OREANDA-NEWS. Vale has adopted two new tools to assist operational areas in their understanding of our Carbon Target: a Guide to Identifying Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gases and an Emissions Simulator. The initiatives were launched on National Climate Change Awareness Day, celebrated on March 16, in Brazil.

The purpose of the guide is to help with identifying opportunities to further reduce emissions in order to contribute to the fulfillment of the Vale Carbon Target. This target aims to reduce its 2020 forecast of greenhouse gases by 5%. The guide provides guidelines for all business areas and, in addition to identifying potential reduction actions, gives examples of initiatives that have worked.

Vale’s Emissions Simulator, as the name already indicates, is a tool that allows for various areas of the company to simulate emissions as well as the reduction of them resulting from the opportunities identified in the tested processes.

Greenhouse effect vs. climate change

Greenhouse gases absorb part of the infrared radiation emitted by the earth’s surface, making it difficult for this radiation to reach space. This provokes an imbalance of the earth’s natural greenhouse effect and warms the planet, causing climate change and other environmental impacts.