Copper’s Contributions to Sustainable Development

This content on copper and the copper industry’s contributions to sustainable development is intended to provide ICA members with succinct, fact-based messages that can be integrated into various media: presentations, speeches, dialogs with high-level/challenging stakeholders, etc.

 

Each section contains specific messages for ICA’s members. In addition, a section devoted to video content allows the latest ICA videos on sustainable development to be easily accessed and shared.

  • The Copper Industry and Sustainable Development

    • Copper and the copper industry are making a positive impact on many of mankind’s most critical issues such as energy efficiency/security, climate-change mitigation, public health, food supply, green building, and more.
    • Each year the copper industry invests $50 million in ICA programs connecting copper and the copper industry to sustainable development.
    • ICA’s programs provide its members with evidence of the copper industry’s commitment to sustainable-development challenges worldwide.

  • Sustainable Development Indicators

    • On average, the copper industry:
      • provides employment for over 300,000 people
      • invests $300 million per year to protect the safety of its employees
      • feeds $120 billion per year into the global economy, including $15 billion paid to governments as taxes
      • invests $20 – 30 billion every year to make its operations more sustainable
      • emits around 0.15% of the world’s total annual CO2 emissions (ca. 35 billion tonnes CO2)
      • consumes around 0.1% of the world total annual final energy consumption (ca. 375 billion GJ)
      • recycles 2 billion m3 of water per year
    • The majority of ICA members publish sustainability reports and openly declare their commitment to embracing sustainable-development principles and goals.
    • 22 ICA members have united to present a perspective on the copper industry’s ongoing efforts to develop and operate in a more sustainable manner.
    • The new ICA global website http://sustainablecopper.org presents an aggregated view of how the industry is performing against a range of well-known sustainable-development indicators like CO2 emissions, energy intensity, or injury rate.
    • The copper industry is acting responsibly and transparently by reporting not only on its economic performance but also its social and environmental responsibility.

  • Recycling of Copper

    • Copper is infinitely recyclable without loss of any of its unique properties.
    • Copper is not consumed, never destroyed, always restored—it is used and re-used over and over again.
    • Of the 550 million tonnes of copper produced since 1900, it is estimated that two-thirds is still in productive use.
    • Currently, the global population uses an average copper intensity of 50 kg per person (total amount of copper in use/stock—360 Mt—divided by the world population--7 bn). Wealthier nations use more copper than developing nations as a result of their modern lifestyle. It is estimated that the global middle class will grow from 2 billion to 5 billion people by 2030. The lifestyle of this new middle class will rely on copper.
    • Nearly one-third of copper demand each year is met through recycling.
    • The recycling of copper requires up to 85% less energy than primary production. Around the world, this saves 40 million tonnes of CO2 (the equivalent emissions of 16 million cars).

  • Energy Efficiency

    • Copper is the best nonprecious conductor of heat and electricity.
      • Only silver is a marginally better conductor, which as a precious metal cannot be used widely in conductive applications.
    • 70% of copper goes into electrical applications that benefit from its amazing energy efficiency.
      • Over its lifetime use, one tonne of copper in conductive applications will save users between $25,000 and $2.5 million dollars due to reduced energy consumption.
    • If the world’s governments would commit to minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) in six product categories (motors, distribution transformers, air conditioners, refrigerators, lighting, information technology) we could reduce global electricity consumption by 10% by 2030.
    • Energy efficiency—a three-tiered value proposition:
      • Reduced consumption (increases grid/system reliability security)
      • Lower costs (efficient products save their users money)
      • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions (energy efficiency is recognized as one of the most promising paths toward meaningful reductions in CO2 emissions and minimizing the effects of man-made climate change).

  • Climate Change Mitigation

    • To produce one tonne of copper cathode, on average 3.5 tonnes of CO2 are emitted.
    • To produce one tonne of copper, on average 4.5 tonnes of CO2 are emitted (this includes initial fabrication).
    • Efficient products emit less CO2 than inefficient ones.
    • Copper is the best nonprecious conductor of heat and electricity.
    • 70% of copper goes into electrical applications benefiting from copper’s high energy efficiency.
      • Because of copper’s amazing efficiency, over their lifetimes, electrical systems containing one tonne of copper will emit between 100 and 7,500 fewer tonnes of CO2; for a mitigation factor between 20 and 1,500-to-one (compared to the CO2 emitted to produce one tonne of copper)!
    • 30 percent of copper is in nonconductive applications such as the delivery of safe and clean drinking water, helping to save lives and feeding the world.

  • Public Health

    • Globally each day 1,000 people die from a hospital-acquired infection (HAI)—more than HIV and breast cancer combined.
    • To date, the copper industry has invested more than $40 million in public health programs worldwide.
    • Copper is naturally antimicrobial.
    • Copper is the only solid material registered by the EPA as having public health benefits.
    • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered more than 300 copper alloys as being antimicrobial (these alloys all contain at least 60% copper).
    • Antimicrobial Copper® is clinically proven to kill 99.9% of deadly pathogens.
    • Summary of multi-million-dollar clinical trial funded by the U.S. Government:
      • Three separate facilities participated
      • Focused on intensive care units (ICUs), typically the most contaminated part of the hospital
      • In some ICUs the six most frequently touched surfaces were replaced with copper alloys
      • The control rooms were left alone
      • In the rooms with copper-alloy touch surfaces, infection rates were 58% lower!

  • Renewable Energy

    • Renewable energy systems rely on copper to generate and transmit energy with maximum efficiency and minimum environmental impact.
    • Renewable energy systems (solar, wind, hydro) on average require 4 to 12 times more copper per kilowatt than traditional power generation.
    • Copper content in a wind turbine: 2.5 – 6+ tonnes per megawatt, as follows:
      • Generator: 0.7 – 4.0 tonnes Cu
      • Cabling: 0.7 – 1.0 tonnes Cu
      • Transformers: 0.7 – 1.4 tonnes Cu
    • One megawatt of solar photovoltaics utilizes about four tonnes of copper.
      • DC cables collect the current at PV module level and carry it up to the inverter: 3 tonnes/MW on average
      • Ribbons (conductive strips collecting electricity at PV cell level): up to 1 tonne /MW
      • Transformer (when used in large installations): approx. 1 tonne/MW
      • Earthing (when used) is variable, normally > 1 tonne/MW
      • Inverter: 0.25 tonne/MW

  • Food Supply

    • A growing population needs to eat—protein is an important dietary requirement, and fish are an excellent source of protein.
    • 75% of world’s fisheries are fully exploited or worse.
    • Aquaculture (fish farming) will need to account for half of global demand by 2030.
    • Global aquaculture industry is in a state of disrepair, with many of that industry’s problems attributable to choice of material.
      • Fouling of traditional fish-farming nets/cages leads to reduced oxygen flow, spreading of disease, the need to use antibiotics, loss to predators, high maintenance costs, environmental disposal issues at end of life, etc.
    • Copper’s inherent metallurgical and biological properties transfer to marine applications, enabling the copper industry to make a positive impact on food supply issues.
      • Copper nets remain naturally clean, there is no build-up of organic matter on fish nets/cages.
        • Improved oxygen flow inhibits parasite and pathogens
        • Less/no disease = less/no need for antibiotics (healthier fish on your dinner plate)
      • Fish raised in copper-alloy enclosures typically grow larger, faster and healthier.
        • Feeding costs can be reduced by 15 percent
      • Predators cannot penetrate strong copper-alloy nets/cages.
      • Useful life in the water for copper-alloy nets/cages is measured in years – not months, as is the case with inferior synthetic materials.
      • The copper nets/cages are 100 percent recyclable, reducing landfill impact and initial investment cost.

  • Electrical Safety

    • Overloads, short circuits and faulty insulations cause billions in property damage or losses each year.
    • Copper wiring makes homes safer.
    • Copper’s unique properties make it the most secure, efficient and durable material for residential and commercial electrical installations.
    • Copper is highly resistant to deformation and corrosion.
    • Copper is used in circuit breakers, fuses, grounding rods, rails, switches and sockets.
    • Copper is easy to install, is a better conduit for electricity and lasts longer than any other material, making sure your home is as safe as possible for as long as possible.

  • Air Quality

    • Copper is anti-fungal (mold does not grow on copper).
    • Mold growth in air conditioning systems on non-copper heat exchangers degrades performance and releases mold spores into the air.
    • All-copper heat exchangers are more energy efficient and do not allow mold growth.
    • In side-by-side testing, non-copper heat exchangers exhibited 60% mold growth and 27% capacity loss (after equivalent of four years’ usage).
    • In addition to loss of efficiency, mold spores represent a health hazard.

  • Transportation

    •  A conventional car has 8 – 33 kg of copper, and a hybrid-electric has 40 – 65 kg.
      • Internal combustion engine: 24 kg Cu
      • Hybrid (e.g., Prius): 33 kg Cu (+6 kg in battery + 4 kg in electric motor)
      • Plug-in hybrid: 54 kg Cu (large battery and electric motor)
      • Full Electric vehicle: 94 kg Cu (larger battery and motor)
    • Estimated that a “typical” hybrid vehicle with an additional 33 kg would have the extra copper in the following areas:
      • HV Wiring: 8 kg
      • Battery (Li-ion): 8 kg
      • Converter/ rectifier: 2 kg
      • Electric motor: 12 kg
      • Electric compressor: 3 kg

  • Green Building

    • Around 55% of all the copper in the world is used in buildings, 15% in infrastructure, 10% in industry, 10% in transport and 10% in equipment manufacture.
    • Buildings consume 40% of primary energy.
    • Half of the buildings in the developing world are yet to be built.
    • Sustainable, green construction is now a necessity; building homes and offices with materials that use less electricity and water is becoming more of a requirement than an option.
    • Copper contributes to sustainable construction through architectural designs, building wire systems, renewable energies conversion and better use of energy-efficient systems (heating, cooling, lighting, control, IT equipment, etc.).
    • Copper is one of the top material choices for structural reinforcements, roofing, plumbing, heating equipment and many other applications.
    • Copper is one of the few materials that can be recycled without any loss in strength, making it a logical choice in an era of global sustainability.

  • Smart Buildings

    • Buildings with automated technologies and controls only use energy when and where it is needed, and they only use the right amount of energy. These buildings easily and instantaneously adapt to the changing needs of their occupants.
    • Smart buildings use copper as a conductive material in building wiring, electrical power actuators, drives and loads, and energy-efficient systems.
    • Copper can be recycled without any loss in properties, making it a logical choice in an era of global sustainability.
    • Automated-building technologies and controls range from stand-alone thermostats to the most advanced and integrated building energy-management systems.
    • Automated-building technologies and controls have the potential to save 15 – 22 percent of the total energy consumed in buildings.
    • Worldwide, this means almost 1,000 Mtoe of cumulatively saved energy in 20 years’ time, or the equivalent of taking one billion cars off the road.
    • The cost of these savings is estimated at only 0.012 $/kWh or a cost-to-benefit ratio of 11:1.

  • Universal Energy Access

    • 1.3 billion people do not have access to safe, modern energy services; this number is growing at a rate of about five percent per year due to increasing urbanization.
      • A goal of the UN’s Sustainable Energy For All initiative is universal access.
    • Most of the technical solutions to advance universal energy access involve copper as an enabler of electricity, energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, from replacing overloaded distribution transformers with energy efficient transformers using copper winding wire, to wiring public street lights.
    • ICA helped pilot a slum-electrification project in Brazil that has connected more than 500,000 homes and businesses.

  • United For Efficiency (U4E)

    • Global public-private partnership formally launched January 2015.
    • ICA, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Development
      Programme (UNDP), others.
    • Aligns with UN Sustainable Energy For All Goal to double rate of improvement
      in energy efficiency by 2030.
    • Program is focused on market transformations toward efficient industrial
      equipment and residential appliances.
    • Through mandatory minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) in six product categories (motors, distribution transformers, air conditioners, refrigerators, lighting, information technology), the following goals can be achieved by 2030:
      • Reduce global electricity consumption by 10%
      • Lower CO2 emissions by 1.25 billion tonnes —equivalent to the emissions of a half-billion passenger vehicles
      • Create $350 billion in economic development—primarily in the developing world—through reduced spending on electricity
    • As a member of ICA, you can promote your organization’s ongoing contributions to meeting the above goals—powerful evidence of the copper industry’s commitment to sustainable development.
    • United for Efficiency Video

  • Video Links

    Copper: Material for a Modern World, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ2Hp028VCE

    Copper: Investing in Our Planet’s Future, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN5I3cnm-PY

    Copper: Infinitely Recyclable., https://youtu.be/f2BhwrJJ-nc