Fernández-Hernández Marta, Mora Pedro, Ortega Marcelo F, Cabello Juan Pous
Departamento de Ingeniería Geológica y Minera, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas y Energía, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/ Alenza 4, 28003, Madrid, Spain.
Laboratorio de Ingeniería de Proyectos, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas y Energía, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, C/ Alenza 4, 28003, Madrid, Spain.
Heliyon. 2025 Jan 15;11(2):e41975. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41975. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.
Sustainability in the extractive and mining industry has become a key global concern, necessitating alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This research introduces an innovative, scientific index-based assessment methodology designed to quantify the contribution of companies in these sectors to the SDGs. The methodology leverages a metric index scoring system to evaluate and enhance their sustainability performance. The methodology involves scoring a series of parameters associated with each SDG, resulting in individual indices that are rescaled for comparability. This comprehensive approach also integrates environmental, social, and economic factors. The practical application of this index is critical, providing a step-by-step guide for extractive and mining companies to adopt and utilize the sustainability index, aiding in compliance with future regulations. The results of this study show that the system of SDGs, targets, aspects, and metrics is naturally weighted towards social issues. It has also been observed that the SDG system, with respect to the targets, is not balanced. This same heterogeneous behavior occurs for aspects. This implies that the system is naturally weighted, which directly affects the comparison of contribution. The proposed methodology provides a process of normalization of indices that avoids this natural weighting, allowing the comparison of results. This study advances a comprehensive methodology for evaluating extractive companies' contributions to the SDGs, incorporating multiple dimensions and expert opinions, and its adaptability allows for continuous improvement by incorporating new parameters. The Susceptibility Index helps management assess contributions on a scale of 0-10, facilitating ongoing improvements and anticipating regulatory changes. This research enhances the assessment of extractive companies' SDG performance, promoting responsible practices. The open-access nature of the methodology enables any organization to conduct a sustainability analysis, fostering transparency and collaboration.
采掘和采矿业的可持续发展已成为全球关注的关键问题，需要与联合国可持续发展目标（SDGs）保持一致。本研究引入了一种创新的、基于科学指标的评估方法，旨在量化这些行业公司对可持续发展目标的贡献。该方法利用一个指标评分系统来评估和提高其可持续发展绩效。该方法包括对与每个可持续发展目标相关的一系列参数进行评分，得出经过重新缩放以实现可比性的单个指标。这种全面的方法还整合了环境、社会和经济因素。该指标的实际应用至关重要，为采掘和采矿公司采用和利用可持续发展指标提供了逐步指导，有助于遵守未来的法规。本研究结果表明，可持续发展目标、具体目标、方面和指标体系自然偏向社会问题。还观察到，就具体目标而言，可持续发展目标体系并不平衡。方面也存在同样的异质性表现。这意味着该体系自然存在权重，直接影响贡献的比较。所提出的方法提供了一个指标归一化过程，避免了这种自然权重，从而能够比较结果。本研究提出了一种全面的方法来评估采掘公司对可持续发展目标的贡献，纳入了多个维度和专家意见，其适应性允许通过纳入新参数进行持续改进。敏感性指数有助于管理层在0至10的范围内评估贡献，促进持续改进并预测监管变化。本研究加强了对采掘公司可持续发展目标绩效的评估，促进了负责任的做法。该方法的开放获取性质使任何组织都能够进行可持续性分析，促进透明度和协作。
