Metal emissions

We monitor and take steps to reduce the impact of metals emissions on the environment – both to water and air. Each of the different metals that we emit has a specific level of potential toxicity for the environment and human health. For this reason, we focus on reducing the impact of our emissions.

The aim for 2020 is to reduce metal emissions impacts while considering growing volumes of production. While monitoring continues on all sites, reporting focuses on the 10 or fewer sites that contribute to 95% of the emissions expressed in impact.

Compared to 2015, after correction for activity levels, the impact of metal emissions to water in 2019 fell by 57% largely thanks to improvement projects on our sites. Compared to 2018, short-term and temporarily reduced efficiency at the Hoboken treatment plant in 2019, combined with higher activity levels, led to an increased impact to water. Our overall reduction compared to 2015 shows that we remain committed to the continuous improvement goals defined in Horizon 2020.

In 2019, the impact of metal emissions to air fell by 59% compared to 2015, mainly thanks to further efforts to improve filtration and process efficiency.

For more, see Statements, note E2.