| 2007 ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE |
| EN1. Materials used. |
The principal materials used in PotashCorp's operations are mined potash ore and phosphate rock, natural gas in nitrogen production, and sulfur, ammonia and limestone in phosphate products.
| Materials Mined or Consumed |
| |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Mined Potash Ores (tonnes) |
24,318,525 |
18,893,000 |
24,863,000 |
| Mined Phosphate Rock (tonnes) |
7,603,000 |
7,691,000 |
7,312,000 |
| Natural Gas (terajoules) |
138,027 |
134,196 |
146,832 |
| Sulfur (long tons) |
1,979,396 |
2,020,369 |
2,063,570 |
| Ammonia (tonnes) |
1,761,809 |
1,635,948 |
1,882,634 |
| Limestone (tonnes) |
282,201 |
270,475 |
261,985 |
|
| EN2. Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials. |
Recovered sulfur (a by-product of oil refining or natural gas production) is used by PotashCorp in the production of phosphoric acid. Basically, all the sulfur purchased by PotashCorp is recovered sulfur. |
| EN3. Direct energy consumption
broken down by primary energy source. |
Total direct energy use was 161,000 terajoules (TJ) in 2007, with the nitrogen operations accounting for 87 percent.
The major sources of energy used by PotashCorp in 2007 were natural gas as a feed stock (51 percent), carbon fuels such as natural gas, coal, diesel and fuel oil (42 percent) and purchased electricity (7 percent). |
| EN4. Indirect energy consumption broken down by primary source. |
PotashCorp indirect energy use by its electricity providers was approximately 36.0 thousand TJs. |
| EN5. Total energy saved due to
conservation and efficiency
improvements. |
Between 2003 and 2007, energy efficiency (energy per tonne of production) improved by 8.1 percent at the potash facilities, 5.0 percent at the nitrogen facilities and 25.9 percent in the phosphate division. A number of plants have cogeneration and waste heat recovery programs. |
| EN6. Initiatives to provide energy-efficient products and services. |
PotashCorp has no initiatives underway to provide energy-efficient products or services. |
| EN7. Initiatives to reduce indirect energy consumption. |
PotashCorp has no initiatives underway to reduce indirect energy consumption. |
| EN8. Total water withdrawal by
source. |
In 2007, PotashCorp used a total of 1,048.6 million cubic meters of water for all its operations. More than 85 percent of this was recycled water. The plants withdrew only 151 million cubic meters of new water. Total water use has been declining since 2004 due to more efficient use in phosphate production.
| Water Used in Operations By Source |
| (Million Cubic Meters) |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Well Water |
54.4 |
55.6 |
49.9 |
38.9 |
33.4 |
| River Water |
148.2 |
160.0 |
98.8 |
101.8 |
107.1 |
| Municipal, Desalinated, and Industrial Water |
17.9 |
16.9 |
12.5 |
11.1 |
10.3 |
| Total Water Withdrawn |
220.5 |
232.5 |
161.2 |
151.8 |
150.8 |
| Recycled Water |
914.4 |
944.1 |
953.6 |
921.1 |
897.9 |
| Total Water Used in Operations |
1,134.9 |
1,176.6 |
1,114.8 |
1,072.9 |
1,048.7 |
Almost 79 percent of water withdrawn by the operating divisions and 98 percent of recycled water was used in the phosphate division, where ore is mixed with water to create a slurry. This is pumped to the processing plant, where the slurry is screened to remove coarse materials, washed to remove clay and floated to remove sand. |
| EN9. Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water. |
All of PotashCorp's facilities have permits for discharges to water sources, as
required and as applicable. For more
information on wetlands, see the response to EN11. |
| EN10. Percentage and total volume of
water recycled and reused. |
Recycled water accounted for over 85 percent of PotashCorp's total water consumption in 2007. Recycling occurs mainly in the phosphate operations. |
| EN11. Location and size of land
owned, leased, or managed in, or
adjacent to, protected areas. |
PotashCorp does operate in and around wetlands. Permits and related agreements with federal, state and local regulatory authorities regulate activities in these protected areas. These permits and agreements require mitigation of wetlands through preservation of certain sensitive lands from mining, assistance with wetland enhancement or restoration on public lands, granting of conservation easements, off-site mitigation and defined contributions for public acquisition of environmentally sensitive lands in the region. At least an acre of wetlands is reclaimed for each acre disturbed at the White Springs, FL facility and an acre and a half is reclaimed for every acre disturbed at the Aurora, NC facility. |
| EN12. Description of significant
impacts of activities on protected
areas. |
See answer above. |
| EN13. Habitats protected or
restored. |
All lands affected by PotashCorp's operations are ultimately reclaimed and restored. PotashCorp has taken a number of initiatives at individual production sites to protect and restore ecosystems. |
| EN14. Strategies, actions and future plans for managing impacts on
biodiversity. |
PotashCorp sets out a number of expectations with respect to biodiversity as part of its SHE management system:
- Facilities are designed and constructed to minimize impacts on biodiversity and other environmental impacts, while meeting federal, state/provincial and local regulatory requirements. Where these regulatory requirements are absent or inadequate, standards are set that protect people and the environment.
- Facilities will be operated and maintained to minimize impacts on biodiversity.
- All facilities are expected to report performance data as part of PotashCorp's SHE reporting requirements.
|
| EN15. Number of IUCN Red List species and national conservation list species with habitats in areas affected by
operations broken down by level of extinction risk. |
In Saskatchewan, nine wildlife species at risk have breeding ranges that overlap with project areas. The region around White Springs in Florida is home to a number of species listed by federal or state authorities as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. However, the company's operations have not had, nor are they likely to have a significant impact on the habitats of these species. |
| EN16. Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. |
PotashCorp's GHG emissions (as CO2 equivalent) in 2007 totaled just over 9.0 million tonnes, from two main sources:
- Carbon dioxide in flue gases from potash, phosphate and nitrogen operations.
- Carbon dioxide in process gases from nitrogen operations.
| DIRECT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS |
| (000 tonnes) |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Carbon Dioxide (flue) |
3,869 |
3,324 |
3,413 |
3,079 |
3,507 |
| Carbon Dioxide (process) |
2,485 |
2,412 |
2,769 |
3,066 |
3,170 |
| Nitrous Oxide (as CO2 equivalent)* |
2,122 |
1,981 |
1,985 |
1,992 |
2,295 |
| Methane (as CO2 equivalent)* |
24 |
24 |
32 |
29 |
32 |
| Total GHGs (as CO2 equivalent) |
8,500 |
7,741 |
8,199 |
8,166 |
9,004 |
GHG emissions increased in 2007 because of higher production rates in nitrogen, which accounted for more than 84 percent of the total GHG emissions. The amount of GHG emissions per tonne of product company–wide actually decreased as shown in Normalized GHG.
GHG emissions that result from purchased electricity used by PotashCorp operations in 2007 (indirect GHG) were another 3.3 million tonnes of CO2 eq company-wide. |
| EN17. Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions. |
Other indirect GHG emissions are not tracked at present. |
| EN18. Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved |
PotashCorp has set a target of reducing its normalized GHG rate by 10 percent over the next five years. This is a company-wide target which encompasses all three divisions. The company-wide normalized GHG emissions are a weighted average of the normalized emissions at each division. The weighting factor is absolute GHGs. A weighted average was used so actual GHG emission reductions will be required to meet the target. Without a weighted average, the target could be met through the currently planned expansions in potash if production levels in the other divisions stayed about the same.
GHG emissions at PotashCorp’s nitrogen operations are normalized by the amount of the nutrient that is shipped as product in each of its three divisions: KCl in potash, N in nitrogen, and P2O5 in phosphate. Normalized GHG emissions in potash declined significantly between 2003 and 2007, mainly as the process has become more efficient with greater production. The normalized GHG emissions in nitrogen fluctuated between 2003 and 2007 as the production of products such as ammonia, nitric acid and urea fluctuated. In the phosphate operations, the GHG emissions are normalized against phosphoric acid production (on a P2O5 basis). The normalized GHG emissions in phosphate from 2003 to 2007 also fluctuated as the mix of products fluctuated.
|
NORMALIZED GHGs BY DIVISION |
| (tonnes GHGs/tonne of product) |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Potash |
0.06 |
0.05 |
0.05 |
0.05 |
0.05 |
| Nitrogen |
2.77 |
2.57 |
2.66 |
2.71 |
2.54 |
| Phosphate |
0.46 |
0.42 |
0.43 |
0.41 |
0.48 |
| Company-wide |
2.41 |
2.22 |
2.30 |
2.36 |
2.20 |
|
| EN19. Emissions of ozone-depleting substances. |
PotashCorp produces no ozone-depleting substances. The company uses small amounts of chlorofluorocarbons in refrigeration and cooling systems. This substance is phased out when systems are upgraded. |
| EN20. NOx, SOx, and other significant
air emissions by weight.
|
In 2007, PotashCorp's emissions of Criteria Air Pollutants from its operations were as follows:
- Nitrogen Oxides 7,100 tonnes
- Carbon Monoxide 12,000 tonnes
- Particulates (dust) 4,600 tonnes
- Sulphur Dioxide 15,000 tonnes
Other significant air emissions in 2007 were:
- Volatile Organic Compounds 1,440 tonnes
- Ammonia 8,870 tonnes
- Hydrogen Sulfide 1,200 tonnes
- Sulfuric Acid Mist 188 tonnes
|
| EN21. Total water discharge and
quality. |
Emissions to water in 2007:
- Salt as brine to sea 913,000 tonnes
- Nitrogen as N 550 tonnes
- Fluoride (F) 18,520 tonnes
- Phosphorus 7,240 tonnes
- Methanol 50 tonnes
|
| EN22. Total weight of waste by type
and disposal method. |
Solid wastes produced in 2007:
- Gypsum 11,696,000 tonnes
- Waste Salt to storage 9,692,000 tonnes
- Clay wastes (slimes) 859,000 tonnes
- Waste salts and clay to mine 3,958,000 tonnes
- Salt as brine injection well 1,937,000 tonnes
Non-Process Wastes in 2007:
- Solid waste off-site 8,800 tonnes
- Solid waste on-site 28,600 tonnes
- Solid waste recycled 4,000 tonnes
|
| EN23. Total number and volume of
significant spills (provincial incidents). |
In 2007, nine spills (provincial incidents) were reported in the potash division. One spill was reported in the US. Five reportable quantifies were reported in the US and one in Canada.
|
| EN24. Weight of transported, imported, or
exported waste deemed hazardous under
the terms of the Basel Convention Annex
I, II, III and VIII. |
Hazardous waste disposal in 2007 was 680 tonnes. |
| EN25. Water sources and related habitats
significantly affected by discharges of
water and runoff. |
PotashCorp's phosphate operations at Aurora (NC) and White Springs (Florida) impact neighboring wetland areas. All lands, including wetlands, are being reclaimed to meet or exceed regulatory requirements. |
| EN26. Initiatives to mitigate the
environmental impacts of products
and services and extent of impact
mitigation. |
The use of fertilizers results in GHG emissions and localized impacts on water quality. PotashCorp works directly with users (and indirectly though trade associations) to educate customers on the proper application of its products, stressing the need to avoid using more than is necessary. The company also uses its Enriching website to educate customers on best practices to minimize environmental affects. |
| EN27. Percentage of products sold
and their packaging materials that are reclaimed by category. |
Fertilizer products and products sold for animal feed and industrial applications are not reclaimable.
|
| EN28. Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for, non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations. |
The number of environmental events and permit excursions in 2007:
- US Federal Reportable Quantity 6
- Permit Excursions 11
- Provincial Incident Reports (spills) 10
There were 34 hazardous materials incidents in 2007.
Fines for non-compliance with environmental regulations in 2007 totaled $2,200. Fines for hazardous materials incidents were $16,900. |
| EN29. Significant environmental impacts
of transporting products and materials used for the organization's operations and transporting members of the workforce. |
PotashCorp does not track the environmental impacts (energy use, GHGs) of the transportation services it uses to bring in inputs, ship out products and conduct its business. |
| EN30. Total environmental protection
expenditures and investments by type. |
Environmental protection expenditures totaled $176.7 million in 2007, up over 100 percent over the past five years.
- Operating expenses were $128.4 million
- Capital expenditures totaled $48.3 million
|
