Resources Policy 26 (2000) 227–238 www.elsevier.com/locate/resourpol Sustainable development in the mining industry: clarifying the corporate perspective Gavin Hilson a , Barbara Murck b,* a T.H. Huxley School of Environment, Earth Sciences and Engineering, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Royal School of Mines, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BP, UK b Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 1C6 Received 1 June 2000; received in revised form 9 October 2000; accepted 27 November 2000 Abstract This paper examines sustainable development in the corporate mining context, and provides some guidelines for mining companies seeking to operate more sustainably. There is now a burgeoning literature that examines sustainable development in the context of minerals and mining, most of which is concerned with sustainability at global and national scales. What is often challenging to ascertain, however, from these numerous perspectives on sustainable mineral extraction, minerals and metals recycling, environmen- tal management, and social performance, is how sustainable development applies to mining companies themselves, and what steps a mine must take in order to improve the sustainability of operations. Since mining processes have the potential to impact a diverse group of environmental entities, and are of interest to a wide range of stakeholder groups, there is ample opportunity for the industry to operate more sustainably. Specifically, with improved planning, implementation of sound environmental management tools and cleaner technologies, extended social responsibility to stakeholder groups, the formation of sustainability partnerships, and improved training, a mine can improve performance in both the environmental and socioeconomic arenas, and thus contribute enormously to sustainable development at the mine level.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mining; Sustainable development; Sustainability; Mines Introduction The debate surrounding sustainable development in the mining industry is a drawn-out one, which has long gained considerable attention from a wide range of par- ties. The Brundtland Commission, in its landmark report Our Common Future, defined sustainable development as “meeting the needs of the present without compromis- ing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987). This definition, however, fails to outline an effective sustainability framework for any industry to follow. The Brundtland Report emphasizes that no single blueprint for sustainability exists and that the ways in which countries achieve sustainable develop- ment will vary among the different economic and polit- ical systems around the world (NRC, 1995), prompting * Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1-905-828-5426; fax: + 1-905-828- 3717. E-mail address: bmurck@credit.erin.utoronto.ca (B. Murck). 0301-4207/01/$ - see front matter  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0301-4207(00)00041-6 a number of academics, industrialists and government employees to provide personal viewpoints on the appli- cability of sustainable development to mining. Conse- quently, the body of literature on this subject now con- tains a wide-range of interpretations, and increasingly it is becoming unclear as to how exactly mines can con- tribute to sustainable development. Although many have defined and applied the concept differently (see Fig. 1), sustainable development, gener- ally, is the combination of enhanced socioeconomic growth and development, and improved environmental protection and pollution prevention. It first received glo- bal endorsement as a management and developmental strategy at the highly popularized United Nations Con- ference on Environment and Development (UNCED), commonly known as the “Earth Summit”, in Rio, 1992, where 116 heads of state or government, 8000 delegates from 172 countries, and 3000 accredited individuals from nongovernmental organizations (Pezzoli, 1997) gathered to discuss practical strategies for tackling pressing global problems. Sustainable development has