Environmental Performance
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Environmental Performance
A mining company’s business success depends on nature, and this is the guiding principle behind HMDC’s commitment to manage natural resources and ecosystems in a sustainable way.
ENVIRONMENTAL PILLARS AND PRINCIPLES
Management Systems
HMDC applies environmental guidelines and standards, monitors performance and promotes commitment through training and integration into business practices.
Resource Utilization
HMDC promotes eco-efficiency, conservation of natural resources and recycling of secondary materials. The company invests in the development of innovative and sustainable products and services.
Environmental Impacts
HMDC measures their performance, continuously improving and promoting best practices in the industry.
HMDC measures their performance, continuously improving and promoting best practices in the industry.
Stakeholder Relations
HMDC engages their stakeholders and provides public reports on compliance,
performance and progress.
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| Decommissioned quarries “B” and “C” were the target of this year’s Progressive Mine Rehabilitation program. With employees of HMDC - La Union Operations and ANSECA, members of the Philippines Society of Mining Engineers-North Luzon Chapter, the Philippine Air Force 580th Aircraft Control and Warning Wing and the 21st Air Force Group Reserves of La Union and Baguio-Benguet, saplings were planted on the site on June 23, 2018. |
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Environmental Management
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Guaranteeing profit and safeguarding the environment is a delicate balancing act
and tipping that balance either way, no matter how slightly, could unfavorably impact the company and all its stakeholders. To keep this balance, HMDC meticulously develops mining plans
that are responsive not only to the needs of the company but to the environment
and the community where they operate as well. Every step taken every single day is one
that has been carefully considered.
ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE MINING
IN EVERYDAY OPERATIONS
Air Quality Management
The predominant environmental hazard that HMDC encounters in its everyday operations is dust emission caused by the extraction of raw materials and delivery activities to the crusher, especially during the dry season. To control or at very least mitigate this hazard, water spraying is frequently and regularly conducted on haul roads.
Water Quality Management
Clean water is a very important resource both to HMDC and the communities surrounding our quarry site. Aside from consistently conducting risk assessments and consultations with stakeholders, the company also maintains the following water quality management efforts:
Siltation Ponds
Water run-off flows from the slopes bringing with it top soil and other particles. If left uncontrolled these find its way to and contaminate waterways and the coastline of the operations’ neighboring communities. HMDC maintains siltation ponds that catch silt to prevent this.
Out of the 15 siltation ponds that were constructed since the quarry started operations, three have since been decommissioned and rehabilitated. The smallest of these ponds can hold over 2,000 cubic meters of water and silt, while the largest one has a capacity of 252,000 cubic meters.
More recently, the shared siltation pond of Quarries B and C has been decommissioned recently. Covering an area of around 5.6 hectares, this has been backfilled with top soil material, leveled and planted on last June of 2017.
Oil Spill Protection
While oil leaks and spills are not a regular occurrence in HMDC – La Union, these still pose a potential hazard and thus require significant mitigation efforts. From the proper and safe disposal of vehicle waste products such as oils and other fluids and the installation and maintenance of water separators, along with consistent risk assessments, water footprint testing and consumption monitoring, the company ensures that the risk of oil spills and the possibility of water contamination is controlled, if not totally eliminated.
Energy Conservation
HMDC – La Union has taken steps towards reducing their energy footprint with the installation of solar panels on the roof of the new nursery in April, 2017. With a capacity of 3,000 watts, this renewable energy source powers the light fixtures of the nursery and the motor pool office.
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MONITORING OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
The Multi-Partite Monitoring Team (MMT) and the Mine Rehabilitation Fund Committee (MRFC) conduct inspections of HMDC – La Union’s operations quarterly to determine the company’s compliance with government regulations and to validate projects executed in collaboration with their host and other impact communities. The most recent MMT inspections were on June 4-5, 2018 in Agno, Pangasinan and June 6-8, 2018 in La Union, while the latest MRFC inspection was done on June 19, 2018.
The MMT and MRFC are composed of validators from various offices of DENR such as the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), and Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) along with certain community leaders.
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MINING FOREST ACHIEVEMENT
The government mandates mining companies to pay an annual fee that is set aside for rehabilitation when operations stop. At HMDC – La Union, aside from dutifully paying this bond, the company immediately begins the rehabilitation of particular areas as soon as they are decommissioned.
The company is still on track with its goal to rehabilitate three to five hectares of mined out areas every year, with 5.6 hectares planted on in 2017, and another five hectares this year.
On-Site Tree Planting Activities
HMDC carefully prepares for tree planting activities to cover as much ground and ensure the sustainability of such efforts.
Last year, the common siltation pond of Quarries B and C were planted with sapling of various tree species. On June 23 of this year, together with employees of ANSECA, members of the Philippines Society of Mining Engineers – North Luzon Chapter, the Philippine Air Force 580th Aircraft Control and Warning Wing and the 21st Air Force Group Reserves of La Union and Baguio-Benguet, the decommissioned quarries themselves were planted with an assortment of forest and fruit-bearing trees.
Landscaped Gardens and Walkways
This particular work which was started under HPI and continued under HMDC is a continuing effort for many years now that not only provided aesthetic value but also offered a green refuge for employees, community members and other visitors to the site.
Continued Protection and Maintenance of Rehabilitated Sites
The reforestation efforts of HMDC – La Union do not stop with every tree-planting activity – plantings are continuously cared for to ensure that these develop into full grown trees that nurture life.
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NATIONAL GREENING PROGRAM:
Spreading the seeds of love for the environment
This is one of the most challenging mandates by the government for mining companies as it requires companies like HMDC – La Union to reforest locations areas outside and at least twice the size of their respective areas of operation.
This past year, the ongoing effort of HMDC - La Union to comply with this mandate has added over 80 hectares to last year’s figure of 135 hectares for a total of over 218 hectares of land planted on all over Region I.
To accomplish the company’s mining forest plans and the mandates of the National Greening Program, nurseries have been built in HMDC’s quarry sites in La Union and Agno. With these nurseries, the company is able to propagate its own forest, fruit-bearing, herbal and ornamental species.
Continuous Seedling Donation
With the abundance of seedlings propagated in HMDC’s nurseries, the company often donates much of these to neighboring communities, schools, even to municipalities in other provinces for their respective tree-planting needs.
Progressive Restoration of The Quarry’s Biodiversity
Reforestation is a significant step in restoring or developing the biodiversity in a particular area. But to ensure that these efforts are indeed serving their purpose, in 2013, HPI tapped the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Biology to conduct a biodiversity assessment in all Holcim sites in the country to determine the biodiversity baseline in former quarry sites that have been rehabilitated.
Their findings, particularly in La Union and Agno’s rehabilitated sites, have been encouraging. In La Union, numerous species of birds, small mammals and reptiles have made the reforested areas their home and source of sustenance. In Agno, the endangered Golden Crowned Flying Foxes have been returning to roost and feed on the fruits of the trees that have been planted there. Their most recent visit to the site was in May, 2017.
In addition, HMDC – La Union has recently launched an in-house Biodiversity Risk Assessment Program which is based on a system that integrates biodiversity considerations into the planning, operational and post-operational phases of the company’s extraction operations. The system was developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in partnership with Holcim to strengthen biodiversity management within and in all of its operations worldwide and is based on robust ecosystem conservation standards.
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HMDC’S UNWAVERING COMMITMENT:
Other Environment Accomplishments
At HMDC, respect for the environment is integrated in its daily operations. In adherence to its sustainability goals, the company sustains various in-house environmental projects which have been started years ago.
Maintaining HMDC’s Nursery
To accomplish the company’s mining forest plans and the mandates of the National Greening Program, nurseries have been built in HMDC’s quarry sites in La Union and Agno. With these nurseries, the company is able to propagate its own forest, fruit-bearing, herbal and ornamental species.
Continuous Seedling Donation
With the abundance of seedlings propagated in HMDC’s nurseries, the company often donates much of these to neighboring communities, schools, even to municipalities in other provinces for their respective tree-planting needs.
Progressive Restoration of The Quarry’s Biodiversity
Reforestation is a significant step in restoring or developing the biodiversity in a particular area. But to ensure that these efforts are indeed serving their purpose, in 2013, HPI tapped the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Biology to conduct a biodiversity assessment in all Holcim sites in the country to determine the biodiversity baseline in former quarry sites that have been rehabilitated.
Their findings, particularly in La Union and Agno’s rehabilitated sites, have been encouraging. In La Union, numerous species of birds, small mammals and reptiles have made the reforested areas their home and source of sustenance. In Agno, the endangered Golden Crowned Flying Foxes have been returning to roost and feed on the fruits of the trees that have been planted there. Their most recent visit to the site was in May, 2017.
In addition, HMDC – La Union has recently launched an in-house Biodiversity Risk Assessment Program which is based on a system that integrates biodiversity considerations into the planning, operational and post-operational phases of the company’s extraction operations. The system was developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in partnership with Holcim to strengthen biodiversity management within and in all of its operations worldwide and is based on robust ecosystem conservation standards.
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| HMDC - La Union Operations maintains its own nursery. Aside from the company’s own reforestation efforts, the seedlings propagated here are also donated to LGU’s and other institutions for their own tree planting needs. |
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