Google is an advocate of “city mining,” the method of extracting vital minerals comparable to lithium, cobalt and copper from growing older cellphones, laptops and different units, and reintroducing them into supplies provide chains.

However that received’t be sufficient to uncover all of the minerals and metals to make new Google {hardware} that’s sustainably sourced or to fulfill the wants of the clear power programs behind the corporate’s net-zero targets, in line with Mike Werner, head of round economic system for Google. “We’ve accomplished some modeling, and it’s fairly clear that we aren’t going to succeed in internet zero with out vital mining,” Werner advised an viewers final week on the Circularity 23 convention. “I don’t know that the broad sustainability group has actually understood that.”     

Whereas Google already “mines” supplies from outdated electronics and home equipment, Werner acknowledged it might want to assist new extraction actions to maintain up with product demand and obtain its net-zero targets. That presents a dilemma for sustainability professionals, as a result of the mining trade is usually criticized for questionable environmental and human rights practices. 

Werner additionally stated it is going to take “trillions and trillions of tons” of vital minerals, together with uncommon earth parts comparable to dysprosium and magnesium, to construct applied sciences essential for the clear power transition, together with photo voltaic panels, wind generators and batteries for electrical automobiles and power storage. That demand, based mostly on a 2021 evaluation by the Worldwide Power Company,  is roughly six to 9 instances what could be wanted to construct comparable fossil fuels infrastructure, he stated.

City mining will grow to be a significant a part of supplies provide chains, Werner stated. In spite of everything, it’s the fastest-growing waste stream on the planet (sure, sooner than plastic) with greater than 50 million tons produced yearly. Put one other method, that’s like throwing out 1,000 laptop computer computer systems per second.

Google’s personal applications are a piece in progress, nevertheless it helps the gathering of undesirable electronics in lots of U.S. households — together with televisions. It advocates placing some supplies extracted from these devices again into its new {hardware} — as of April, about 30 p.c of all of the supplies used to supply its telephones, thermostats, pill computer systems, televisions and different units got here from recycled sources. (That features nonmetals comparable to glass and plastic.) 

Prepare for a brand new form of footprinting train

However Google isn’t relying solely on that exercise. To get a way of how the looming minerals scarcity may have an effect on Google long run, the corporate is documenting and calculating what number of vital minerals the corporate’s product income targets and net-zero commitments require. This benchmarking train co-exists with different footprinting actions, comparable to measuring greenhouse gasoline emissions or water consumption.

Meaning learning not simply the direct materials implications for the {hardware} units that Google sells to customers and the pc servers and networking gear in its information middle, but additionally assessing the potential impression it has on assembly the corporate’s dedication to utilizing 100% carbon-free power by 2030.

“I might actually urge anybody that has a net-zero dedication to do the identical,” Werner stated.

He recommended partaking company procurement groups and CFOs to grasp how shortages will have an effect on pricing. Among the many questions firms ought to contemplate:

• Which e-waste streams might doubtlessly provide the supplies your organization depends on probably the most?
• Are the areas the place these supplies are being sourced topic to geopolitical battle?
• What are the human rights implications, in addition to the impression on Indigenous communities?
• What are the land use, conservation and restoration practices of the mining organizations offering virgin provides?
• How are your organization’s sourcing processes affecting freshwater ecosystems?

The solutions to those questions will assist inform long-term sourcing methods, stated Werner, reiterating that whereas city mining will “play an vital position into the market, it’s inadequate to fulfill the calls for of internet zero.”

Meaning sustainability professionals should grow to be extra snug about partnering with mining firms, advocating for insurance policies that speed up allowing for operations which are prioritizing moral and sustainable methods for mining. Among the many assets that might assist steer these methods are the Worldwide Council on Mining and Metals, representing firms together with Alcoa, Anglo American and Rio Tinto which have agreed to a set of 39 practices meant to attenuate the impression of mining on society; and the Accountable Minerals Initiative, which represents 400 firms which have agreed to assist accountable mineral manufacturing and sourcing.

“We have to discover higher methods of taking these minerals out of the bottom and placing them into the economic system,” Werner stated.

Think about simply a type of metals: copper, which is vitally vital for wiring, cables and different electrical infrastructure.

It takes a median of 17 years to develop a brand new copper mine, Werner stated, suggesting that humanity is already far behind in making the investments required to ramp up virgin manufacturing. Think about that over the previous 40,000 years, about 700 million metric tons of copper have been mined. Nearly double that quantity, or 1.2 billion metric tons, shall be wanted to fulfill the calls for of the clear power transition, Werner stated.

“I don’t actually suppose that our group inside circularity and sustainability actually understands the gravity of the scenario, and it’s going to imply that driving clear power and driving facets of mining infrastructure is de facto, actually vital,” he stated.