it identifies the causes of the tragedy.
-
We have created the Executive Board of Safety and Operational Excellence, which we have just
approved, to
ensure in an
effective manner and unrelated to the context of the operational units, the qualified
management of these
issues, which
are extremely relevant to the company:
-
Accelerating the decommissioning plan for all upstream dams;
-
Giving greater impetus to the Vale Production System (VPS) to reinforce the company's
operational
excellence; and
-
Coordinating the Centre of Operational Risk Management and Asset Integrity with independence
of conduct.
The Sustainability Report is part of Vale's commitment to provide information transparently.
Thus, we
present here the
2018 results and address the failure of Dam I, which makes clear our need to place a higher
priority on
ensuring the safety of people, the reliability of our operations and our protection of the
environment.
As can be seen in detail on the pages of this report, in 2018 we increased some of our
sustainability
actions. We
defined the Water Goal, which was created to reduce consumption and increase reuse, and we
continued our
actions aimed
at mitigatiing and adapting to climate change, focusing on reducing atmospheric emissions and
improving air
quality
indicators.
In order to expand our work with communities close to our operations, we are committed to the
following
variable
remuneration goals the development of 46 relationship plans, 37 of them in Brazil, during 2018.
Altogether, US$116.5 million was spent on social actions, for the most part to boost urban
infrastructure
and mobility,
traditional communities and Indigenous peoples, and opportunities to generate work and income.
Of this
total, US$13.4
million was contributed directly by the Vale Foundation, which has completed 50 years of work in
Brazil
contributing to
territorial development by promoting initiatives for work and income generation, health and
education.
Now, given the circumstances we face, we are determined to accelerate and further deepen this
constant
search for
improvement, honouring the commitment that Vale has always maintained with transparency in its
management
and
operations: to actively participate in initiatives and associations that strive for
sustainability in
business,
compliance in procedures and clarity in actions and relationships.
As an example, we highlight Vale's association with the International Council of Mining and
Metals (ICMM)
and its
presence in the Novo Mercado index of the Brazilian stock exchange B3, focused on the best
practices of
transparency in
relationships with shareholders.
Today, our commitment is to do even more than we have done so far to transform Vale into a
company that is
as recognized
for its respect for life and the environment as it is for its market value. This is the
objective that we
will pursue
from now on.
Eduardo Bartolomeo
Chief Executive Officer
Overview of the Recovery Actions
R$1.3 billion used to purchase medicines, water,
equipment and
other logistical costs
- R$29 million in donations to the Fire Service, Civil Defense, and Police;
- 76 thousand people benefited by the Preliminary Adjustment Agreement;
- R$9.3 billion for preliminary agreements and emergency indemnities;
- 67 monitoring points for water and sediment analysis;
- 5 membranes installed to impound sediments;
- Investiments in the River Fluvial Water Treatment Plant (with capacity to treat 2 million
liters of
water per hour) to reduce the environmental impact.
- Almost 630 animals assisted.
Investment in Dry Processing
Vale has been searching for alternatives and developing projects that use
technologies to
reduce the need for dams. The company invested nearly R$66 billion to install and increase the
dry
processing of the iron ore produced in Brazil in the last 10 years. This natural moisture
processing –
without water – does not generate tailings, so no dam is required. Over the next five years, the
estimate is
to invest more R$11 billion in facilities for similar processing. Today, almost 60% of Vale's
production is
through dry processing, but the goal is 70%
2008 - 2018
R$66bi
2019 - 2024
R$11bi
70%
of the
production through
dry processing by 2024
Highlights of the 2018 Report
We are constantly evolving and working to transform natural resources into success
and sustainable development. See below some of Vale's actions in 2018.
Environment
reuse of 83% of the water
required for production – a volume equivalent to 956 million m3
protection of natural areas across 8,500 square kilometers
5.6 times greater than the total area of its operational units
reduction of 30,400 tons of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere
through revegetation of the areas affected and/or compensation – an increase of 34%
compared to 2017
reduction of 85% of SOx emissions
from the smelter foundry complex at Copper Cliff, with the Clean AER project, in Canada
US$ 459.8 million spent in environmental actions
Social
124.9 thousand employees
(70.3 thousand direct employees and 54.6 thousand third-party employees), of which 95.6
thousand are
allocated in Brazil
US$ 116.5 million spent in social actions,
mostly for urban infrastructure and mobility, traditional communities, indigenous people,
as
well as
work and income generation
More than 1.4 million people transported by passenger
trains at Vitoria-Minas railroad and Carajás railroad per year
Social development of 4,777 children and adolescents
and their families at five Knowledge Centers (Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and
Pará) and at
the Deodoro Training Center (Rio de Janeiro), which are supported by Vale Foundation
US$ 13.4 million invested by Vale Foundation in its social and cultural
areas
as well as
programs
in 67 municipalities of Pará, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro
Check out some of our cases
Support for People Affected by Cyclone Idai
Biopalma da Amazônia
Carbon Footprint
According to the United Nations, nearly 1.85 million people were affected by the
cyclone Idai in
Mozambique, in March 2019. Vale and companies of the Corridor project are supporting
these people in
solidarity with the victims and as per our social responsibility. Among the
initiatives are:
- Emergency donation of monetary value to the National Institute of Disaster
Management (NIDM);
- No port rates at port of Nacala to ship food containers from the United Nations
World Food Program
(UN agencies) to Beira and Malawi;
- Donation of public health and hygiene products to more than 2,000 families in
Moatize;
- Dialogue with NGOs and other agencies to identify new priorities and keep
contributions
adequately;
- The Corporate Volunteer Program, supported by employees, that collects
non-perishable products,
clothing, hygiene products, and household items.
-
In May, Vale signed a memorandum of understanding with the Red Cross of
Mozambique to ensure the
application of donated funds by the company to the victims of cyclones Idai and
Keneth.
One of the initiatives for communities where Vale operates in Pará is the Family
Agriculture Program,
which is managed by Biopalma – a company controlled by Vale. It sustainably produces
palm oil and
by-products in seven municipalities presenting the lowest human development index (HDI)
in Brazil.
Regularly, technical assistance and phytosanitary guidelines are provided to farmers so
that they can
improve and increase productivity. In addition, it stimulates them to share ideas as
well as search for
improvement and support that help qualification and improvement of quality of life.
- 675 families
- 7 thousand hectares planted with oil palm
- US$36.6 million invested in work and income generation
- US$ 3,000 is the value of the family income that can be obtained during the harvest
period
In 2018, we prevented the emission of almost 1.2 million tons of
CO2e
Climate change is a scientifically proven reality and a challenge that affects
not only our production activities, but the entire planet. Then, in compliance to
our internal
policies and standard, we take continuous actions to deal with this issue.
Among initiatives for the Carbon Footprint*, the truckless system operation (without
using trucks) at
S11D Eliezer Batista complex (Canaã dos Carajás, Pará), the
use of natural gas
to replace diesel oil in the pelletizing plants, and the best mining planning in
Itabira (Minas
Gerais) can be highlighted.
(Canaã dos Carajás, Pará), the use of natural gas to replace diesel oil in the
pelletizing plants, and
the best mining planning in Itabira (Minas Gerais) can be highlighted.
When the current Carbon Footprint was achieved in 2018, we established a new goal.
From 2017 to 2030,
we aim at reducing 16% of our direct and indirect** GHG emissionsfrom the equivalent
production of
iron ore.
* The originally proposed Carbon Goal considers a reduction of 5% in direct GHG
emissions until
2020. This goal is based on a business-as-usual scenario; that is, the difference
between the actual
emissions inventoried and the emissions that would occur if the Company did not take
any initiative to
avoid or reduce its emissions.
** For the purpose of calculating the emission intensity, the target considers the
iron ore
production, our main product, as a parameter to compare the production of the
Company's other
products, such as coal, nickel and copper. Therefore, all our production is
converted to a tonne of
iron ore equivalent.
Click here to download the 2018 Sustainability Report
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