Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs
Purpose & Values
The drive for innovation and continuous improvement is at the heart of our purpose
Business Strategy
Climate change is at the heart of our business strategy
We are 150
150 years of finding better ways
We supply the metals and minerals used to help the world grow and decarbonise
Iron Ore
Iron ore is the primary raw material used to make steel
7 things the world will need for a low-carbon future
Wind, sun and water – what else do you need to make renewable energy work?
Sustainability – the expectation, not the exception
Shaping our aluminium product offering to meet demand for greener metals
Bringing to market materials critical to urbanisation and the transition to a low-carbon economy
Look inside a mine of the future
Our most intelligent mine yet is pioneering new mining technologies
Rincon Project
A long-life, low-cost and low-carbon lithium source
Simandou Project
The world’s largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit
Providing materials the world needs in a responsible way
Sustainability Reporting 2022
We have a responsibility to extract the full value from the minerals and materials we produce in the safest and most sustainable way possible
Climate Change
We’re targeting net zero emissions by 2050
Tailings
We’ve launched a new interactive map of our tailings facilities
We aim to deliver superior returns to our shareholders while safeguarding the environment and meeting our obligations to wider society
Results
Half Year Results 2023 released 26 July
Get the latest news, stories and updates
Nammuldi rock shelter
Our statement on the Nammuldi rock shelter
Fuelling our tanks with renewable diesel
Diesel made from renewable raw materials is helping us reduce emissions
Rio Tinto commits $150 million to Centre for Future Materials led by Imperial College London
Discover more about life at Rio Tinto
Graduates & Students
If you want to drive real change, we have just the place to do it
Empowering families with flexibility
Supporting new parents of any gender with equal access to parental leave
Available jobs
Join our team
We have put the low-carbon transition at the heart of our business strategy: combining investments in commodities that enable the energy transition with actions to decarbonise our operations and value chains.
Our strategy and approach to climate change are supported by strong governance, and we are building our processes and capabilities to enable us to reach net zero emissions from our operations by 2050.
Climate change has formed part of our strategic thinking and investment decisions for over two decades and was a fundamental component in our strategy development process in 2021. Recently, there has been a rapid shift in the external context on tackling climate change. This includes the increasingly ambitious emissions targets set by many governments in the lead up to COP26; developments in low-carbon technologies, such as renewables and electric vehicles, and their falling costs; as well as the increasing international co-ordination on climate policies, including carbon pricing.
In parallel, society’s expectations continue to rise. Companies extracting minerals must reduce their impact on the environment and host communities and go beyond regulatory obligations to drive the development of more sustainable value chains. An emerging theme in tackling these issues is the circular economy, which is built around avoiding and reducing waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. The highly recyclable nature of our products, potential utilisation of waste streams, and re-use of assets could create considerable near and long-term growth and partnership opportunities as the world tackles climate change.
As stewards of the minerals and metals that are critical to decarbonisation and sustainable development, we embrace our responsibility to minimise the impact of our operations on the environment.”
Our Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm has joined with other CEOs on the International Council on Mining and Metals in signing a Climate Change Statement that commits us to a goal of net zero from our operations by 2050 or sooner.
We have made this collective commitment because we believe many of the sustainability challenges facing our industry, and the planet, require collective action to solve.
Last year, we announced our ambition to reach net zero from our operations by 2050. Our support for the statement confirms this ambition as a clear commitment.
Climate-related disclosures on governance, strategy, risk management, as well as metrics and targets, are integrated into our Annual Report in the following sections: Strategic Context, Key Performance Indicators, Innovation, Risk Management, Principal risks and Uncertainties, Governance, the Sustainability Committee report, the Remuneration Committee report and in the notes to the accounts.
In 2015, we supported the adoption of the Paris Agreement and the long-term goal to limit global average temperature rise to well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. Government policy that creates the right framework for change is critical, coupled with real business action and societal shifts. A challenge as serious as climate change requires transparency, collaboration and a shared contribution to the solution. To achieve our decarbonisation goals and to support global goals, we need policy that promotes the production and consumption of low-carbon metals and minerals.
We agree with the mainstream climate science published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We support the Glasgow Climate Pact, in which governments resolved to pursue efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C that “requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, including reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 45% by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net zero around mid-century, as well as deep reductions in other greenhouse gases”. Consequently, we do not advocate for policies that undermine the Paris Agreement or discount Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
We support the outcomes of the Paris Agreement and the long-term goal to limit global average temperature rise to well below 2°C and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. We support governments as they raise the ambition of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Business has a vital role in addressing and managing the risks and uncertainties of climate change and driving emissions to net zero. A range of policy measures is necessary to support the early movers in our sector that innovate and deploy low-carbon technology. Our policy principles provide a common architecture for the positions we take in different jurisdictions – policy should be effective, fair, pragmatic, market-based and support free trade.
A market-based price on carbon is the most effective way to incentivise the private sector to make low-carbon investments and drive down emissions. Based on our current assumptions, carbon prices below $100/tCO2e may be enough for us to decarbonise power and support our investment in renewable generation and firming infrastructure. Higher carbon prices and other forms of support are necessary to address harder-to-abate parts of our carbon footprint, such as process heat and carbon anodes, and remain commercially competitive in a global market.
We recognise the importance of adaptation and increasing resilience to a changing climate.
Where climate policies are implemented, we support the use of market mechanisms, including a market-based price on carbon such as in emissions trading systems. We believe this is the best way of stimulating innovation and achieving emissions reductions at least cost.
Minerals and metals are globally traded, so effective climate policy should incentivise the private sector to invest in low-carbon technology without undermining the competitiveness of trade-exposed industries and shifting production, jobs and supply chains to countries with lower emissions standards (carbon leakage). If there is significant regional variation in carbon prices, carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAM), or alternative policies, are necessary to limit leakage, provided they are pragmatic, effective and equitable.
Carbon pricing, on its own, might not be sufficient to transform the metals sector. Other policy tools are necessary to tackle emissions and simultaneously achieve objectives related to industrial policy. These can include:
The low-carbon transition is at the heart of our business strategy
Significant global and regional progress on climate change will only happen when everyone – business, governments, investors, civil society organisations and consumers – plays their part. Our own approach to climate change requires active engagement on relevant policies with a range of stakeholders in the countries where we operate.
Our responses to government consultations are guided by our overall policy positions that include support for market mechanisms, as we believe this is the best way of stimulating innovation and achieving emissions reductions at least cost. Our submissions are typically developed by subject matter experts, reviewed by government relations and legal teams, and then approved by the relevant country director or senior executive.
The New Zealand Government sought feedback on amendments to the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to improve the operation of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS)
The Ministry for the Environment sought feedback on proposed New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme settings, including unit supply and price controls, to be set through regulations in mid-2020
Discussion Paper: Technology Investment Roadmap. This outlines the Government’s vision “for Australia to play a leadership role in accelerating development and deployment of low emissions technologies”.
Technology Investment Roadmap. This outlines the Government’s vision “for Australia to play a leadership role in accelerating development and deployment of low emissions technologies”
The Federal Government sought feedback on the Safeguard Mechanism Reform consultation paper (released August 2022) outlining how reform of the existing Safeguard Mechanism will play an important role in reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by 2030 and meeting Australia’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050
Rio Tinto submission to the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on Capacity Investment Scheme – August 2023
Rio Tinto submission to the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on Hydrogen Headstart Program Consultation – August 2023
Rio Tinto submission to the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on Review of the National Hydrogen Strategy – August 2023
On the market design of the National Electricity Market
Rio Tinto submission to the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on Safeguard Mechanism Reform consultation paper – January 2023
Rio Tinto submission to the Treasury on the Climate-related financial disclosure consultation paper – December 2022
Rio Tinto submissions to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water on Australia’s Guarantee of Origin Scheme and Renewable Electricity Certification consultation papers – February 2023
Our annual review of our industry association memberships supplements the Climate Change Report and provides a complete list of the major industry associations that take positions on climate change and sets out the elements used to evaluate their policy positions and advocacy:
The review provides further information on any major industry associations whose positions and advocacy on climate and energy policy significantly differ from Rio Tinto’s key positions on these issues.
How we process personal data provided or obtained through this website.
With the exception of the use of cookies, Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site. A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of our Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
With the exception of the use of cookies (explained below), Rio Tinto generally does not seek to collect personal data through this website. However if you choose to provide personal data to Rio Tinto through this website (for example, by sending us an email), we will process that personal data to answer your query and if relevant, to manage our business relationship with you or your company. We won't process that personal data for other purposes except where required to meet our legal obligations or otherwise as authorised by law and notified to you.
Part 1 of this Privacy Policy contains the Rio Tinto Data Privacy Standard, which provides an overview of Rio Tinto’s approach to personal data processing. There is additional information in the appendices to the Data Privacy Standard, including information about disclosures, trans-border data transfers, the exercise of data subject rights and how to make complaints or obtain further information relating to Rio Tinto’s processing of your personal data.
If you choose to subscribe to our media releases or other communications, you can unsubscribe at any time (by following the instructions in the email or by contacting us at digital.comms@riotinto.com).
With your consent, our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our website. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our website and also allows us to improve our site.
A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer if you agree. Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer's hard drive.
As some data privacy laws regulate IP addresses and other information collected through the use of cookies as personal data, Rio Tinto’s processing of such personal data needs to comply with its Data Privacy Standard (see Part 1 of this Privacy Policy), and also applicable data privacy laws.
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