trees, woods, sunlight

Biodiversity and land

Nature, including biodiversity, is deteriorating worldwide at unprecedented rates. We are supportive of global efforts to halt and reverse nature loss in the coming decade.

people talking on a mine site
Our ambition
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Our approach and position
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Governance
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Engagement, disclosure and performance
people chatting on a mine site
Risk
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Case studies

Our ambition

We acknowledge the nature of our mining operations across their life cycle can have direct impacts on biodiversity (e.g. clearing of native vegetation), but also dependencies for safe and reliable operations on the services provided by healthy and functioning ecosystems (e.g. stable water supply and climate regulation). 

Our 2030 Healthy environment goal is designed as part of our contribution to national and global efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Our 2030 Healthy environment goal is to create nature-positive1 outcomes by having at least 30 per cent of the land and water we steward2 under conservation, restoration or regenerative practices by the end of FY2023.

1 Nature-positive is defined by the TNFD Glossary version 1.0 as ‘A high-level goal and concept describing a future state of nature (e.g. biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital) which is greater than the current state’. We understand it includes land and water management practices that halt and reverse nature loss – that is, supporting healthy, functioning ecosystems. BHP intends to review this definition in FY2025, in light of the recently revised TNFD Glossary version 2.0 (June 2024) definition of nature positive.

2 Excluding greenfield exploration licences (or equivalent tenements), which are located outside the area of influence of our existing mine operations. 30 per cent will be calculated based on the areas of land and water that we steward at the end of FY2030. For more information refer to the BHP ESG Standards and Databook 2024.  

Our approach and position

Biological diversity in all its forms, from genes to species and ecosystems, is essential to maintain the services we all depend on for the clean air, water and food needed to survive, and the habitats we depend on to regulate our climate. Rapid declines in biodiversity represent an existential threat to humanity. 

BHP has developed a Group-level biodiversity strategy (illustrated below) that outlines our purpose and strategic priorities, and is designed to inform operational decision-making across the full lifecycle of mining operations at our operated assets. The Group-level strategy provides a clear direction that enables alignment of asset-level biodiversity and land objectives and supports delivery of the 2030 Healthy environment goal.


Actions have commenced under our three strategic priority areas (described in the Performance section):

  • Valuing natural capital – to ensure biodiversity is ascribed value in BHP’s investment and operational decisions through the integration of ‘natural capital’ into strategy, planning, risk management and evaluation frameworks
  • Innovation and collaboration – partner and work with others externally to address technical biodiversity knowledge gaps, regional biodiversity policy and governance, and shared biodiversity challenges in the areas where BHP operates and in our value chain
  • Nature-related disclosures – disclose biodiversity-related impacts and dependencies, risk management and performance. 

Governance and oversight, disclosure and performance

  • Governance and oversight

    For information on our governance of biodiversity, refer to the Environment webpage.

  • Disclosure

    We report against several sustainability frameworks. For more information refer to the BHP ESG Standards and Databook 2024.
  • Performance

    2030 Healthy environment goal 


    Our biodiversity-related milestones are fundamental building blocks to our pathway to achieving our 2030 Healthy environment goal. 

     

    In FY2024, in accordance with our Healthy environment goal short-term milestone commitment, we developed a Group-level framework for nature-positive plans to achieve the 2030 Healthy environment goal (BHP Healthy environment goal roadmap1). We intend to assess the potential opportunities identified in the BHP Healthy environment goal roadmap to inform business decisions designed to enable BHP to progress towards our 2030 Healthy environment goal.  For more information refer to the Environment webpage. 

     

    We completed our FY2023 milestone of important biodiversity and ecosystems (IBE) baseline mapping for all land and water areas at our operated assets in Minerals Australia and Minerals Americas (excluding Carrapateena, Prominent Hill and legacy assets1) with a key highlight being the use of predictive models to identify areas of high ecosystem value in BMA. Carrapateena, Prominent Hill and legacy assets are intended to be mapped in FY2025.

     

    As part of our FY2023 milestone, we worked with CSIRO to develop an approach to identify and map biodiversity features across three nested scales of influence: BHP’s area of influence, the area of influence buffered by 50 kilometres and the area of influence buffered by terrestrial and marine bioregional boundaries. The output of the methodology is a geospatial database that identifies and screens individual biodiversity features against BHP’s definition of important biodiversity and ecosystems (IBE). We define IBE as comprising natural and critical habitat, where critical habitat consists of threatened species and ecosystems, endemic or restricted range species, migratory and congregatory species, and key evolutionary processes. For more information on the IBE mapping work refer to the case study here. 

     

    1 The BHP Healthy environment goal roadmap is intended to apply to our operated assets in Australia, Chile and Canada. Due to the acquisition of OZ Minerals and prioritisation of activities based on risks and impacts, Carrapateena, Prominent Hill, West Musgrave and legacy assets are currently out of scope for the roadmap; with the exception of West Musgrave, these assets are planned to be incorporated into the roadmap in FY2025. Incorporation of West Musgrave into the BHP Healthy environment goal roadmap will be reviewed following the decision to temporarily suspend the Western Australia Nickel operations.

     

    Group-level biodiversity strategy 

    Valuing natural capital


    Our work on understanding and managing the value of nature to business and communities continues to progress following the completion of our pilot natural capital accounting case (NCA) study at our Beenup site in Western Australia in FY2023. Further NCA piloting was performed in FY2024 at our Olympic Dam operation, as part of a broader project led by Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME) and the CSIRO, with input from the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and other CRC TiME partners. This project provided inputs to a suite of new resources that have been released to support the mining industry adopting NCA – a way of accounting for impacts on nature over the life of projects.

     

    The Olympic Dam pilot case study provided new insights into what is possible using industry data at an operating asset and revealed the need for a clear underlying rationale to inform the design of decision-useful natural capital accounts.   

     

    The BHP Healthy environment goal roadmap includes a preliminary natural capital metrics framework, which considers the ecological status and socio-economic value of natural capital assets that we impact and/or depend on. It was applied in FY2024 to establish the initial metrics that are intended to measure the impact of BHP’s nature-positive management practices.

     

    For more information on the CRC TiME and CSIRO NCA project and resources refer to crctime.com.au/blog/media-release-new-reports-to-help-test-applicability-of-natural-capital-accounting-in-australias-mining-sector/.

     

    Innovation and collaboration 

    BHP also looks for opportunities to contribute to a resilient environment beyond the areas under our stewardship, including the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. We do this through our own activities and in collaboration with others.

    We also work with strategic partners and communities to invest in voluntary projects that contribute to the management of areas of national or international conservation significance for the benefit of future generations through our social investment strategy.   

    We look for projects that can provide multiple benefits, such as improving water quality or quantity, providing nature-based solutions to climate change and supporting local livelihoods or cultural benefits, in addition to the core objective of improving biodiversity conservation.

    A summary of our previous and current voluntary conservation projects is provided below

     

     

    Nature-related disclosures  

    BHP’s nature- related disclosures are in accordance with the GRI Standards and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards.

     

    BHP supported the development of the TNFD framework both individually as a TNFD Forum member and through our membership with the ICMM. As defined by the TNFD Recommendations, finalised in September 2023, nature has four major components or realms: land, fresh water, oceans and atmosphere – each of which interact with people and society. Biodiversity is a characteristic of all four realms. 

     

    BHP adopts the definitions as outlined in the TNFD Glossary Version 1 for the following key nature-related terms: Nature, Nature-positive, Natural Capital, Biodiversity, Realm, Ecosystem function and Ecosystem services. We intend to review these in FY2025, in light of the recently revised TNFD Glossary Version 2.0 (June 2024).

     

    HSEC reporting data 

    BHP has operated assets in Australia and North and South America. Extractive operational activities include rights to resources below the surface. BHP also owns or leases pastoral or farming land near a number of our mining and exploration sites in Australia. For information on protected areas or areas of high biodiversity value that occur within or adjacent to our operated asset sites are available in the BHP ESG Standards and Databook 2024.

     

    The area of influence for BHP’s operated assets contains habitats for a number of species listed under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List or considered threatened under national legislation. For information on the total number of species with habitats potentially impacted by our operated assets refer to our ESG Standards and Databook 2024. Species distributions for IUCN listed species were downloaded from the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) and accessed via Proteus Partners. The result reported is as at 30 June 2024. Analysis was undertaken utilising ArcGIS by identifying all species that occur within the area of influence of BHP’s operated assets, or areas where disturbance activities associated with exploration have been undertaken in the previous 12 months. Lists of species protected under national legislation were identified from relevant national databases where available. Where national databases were not available, species lists were compiled from in-house impact assessment reports and/or management plans. Where information or in-house expertise was available, a screening assessment was undertaken to remove any species that occur in biomes or habitats not impacted by the operated asset, or where the operation occurs outside of the known distribution for the species, or where surveys/monitoring has determined the species or its habitat does not occur. Where national classifications differ to that utilised by the IUCN, species have been attributed to the category that most closely aligns to their national ranking.

     

    For our IUCN table disclosure refer to the BHP ESG Standards and Databook 2024.

     

    1All land and water areas at our operated assets (excluding  Carrapateena, Prominent Hill, West Musgrave and legacy assets) in Minerals Australia and Minerals Americas. Legacy assets refer to those BHP-operated assets, or part thereof, located in the Americas that are in the closure phase.

Risk

Our operated assets are required to identify and map key features and define the area of influence for important biodiversity and/or ecosystems. In accordance with our Group-wide Risk Framework, we then undertake a risk assessment for the defined area of influence, taking into consideration relevant impacts, including any actual or reasonably foreseeable operational impacts (whether direct, indirect or cumulative), and apply the mitigation hierarchy to manage threats and opportunities to achieve our environmental objectives. For adverse residual impacts to important biodiversity and/or ecosystems (which cannot be avoided, minimised or rehabilitated), we identify compensatory actions, such as the use of environment offsets, to achieve outcomes that align with BHP’s risk appetite to manage threats and opportunities to achieve our environmental objectives. 

 

Impacts and dependencies 

We have a range of potential direct, indirect or cumulative impacts on the environment, including:

  • Removal of habitat – in preparation for resource extraction activities or infrastructure installation, which could completely remove a species or community if it is endangered or has a geographically restricted area of distribution
  • Changes to water availability or water quality – groundwater or marine water abstraction, re-injection of surplus water, surface water discharge or diversion, port facilities, disposal of dredge spoil or discharges into the marine environment could remove or alter habitat for a number of species or communities that rely on it for some or all of their life cycle
  • Use of infrastructure corridors – which may reduce a species’ ability to move or migrate, or increase the risk of death through vehicle or boat strikes
  • Introduction or spread of non-native species – competition, predation or infection arising from the introduction or increased spread of a non-native species may result in local extinctions of native species or reduced ecosystem function
  • Inappropriate disposal of waste – which could lead to death of animals, such as through entrapment, or illness due to consumption
  • Noise or light pollution – which could alter an animal’s behaviour (e.g. it may not be able to see or hear prey or predators, may avoid areas, or become disorientated)
  • Reduction in air quality – increased dust or air pollution may alter vegetation structure or animal behaviour
  • Pastoralism – agricultural operations on non-operational land may impact vegetation structure, extent and condition, and impact soil quality, contributing to long-term land degradation
     

In addition, we depend on the services provided by healthy and functioning ecosystems for safe and reliable operations, including:

  • Stable water supply – Water is integral to our business and vital to the longevity of BHP. We cannot operate without it. For more information on our approach to water management refer to the Water stewardship webpage.
  • Climate regulation – Limiting the frequency and/or extremity of weather events, such as storms or flooding may damage critical infrastructure. For example, rail lines and ports are examples of a nature-related dependency that can have material effects on operations.
  • Resistance to fire regimes – In some areas, such as in Australia, vegetation is adapted to some level of fire, however, increased frequency and intensity of fires can alter vegetation structure and may result in damage to key operational infrastructure.
  • Social amenity – Regulation of air quality, noise and light levels by natural assets. 
     

Case studies

environmental image of a lake
BHP case study a first for natural capital accounting in mining

In a first for the mining industry, BHP has published a pilot case study on the application of natural capital accounting principles in the mining sector.
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The mapping of important biodiversity and ecosystems across Minerals Australia

A common methodology for identifying biodiversity features across the areas where we operate is important for consistency.
water way in the middle of open land
Springing into the future

An innovative new research project at Olympic Dam will seek to conserve and enhance biodiversity through the application of emerging research techniques.

Sustainability case studies, organisational boundary, definitions and disclaimers, and downloads

Prior year versions of some of the listed documents are available on the Past reports page.