SUSTAINABILITY 

ENVIRONMENTAL RESpONSIBILITY

Emerald Resources is committed to doing the right thing by the environment. We operate in a responsible manner and recognise that though mining has an unavoidable impact on the environment, through best practice management and strong environmental stewardship impacts can be minimised and long-term legacy issues mitigated.

Emerald implements safe and sustainable environmental practices and manages risk across all projects. Each of the Company’s exploration and mining projects is implementing a site-specific Environmental Management Plan.

We have also aligned our business to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Emerald has identified 13 of the 17 SDGs as well as a localised 18th Goal End the negative impact of mines/ERW and promote victim assistance, where key performance indicators can be selected to align to targets within those goals.

Work continues to define internal targets for future monitoring and inclusion into our Annual Reports and Sustainability Reports.

The operational plans at our flagship Okvau Gold Project are underpinned by a commitment to have a net positive impact on near-mine environmental values.

This is achieved by:

• Targeting strict compliance with corporate governance, international guidelines (IFC Performance Standards) and local laws.
• The introduction of the “Environmental Bonding” concept to the Cambodian Government.
• Making significant annual payments to Environmental, Social and Endowment funds for life-of-mine.
• Work with the mining industry in Cambodia to lift the benchmark for environmental and social performance of all mining and exploration companies.
• Implementation of the Biodiversity Offset project within the Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary; and
• Development of a climate strategy, including carbon neutrality targets and pathways, including a carbon offset program.

The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Okvau Gold Project was approved by the Ministry of Environment (MoE) in November 2017. The ESIA was prepared by Cambodian and Australian consultancies: E&A Consultant Co. Ltd and Earth Systems. The ESIA summary document can be accessed below.