Sustainability
In the context of a global commitment to combating climate change, lithium resources have transitioned from being termed as “industrial MSG” to a recyclable “white petroleum”, making a significant contribution to advancing the green transformation of global energy. Tianqi Lithium has established a robust climate governance framework to facilitate the design and implementation of the company’s low-carbon strategy. The board of directors serves as the highest authority on climate-related issues at the company, overseeing the execution of climate matters through a dedicated carbon management task force under the ESG and Sustainable Development Committee and regulating climate-related topics through the same. The ESG and Sustainable Development Committee convenes at least once a year to engage with the board of directors on ESG-related topics.
Strategy
Tianqi Lithium consistently incorporates climate risk management into its strategic planning and routinely identifies potential climate-related risks and opportunities faced by its core business in alignment with the TCFD’s disclosure recommendations, thereby enhancing resilience across various potential climate scenarios. Furthermore, Tianqi Lithium specifies in its internal policies, such as the Investment Management Procedure, that ESG due diligence is essential for decision-making on external investments. The company thoroughly considers the impact of investment projects on climate change and assists in implementing improvement plans.
Tianqi Lithium is committed to continuously reducing Scopes 1 and 2 emissions within the existing scale of its main business, aiming for a reduction of over 42% in emissions by 2030 compared to the baseline year. Efforts have also been made to achieve a 50% reduction in Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions for main business by 2030 relative to the baseline year, with the ultimate objective of attaining net-zero emissions by 2050.
In 2023, Tianqi Lithium successfully completed a structural change to a three-year USD 400 million loan linked to sustainability, and established a greenhouse gas annual reduction target of
3.3%.Concurrently, we put forward the initiative of “Changing the World with Lithium - Net Zero,” inviting members of the value chain to achieve net-zero emissions in corporate operations by 2050 at the latest, while striving to reduce emissions across the value chain.
Our Actions
To achieve the net-zero emissions target by 2050, Tianqi Lithium has formulated a clear action pathway, which will be implemented in phases.
From now until 2030, our primary focus will be on green electricity procurement and consumption strategies aimed at enhancing energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable electricity. Specific actions include investments in distributed photovoltaic systems at our plants, prioritizing the procurement of renewable electricity, and sourcing green chemicals.
From 2030 to 2050, our strategy will shift towards research and development and asset renewal, exploring the development of green electricity heat storage steam systems, carbon-neutral natural gas systems, and efficient CO2 recycling systems. Specific actions during this phase will involve enhancing electrification levels, increasing the share of sustainable fuels, and implementing carbon capture and storage technologies.
In July 2023, Tianqi Lithium published the White Paper on Sustainable Lithium Industry in Achieving Net Zero, marking it as the world’s first carbon white paper in the lithium battery industry. Guided by this white paper with net-zero emissions objectives, we are committed to collaborative efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change and take decisive actions to reduce carbon emissions.
Tianqi Lithium systematically organizes its capacity and process information and rigorously verifies the company’s net-zero carbon targets and implementation pathways by analyzing the usage of raw materials and energy in the context of both domestic and international energy transition backgrounds. Utilizing the “ESG Workshop” model, the company promotes climate change awareness at its headquarters and various bases, continuously training domestic employees in carbon white papers, product carbon footprints, and international carbon emission regulations, ensuring they comprehend the impact of their work on carbon emissions and the environment, and actively integrating carbon reduction into daily production operations.
Tianqi Lithium conducts annual carbon inventory assessments at each production base and at the Xinglong Lake office building, collaborating with third-party verification agencies to authenticate environmental data such as greenhouse gas emissions. The findings regarding organizational energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, Scope 2,
and emission intensity), and resource usage are disclosed in the 2023 Sustainability Development Report of Tianqi Lithium.
Each year, Tianqi Lithium systematically evaluates the environmental footprint of its three main products (battery-grade lithium carbonate, battery-grade lithium hydroxide, and metallic lithium) across its various bases, adhering to environmental management lifecycle assessment principles and product carbon footprint quantification guidelines. Third-party verification agencies are brought in to validate the calculation methods and raw data pertaining to product carbon footprints, addressing the concerns of all stakeholders.
Tianqi Lithium actively promotes the procurement of green electricity and the construction of distributed photovoltaic systems at all production bases to achieve power decarbonization. Through intelligent manufacturing practices, we optimally allocates production resources, enhances forecasting capabilities, and maximizes the benefits of large-scale manufacturing. By embracing digitization in production, automation and high-efficiency equipment upgrades,we continually enhances energy efficiency to meet its net-zero goals.
Tianqi Lithium has integrated climate change management into its corporate governance framework following the TCFD recommendations, which spans four dimensions: “governance”, “strategy”, “risk management”, and “metrics and targets”. We conducted quantitative research on disaster risks associated with typical extreme weather events and long-term
climate pattern changes, analyzed the potential impacts of high-risk events, such as floods, heatwaves, and extreme cold, under both brown and green scenarios, and devised appropriate response measures. Furthermore, we have established climate scenario models tailored to our business characteristics, aiming to enhance our understanding of exposure to physical and transition risks, while proactively developing strategies and resilience plans to mitigate operational risks stemming from these exposures. In response to assessments indicating high physical risk levels, we have formulated comprehensive management and safeguarding measures.
Our Performance
We have successfully met the sustainability-linked loan (SLL) target for carbon intensity reduction, achieving a more than 3.3% decrease in carbon emissions intensity per unit of product compared to the previous year, validated by a third party.
In 2023, Tianqi Lithium’s efforts in reducing emissions from air, rail, and taxi travel totaled 25,814.59 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. Direct net greenhouse gas emissions within our operational control (Scope 1) amounted to 125,198.02 tons in the same year, while indirect net greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 2) reached 146,460.74 tons, culminating in a total of 271,658.76 tons.
Additionally, the photovoltaic panel installations at our lithium spodumene warehouse in Jiangsu have been continuously operational, replacing a portion of fossil fuel electricity with clean energy to reduce the use of electrical energy. Data indicates that, as of June 2024, these panels generated a total of 387,284.8 kilowatt-hours of clean energy for Tianqi Lithium in Jiangsu. Moreover, we have achieved a 20% substitution of green electricity in our production operations.
